How the first scientific Wikimedia photo contest in Ukraine came together

Picturing inside antenna mirror of one of the biggest radio telescopes in the world: Yevpatoria RT-70. Image by Володимир Власенко, freely licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Alwisia lloydiae, one of three images to receive first place in the “Microscopy” category. Images by Dr. Dmytro Leontyev (Uk: Дмитро Леонтьєв), freely licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

A wet and chilly month makes one want to curl up on a couch, bury oneself in a fluffy blanket, drink hot tea, and look at the falling golden leaves under dark and stormy clouds outside.
Intriguingly, “falling leaves” is how the term “apoptosis” is translated from ancient Greek. Apoptosis, also known as “programmed cell death”, describes how cells in a multicellular organism (e.g. human) can destroy themselves if enough damage is endured and there are little or no possibilities of repairs. Such a self-sacrificing mechanism allows the organism to survive, while the cell in question dies—not unlike how leaves fall off trees to minimize water loss by the tree and allowing it to survive throughout winter.

Reticularia olivacea, another one of the images that received first place in the “Microscopy” category. Images by Dr. Dmytro Leontyev (Uk: Дмитро Леонтьєв), freely licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The European Scientific Photo Competition (ESPC) was held in order to entice scientists into editing and creating Wikipedia articles, the photo competition helps spread the idea that it’s actually possible to share one’s research achievements in peer-reviewed journals while also helping the world’s free encyclopedia obtain better illustrations.
ESPC has been held annually for the last three years, but this is the first time it expanded its scope beyond Estonia. All European countries could take part, and there were two rounds of winners—nationally and continentally. The competition took place in November, and the final awards will be handed out in the next two months.

Tubifera dudkae, the third winner in the “Microscopy” category. Images by Dr. Dmytro Leontyev (Uk: Дмитро Леонтьєв), freely licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

In Ukraine, however, we moved up the timeline a month so our national winners could be honored on November 10, World Science Day. This ceremony was held at the National Academy of Science of Ukraine, and the winning images, reprinted here, are currently being exhibited.
You can see more images on Commons: all seventeen winners, the award ceremony, and the best 159 images—from single molecules seen with an scanning tunneling microscope to different cell lines and archaeological expeditions to astronomy images.
User:Helixitta, Wikimedia Ukraine

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