Wikimedia Armenia/Reports/2020-10

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2020

October

Fall WikiCamp (14-18 age group)

From October 24 to November 1, 2020, the Fall Wikicamp took place, which was attended by 39 wiki editors (14-18 age group). To ensure the safety of the campers, the entire hotel area was the organizing team and hotel staff. 4 positive cases were registered, who were classmates and were infected before the camp. A few people who had close contact with them were also isolated in separate rooms, after which the normal life of the camp began.

Before receiving the results of the tests, the communication between the participants was minimized, so that in case of a positive result, the spread would be prevented. Everyone wore masks, changed them frequently, and constantly disinfected their hands. At least 3 times a day we measured the temperature of all participants, the results of which were recorded in the register.

The surfaces of the used areas, the door handles and the rest of the items were constantly disinfected with special disinfectants. As a result, at the end of the camp, after double testing the patients and those who contacted them, it became clear that none of the participants was infected with COVID-19 during the 8 days of the camp, on the contrary, 3 out of 4 patients recovered, and one camper recovered 2 days after the camp.

The educational section of the Fall Wikicamp was quite engaging this time. The campers were offered lists from which they could choose articles. At the same time, anyone could create and improve articles based on their interests.

In parallel with the current events, a decision was made to develop the topic of Artsakh in the Armenian Wikipedia. Taking into account the age of the participants, topics were chosen about the monuments, settlements, bridges of the Republic of Artsakh, which were missing in the Armenian Wikipedia or needed to be improved. In general, two days of the camp were dedicated to the topic of Artsakh, during which the participants, using the pre-scanned book ("NKR Historical-Architectural Monuments") and more than a dozen articles, created or improved numerous Wikipedia articles.

This was a unique experience for some of the participants, as many people constantly translated articles from other-language Wikipedias. Through this experience, participants actually understood and deeply perceived the structure and nature of Wikipedia articles. In total, during the two days the participants of the camp created and improved about 40 articles dedicated to the topic of Artsakh.

Intellectual, sports and cultural events were organized in the cultural part of the camp. We had an online meeting with expert, academician Ruben Safrastyan, who presented geopolitical issues related to the region. Seminars-courses on war psychology and media literacy were organized for the campers. This time the traditional song lesson was dedicated to patriotic songs․ The participants made videos, played the intellectual game Brain Ring, Sportlandia, Fort Wiki, and did handicrafts. At the end, a bonfire was organized during which our talented campers sang songs with a guitar.

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WikiTeam 1+3

From September 24 to October 9, 2020, for the second time the “Wikiteam 1+3” project was organized, which aims to increase interest in Wiki projects, attract new participants to the editing processes of Wikipedia, increase the activity of editors, create quality articles and develop the culture of teamwork among wiki editors.

The project has the following format: a group of four people is formed, one of whom is the group leader. Group members can be both experienced editors and newcomers. Involving newcomers in the group is considered an advantage. The group leader teaches the new members of the group how to create articles, how to edit on Wikipedia and to follow the quality of the articles. The group works together to create articles.

The “Wikiteam 1+3” project is divided into four phases, each lasting four days. The members of the group work in the sandbox for the first three days of each phase, and dedicate the fourth day to reviewing and publishing the articles.

19 teams were formed within the framework of the project, a total of 76 people participated, 15 of which are new editors. During the 16 days of the project, 57 articles were created, in total 1,276,063 bytes.

Summary of Online Wikipedia course

Wikimedia Armenia organizes Wikipedia courses for both professional groups and courses without restrictions of age, profession or interest. The aim of the courses is to introduce the participants to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, to spread the idea of free knowledge, to provide the participants with the opportunities of innovative education through various Wiki platforms.

On July 15, 2020, "Online Wikipedia courses" started. Participation in the courses was without restrictions of age or profession. It included two stages. In the first stage, the participants learned to edit Wikipedia with the help of wiki trainers, and got acquainted with the Wikipedia tools. The course with wiki trainers lasted two to four weeks, after which the participants continued to edit Wikipedia by themselves for a month.

The participants who successfully completed the first stage passed to the second stage. In the second stage, the participants got acquainted with other Wikimedia projects, they studied WikiData in depth and had contributions there. At the same time, they continued to actively contribute to Wikipedia.

The editorial work within the online Wikicourse continued until September 30, after which the active editors were selected according to statistics.

In total, 124 people participated in the Wikipedia courses the majority of which were newcomers. There were 10 experienced wiki trainers. Generally, 113 people participated in the second stage.

Online Wikipedia course	Statistics
Participants	124
Participants of the second stage	113
Bytes	8 601 318
Articles	914

Edit-a-thon dedicated to Teachers' Day

Logo of the edit-a-thon

From September 28 to October 4, Wikimedia Armenia organized an edit-a-thon dedicated to Teacher's Day. October 5 is celebrated around the world as Teacher's Day. Wikimedia Armenia carries out large-scale work by organizing Wikipedia courses for teachers, creating new opportunities for teachers, giving them a tool to use in innovative education. Teachers are an important part of the Armenian wiki community, so an edit-a-thon dedicated to their day has a vital meaning.

The topic of the edit-a-thon was teachers, both Armenian and foreign. 22 people participated in the edit-a-thon, creating 70 articles about teachers, 26 of which were about female teachers.

Thematic meeting

On October 30, an online meeting-discussion took place with Ruben Safrastyan, an specialist of Oriental Studies and Turkic Studies, Doctor of Sciences in History, who introduced to the participants of the Wikicamp the geopolitical situation in the region, military-political issues, and the desired steps to be taken towards peace building in the region.

The meeting was a part of a series of thematic meetings organized by Wikimedia Armenia aimed at assisting Wikipedia editors in writing articles on regional topics. The participants listened to the speaker with great enthusiasm and asked him various interesting questions.

Online meeting with beginner editors

In October, many Armenians from Armenia and abroad turned to Wikimedia Armenia, stating that they wanted to edit articles on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the history of Artsakh, and monuments, but encountered some problems.

We organized online meetings with many groups and individuals, during which we introduced the editorial tools, Wikipedia regulations to the participants so that they write unbiased and wikified articles with encyclopedic style. Such meetings will be continuous.

Saturday Workshops

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 virus, Wikimedia Armenia have been conducting online Saturday workshops.

Several workshops were organized in October based on pre-planned topics. This time the workshops were also conducted by the participants who successfully completed the "Online Wikipedia Course for Teachers".

The workshops were simultaneously “attended” by both experienced editors and newcomers. After the end of the day's topic, during the Q&A session, the participants discussed topics and issues of their interest.

WikiClubs' Monthly Report

In October, Wikiclubs, following the pandemic rules, continued their work both offline and online. The three clubs operating in Artsakh tried to carry out their activities online due to the war provoked by the Republic of Azerbaijan. During the month, the club members were actively involved in various projects, among which we should single out the "WikiTeam 1+3" contest and "Fall Wikicamp 2020", which was attended by 4 representatives of Artsakh Wikiclubs, and a total of 34 participants from the other Wikiclubs. Many of the Wikiclubs held various interesting, useful trainings, programs and meetings during the month.

On October 7, a meeting was held at the Hatsik Wikiclub with Sargis Torosyan, Commander of the Gyumri Fire and Rescue Squad of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. During the meeting the children received detailed information about the air alarm. The meeting was very meaningful and interesting especially in the current situation.

On October 13-15, the Ddmashen Wikiclub held an edit-a-thon on weapons, the participants created several articles: a Cluster munition, White phosphorus munitions, Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, etc.

At the end of the month, the traditional final workshop was organized in Alaverdi Wikiclub, during which the work carried out during the previous month was discussed, and further activities were planned. The best articles of the month were selected: Pogonophobia, Pauline Musters, Karlstad.

During the month, the clubs participated in various campaigns and humanitarian assistance events, trying to contribute to the support of both the soldiers and the civilian population of Artsakh.

The Wikiclubs were able to show quite a good result in the current situation. Wikiclub members have contributed more than 200,000 bytes to Wikisource, they have made 4,904 edits on Wikipedia during the month, creating 887 new articles with a total volume of 13,477,433 bytes.

WikiClubs' Statistics

Wikiclubs	Participants	Community population	Bytes+ (Wikipedia)	Articles	Bytes+ (Wiktionary)	Articles	Bytes+ (Wikisource)	Created	Proofread	Confirmed
Alaverdi Wikiclub	35	13000	2291323	188	0	0	0	0	0	0
Arevstsag Wikiclub	67	960	385070	46	0	0	3415	1	1	0
Gyumri (Khrimyan Hayrik 46)	32	121976	274129	6	0	0	0	0	0	0
Goris Wikiclub	28	20300	298324	38	0	0	9091	3	0	0
Ddmashen Wikiclub	25	2876	2541850	121	0	0	84756	36	39	44
Lernapat Wikiclub	82	2279	1372836	99	0	0	96262	18	38	3
Kogh Wikiclub	35	5300	766207	36	8081	16	1269	0	3	0
Hatsik Wikiclub	22	1044	895236	72	0	0	0	0	0	0
Spitak Wikiclub	43	13000	51225	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stepanakert Wikiclub	22	55200	704147	57	0	0	0	0	0	0
Karvachar Wikiclub	25	500	735110	56	0	0	0	0	0	0
Archis Wikiclub	11	1109	354486	36	0	0	0	0	0	0
Berd Wikiclub	25	7800	0	0	0	0	5204	0	19	0
Gandzakar Wikiclub	6	3656	17817	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gosh Wikiclub	14	1218	75900	6	0	0	0	0	0	0
Noyemberyan Wikiclub (2nd school)	15	5000	84377	7	0	0	0	0	0	0
Noyemberyan Wikiclub (high school)	16	5000	649163	56	0	0	0	0	0	0
Verin Karmiraghbyur Wikiclub	8	1837	151153	5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kirants Wikiclub	12	298	1497	0	0	0	12890	5	4	0
Mrgavan Wikiclub	61	1725	1810802	52	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vanashen Wikiclub	49	2573	6260	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vardenik Wikiclub	68	9880	10531	0	4281	7	0	0	0	0
Total	847	403458	13477443	887	12362	23	212887	63	104	47