CEE/Newsletter/February 2018/Contents/Regional report

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Contents

Regional report: #WeMissTurkey, Estonia's 100th anniversary, Wikimedia CEE Meeting preliminary survey; CEE Spring approaching

By Spiritia and Misosoof

#WeMissTurkey

From March 5-12, the Wikimedia Foundation will be sharing a series of messages about Turkish culture, history, sports, etc. from Wikimedia Foundation managed social media accounts such as @Wikipedia on Twitter. Messages will be shared that express sadness for missing the perspectives of Turkish people on our projects, and hopes that access to Wikipedia will be restored in Turkey. These messages will be directed to the people of Turkey, with the respective positive message and tone, and the use of the hashtag is not intended to directly confront the Turkish government. This messaging approach for the campaign is part of a broader, ongoing strategy from the Wikimedia Foundation to lift the block of Wikipedia in Turkey. Affiliates and volunteers around the world are invited to join the campaign. Additional information on the campaign and ways to participate will be available on Meta-Wiki.

Estonia's 100th anniversary

To celebrate Estonia's 100th anniversary, Wikimedia Eesti asked more than a hundred public figures to contribute an article to Estonian Wikipedia, even if it's just a few lines. So far, the response has been reportedly overwhelmingly positive: 81 of the invited, including the president of Estonia, have already pledged to write an article, and a few others have joined in as well. The website of the campaign is: http://ev100.miljonpluss.ut.ee/

Wikimedia CEE Meeting preliminary survey

On 24 February, the organizers of this year's Wikimedia CEE Meeting, Wikimedia Ukraine, distributed to CEE affiliates and communities a preliminary survey aimed at helping them plan the event prior to the application for a Wikimedia Foundation grant. The survey is expected to be indicative of the level of community engagement and of the importance of a variety of topics to the community.

CEE Spring sprouting for the fourth time

Once again the time is nearing to roll up our sleeves. Not really because it is getting somewhat warmer outside, but because we are inspired by and enjoy collaborative efforts and encouraging regional content creation on Wikimedia project pages in the frames of the 2018 CEE Spring. Over the years, hundreds of contest participants have written thousands of articles in around 30 countries and project pages about our region, which has resulted in notably better coverage of CEE content on local Wikipedias. But, as you might expect, there are still vasts amounts of missing articles and red links, which need to be addressed, and Wikidata statements to be added. This proposes as an opportunity for many of us to join the team of local or international organizers and start fixing it!

Joining the team is easy - 13 communities already did! You can just add your name to the participants table! Actual organizing of the local competition will be, of course, much harder, but not to worry - the team of international organizers will make sure that you will be held accountable for doing everything that needs to be done. So just join at let’s get those CEE related articles and Wikidata statements sprouting! Let’s have another successful edition of CEE Spring!