The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO) Management Board held its annual meeting via Zoom May 9, with members from Canada, the United States and the Netherlands joining.
Chair of the GAMEO Management Board, Aileen Friesen, executive director of the D.F. Plett Historical Research Foundation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, opened by quoting Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” With this theme in mind, several projects emerged for 2025 and 2026 focused on improving GAMEO user experience and author engagement.
One initiative for this year is to increase the support available to GAMEO writers by expanding training resources and building connections between authors.
Other upcoming projects will emphasize user experience. After modifications last year to make the GAMEO site more mobile-friendly, this year board members focused on article structure. New policies established at this meeting clarify the procedures for article updates, author credits, citations and notes sections, bringing GAMEO in line with other online encyclopedias and making up-to-date information clearer and more accessible to readers.
GAMEO expects to add several new articles this coming year. Anicka Fast, Mennonite World Conference, shared that the biography-based Global Anabaptist Forebears series will document the faith stories of Mennonites from around the world, helping GAMEO better represent the global Anabaptist church. A first set of biographies of Congolese Mennonites is now emerging from this project.
There were also several changes to the members of the board. The GAMEO Board welcomed back Richard Thiessen, MB Historical Commission. Olivia Krall, Mennonite Church USA Archives, will depart from the GAMEO Board in July when she concludes her position with MC USA.
Ian Kleinsasser of the Crystal Springs Hutterite Colony in Manitoba joined the board as a guest. Articles on Hutterite Colonies are among the most viewed on GAMEO, and Kleinsasser brings expertise and deep connections to the Hutterian users of GAMEO.
Galatians 6:9 proved to be an apt theme for this year’s meeting. Board members celebrated the value GAMEO provided to its 386,000 users this year and envisioned the work ahead to ensure that GAMEO can continue to serve its readers and thrive as an international, multi-denominational partnership.
GAMEO Management Board: Aileen Friesen (Chair, D. F. Plett Historical Research Foundation), Richard Thiessen (Mennonite Brethren Historical Commission), Elizabeth Miller (General Editor; Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism), Olivia Krall (Mennonite Church USA); Alf Redekopp (Associate Editor), and Bert Friesen (Associate Editor); Ken Sensenig (Mennonite Central Committee), Anicka Fast (Mennonite World Conference), Laureen Harder-Gissing (Absent, Mennonite Historical Society of Canada)
This article has been posted by Christian Leader staff. The Christian Leader is the magazine of U.S. Mennonite Brethren.
