2019:Growing Wikimedia's Readership/Wikipedia in the Levant
 | This is a Closed submission for Wikimania 2019. It has been reviewed and was not accepted. |
Description[edit | edit source]
Arabic is the fourth common language on Internet users but it represents just .6% of internet content. This lack of content restricts Wikipedia's impact and reach. We are working to develop a program that will train and certify Wikipedia translators at Universities and communities in the Levant. These students will translate the rich trove of knowledge that exists in English and other language into Arabic. Topics may include human rights, history, science, environmentalism, women's rights, and other topics that would contribute to a reasoned-based civil society.
Relationship to the theme[edit | edit source]
This session will address the conference theme — Wikimedia, Free Knowledge and the Sustainable Development Goals — in the following manner:
By growing the network of translators/evangelists for the Wikipedia model we will dramatically expand the readership and impact of Wikipedia. Access to objective information can be scarce and repressed in the region. Growing the contributor and user base supports the development of sustainable, extremism-free communities.
Making participants evangelists for the Wikipedia model creates a movement towards knowledge sharing and the active engagement with knowledge.
Session outcomes[edit | edit source]
At the end of the session, the following will have been achieved:
We will determine how to expand the program and reach more students in the region. We will have developed a certification program for students and identified additional participant schools and community organizations in region and in similarly impacted areas where Wikipedia content is limited.
Session leader(s)[edit | edit source]
Faisal Al Mutar, President and Founder, Ideas Beyond Borders (United States)
Ahmed Al Rayis, Founder, I Believe in Science (Kurdistan)
Session type[edit | edit source]
Each Space at Wikimania 2019 will have specific format requests. The program design prioritises submissions which are future-oriented and directly engage the audience. The format of this submission is a:
- Discussion-based training
- Workshop to identify and try to solve problem
Requirements[edit | edit source]
The session will work best with these conditions:
- Room: Small classroom
- Audience: Audience should include people with knowledge of expanding access in affected regions and knowledge of the social/political dynamics in affected areas. Counter-extremism experts, social media practitioners, and educators would be valuable participants.
- Recording: documenting the sessions could prove valuable for downstream participants