Fundraising 2007/Testimonials/SOS Children's village - translation/hu
SOS Gyermekfalu
Bárki szabadon letöltheti és tetszése szerint átalakíthatja a Wikipédia tartalmát, hogy egy átfogó oktatási anyagot alakítson ki. Az SOS Children’s Village (SOS Gyermekfalu) is ezt tette, amikor létrehozta a Wikipedia Selection for Schools-t (válogatott Wikipédia anyagok iskoláknak), a világszerte leginkább rászoruló gyerekek segítését tűzve ki célul.
Az SOS Children's Villages a világ legnagyobb árvákat segítő szervezete, amelynek célja, hogy családot biztosítson a legsebezhetőbbeknek – olyan gyerekeknek, akiket háború, szegénység vagy egy természeti katasztrófa tett árvává. A szervezet jelenleg 60 000 gyermeknek ad otthont 123 országban, és elszegényedett családok millióit támogatja világszerte.
2005-ben az SOS Children's Villages angol tagszervezete különféle oktatási projekteket kezdett vizsgálni, amik mind az angol, mind a külföldi gyerekek hasznára válhatnak; ennek eredményeképpen született meg a Wikipedia Selection for Schools. A cél Wikipédia egy olyan szűrt változatának előállítása volt, ami internet nélkül is olvasható, vandalizmusmentes, és nem tartalmaz gyerekek számára nem ajánlott anyagokat. A szervezet ezen kívül át akarta rendezni az anyagot, hogy illeszkedjen az angol tantervhez, amiről tudták, hogy világszerte számos iskola használja.
„A Wikipédiát választani könnyű döntés volt. Nincs más olyan projekt, ami versenyezni tudna a terjedelmével és a minőségével. A Wikipédia nem csupán a legnagyobb és a legjobb – egyáltalán nincs olyan versenytársa, amit érdemes lenne ugyanabban a mondatban említeni” – mondja Andrew Cates, az SOS Children igazgatója és a Wikipédia szerkesztője.
To prepare the content, Cates' team devised technical solutions, and took advantage of the numerous volunteers their Cambridge, UK location offered them.
"We took all the "featured" and "good" articles and removed esoterical or material not suitable for children. The community at Wikipedia suggested other articles, which we looked at. There weren't good articles in all subjects we wanted, such as some novels in the English literature curriculum," stated Cates.
By 2006, SOS Children's Villages UK had released their first version, and in 2007, the second followed. The releases were available both online and via CD/DVD. Not surprisingly, the Wikipedia Selection for Schools was received well across the globe, so much so that organizations, such as the Shuttleworth Foundation, began distributing it in South Africa.
"In regards to the CD, most people have responded enthusiastically. They state what a fantastic idea it is. I've been asked for copies from all around the world...Many thousands of people visit the online Schools Wikipedia everyday and we have had thousands of downloads and have handed out hundreds of the disks. We are happy that the work involved was for a good end and is being used," states Cates.
Besides the SOS Children's Villages that are distributing the Wikipedia version in Southern Africa, Pakistan, and the UK, other entities have begun to set up their own download sites as well, such as the State government in Victoria Australia.
As a Wikipedian enthusiast, Cates believes strongly in the potential of Wikipedia and the positive impact is has had on the world. In regards to children, he believes Wikipedia is great at helping children become scholarly in regards to knowledge sources.
"As a Wikipedia editor the thing that I think is underrated is the amount of international understanding which Wikipedia has developed. I see a stream of people from fundamentalist groups, for example, who start off adamant and opinionated but from gentle interaction with other editors, learn about reliability, NPOV, and learn other perspectives on history and the Middle East for example. It is heart warming and educational to see people of all different backgrounds end up working together to complete a project," states Cates.
Currently, SOS Children has plans for future Wikipedia Selection for Schools releases. Cates stresses that now the organization has software and procedures to generate DVDs very easily. This leaves the room to explore many possibilities, including future releases in other languages.
"This year we've been passing copies all over the world. Who know what we will be doing next?," states Cates.
Photo description: Wikipedia's free content was used to help the world's most needy children.