Wikimedia Israel/past projects

In this page you can learn about Wikimedia Israel's discontinued projects and initiatives. Some of these projects were meant to be a one-time initiative, whereas others were discontinued due to changes in technology and other circumstances. Many of the outreach initiatives have been replaced with different, more sophisticated and comprehensive, projects.

Influencing legislation

• Israel's new copyright law - In 2007, the Israeli parliament enacted a new copyright law. Wikimedia Israel was a key partner in a joint effort to prevent an attempt to change the status quo regarding the copyright limitations on photographs. The attempted change would have prolonged the copyright term of historical images taken in Mandatory Palestine and the first decades of Israeli statehood. With the help of the Israel Internet Association, Wikimedia Israel managed to convince the legislators to phrase the new law so it would apply only to photographs taken from the date of its enactment and not retrospectively.

Outreach

• The Hebrew Wikipedia mobile poster exhibition - Inspired by the German poster display on the occasion of Wikipedia's 5th anniversary, Hebrew Wikipedians wrote and designed a set of 18 posters in Hebrew, presenting the principles and advantages of Wikipedia. This collaborative work was supported by Wikimedia Israel, which provided the means for printing the posters and located venues for their display in order to increase public awareness of Wikipedia and recruit new editors. The exhibition toured the country and was displayed, among other places, at the Knesset, Tel Aviv University, Haifa University and Dizengoff Center. It was also displayed at Wikimania 2008 in Alexandria, Egypt. The posters and related images on Wikimedia Commons.

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• Wikimedia Israel free image collection project - "Pikiwiki" is a cooperation between Wikimedia Israel, the Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL) and The Center for Educational Technology (CET) to collect images depicting the history, geography and society of Israel. The images will be contributed by the general public and released to the public domain, or with the fewest limitations, and offered to the public on the Internet freely.

Cooperation and outreach abroad

• "Africa Center" Project - A group of Israeli students, sent by the Africa Center at the Ben-Gurion University for humanitarian work in Santchou, Cameroon, carried linux-based computers with static off-line versions of the French Wikipedia, which they installed in Santchou for the use of the local community. The students instructed local schoolchildren and adults how to use Wikipedia for their studies and for general purposes. This project was initiated and coordinated by Wikimedia Israel, but was, in fact, a successful cooperation of several organizations. The computers were provided by Hamakor Society, whose members also helped with the installation of software. Important help was provided also by Wikimedia Switzerland and Wikimedia France. Report on Wikimedia's blog. Report on the website of American Associates of Ben Gurion University.

Research

• Awareness of Wikipedia and its usage patterns - An opinion poll initiated by Wikimedia Israel and conducted by Panels Ltd. in June 2014, which examines the awareness of Wikipedia and patterns of its usage among 751 respondents - a representative sample of all sectors of the Israeli society (Jews, Arabs and their subgroups). This research was presented in Wikipedia Academy Israel 2014 and quoted by various Israeli media outlets.

Education: Engaging students and teachers

“Valued Image”

The “Valued Image” project (Tmuna im Erekh) is a cooperation between Wikimedia Israel and several high schools. Students with skills in photography, or those studying photography, are asked to take pictures of sites, monuments, people or objects that are not depicted yet on the Hebrew Wikipedia, even though they have an article about them. The project ends with an outdoor exhibition of the new images on posters, accompanied with explanations taken from Wikipedia.

• ″Valued Image″ outdoor exhibition at the Weizmann Outdoor Gallery in Ramat HaSharon (March 2017)
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Teacher training

Online Wikipedia course for teachers - In the fall of 2014, Wikimedia Israel and the Center for Educational Technology started an online distance learning course about Wikipedia for K-12 teachers from all different sectors and disciplines. The course forcuses on Wikipedia literacy and principles of Wikipedia editing. Teachers take the course online on their own time and can consult a tutor when needed. The Ministry of Education recognizes the course as part of the teacher education program and coordinates the registration. More than 200 teachers have participated so far.