Wikimedia Armenia/Reports/2020-02

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2020

February

Armenian Wikipedia Turned 15

On February 17, Armenian Wikipedia turned 15. To make the day more memorable Wikimedia Armenia organized several events, including a quest, an editathon, and other means of entertainment.

Around 40 people - most of them were participants of the Winter WikiCamp 2020 - participated in the quest called “Get to know Yerevan”. 40 people were equally distributed among the four groups. The purpose of the quest was to walk around the Republic Square and adjacent areas and find correct answers to various puzzles and intellectual questions. The most interesting thing was that the answers to all the questions were in the form of monuments; the groups had to take pictures and send them to the organizers of the quest. Despite the cold winter day, the participants had a wonderful time at the event.

Returning to the Wikimedia Armenia office after the quest, the participants, as well as other community members, participated in an editathon dedicated to the anniversary of the Armenian Wikipedia. Around 50 people participated in the editathon which lasted about two hours. Participants selected articles from a pre-created list and improved or created them. A total of 23 articles have been created and improved during the editathon.

After the end of the editathon, it was time for more fun and entertainment. The invited violinist admired everyone with his songs and music. Continuing the already traditional ceremony, the participants gathered for the most amusing part of the event to cut the birthday cake. Then, the participants spent their time singing and dancing, waiting until midnight to congratulate Armenian Wikipedia on its birthday.

Editathon Dedicated to Oscar Winners

On February 10-29, 2020, an editathon dedicated to Oscar winners and films in various nominations was organized within the WikiClubs of Wikimedia Armenia. The editathon began on the day of the 92nd Academy Awards (more popular as the Oscars) and ended on February 29th. During the editathon the Wikiclubs organized movie screenings and interesting discussions about the Oscars of different times. The aim was to improve the list of articles in Armenian Wikipedia dedicated to Oscar laureates in one of the most prestigious awards in the field of the film industry, as well as to give Wikiclubs the opportunity to explore the world of film production at different times.

Presentation of the governance audit results at the office of WMAM

On February 15, Aram Vardevanyan, Director of JP Law Firm, which carried out a governance audit at Wikimedia Armenia, presented the conclusion of the audit conducted in Wikimedia Armenia to members of WMAM and Wikieditors of the Wikicommunity. During the meeting Mr. Vardevanyan touched upon the main points of the conclusion and answered the questions of those present. Prior to this meeting, the auditor's report had been sent to members of the organization. With this meeting Wikimedia Armenia concluded the process of conducting and summarizing the governance audit in the organization.

Charter reform

Wikimedia Armenia has drafted a new charter based on the governance audit report. The works were coordinated by Vahagn Piliposyan, Chairman of the Board.

All members, staff, and stakeholders had the opportunity to participate in the drafting of the charter. Three meetings were organized in the WMAM office (each 3–5 - 4 hours each), during which the provisions of the new draft charter were thoroughly studied and analyzed, recommendations and observations were presented. On this basis, the team of lawyers made the necessary changes. Those meetings were attended by members of the Board of the organization, members of the Supervisory Committee, dozens of members of the organization, and the staff.

WMAM members and staff have been very enthusiastic about these discussions.

Wikipedia Training for Regional Museums

On February 15-16, 2020 Wikimedia Armenia in partnership with “My Armenia”, a program financed by the USAID and Smithsonian Institution, launched a new GLAM program “Strengthening Regional Museums.” This partnership will help cultural institutions share their knowledge and resources with the world through various Wikimedia platforms: Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wiki Data, etc.

This project also aims to make knowledge more accessible to the public, promote regional museums and motivate them to get engaged in the Wiki community and become editors. Within the framework of this collaboration, Wikimedia Armenia worked with the “My Armenia” program’s nine beneficiary regional museums; among them: Hovhannes Tumanyan House-Museum in Dsegh, Goris Geological Museum, Yeghegnadzor Regional Museum, Art Gallery of Jermuk, The Vanadzor Fine Arts Museum, The Gallery of Mariam and Eranuhi Aslamazyan Sisters, The Charents Museum of Literature and Arts, The Regional Museum and Art Gallery of Dilijan.

Within the framework of this project, museums provided various materials about the history of their institutions, the region, their exhibitions and collection highlights, biographies of renowned persons from their regions, and more. By the end of this training, several Wikipedia articles were created, Wikidata was generated, and photos were made available in Wiki Commons.

Wikiclubs report

On February 19 Book donation day, small events were organized in a number of Wikiclubs. At the Karvachar Wikiclub, they read and discussed Sos Sargsyan's book "The Call". Then the clubs gave books to each other as presents and participated in the opening of the Karvachar Book Bank. At the Alaverdi Wikiclub, the club members have donated interesting books to the club, creating a small library that will be regularly replete with important books. One of the club members is responsible for the circulation of books in the Wiki library. The club members then wrote a joint article about the famous American online bookstore. Over ten participants at the Lernapat Wikiclub improved the article "The Golden Key or the Adventures of Buratino" in Armenian Wikipedia, a small editing competition was held, and the best editors received books as a gift. Members of the Hatsik Wikiclub made a surprise visit to the boarding school for the protection and care of children named after Fridtjof Nansen in Gyumri. In addition to books that were as presents for the children, a literary event dedicated to Tumanyan's birthday was organized for the children.

The Ddmashen Wikiclub has initiated a school event dedicated to the International Language Day that ended at the club (the event kicked off on February 17, ending on February 21), presenting 15 articles written during those days. The meeting was full of interesting questions, and that day was another opportunity for the club members to assess their native language and address the issues of language preservation. The purpose of this five-day editathon and event was to enrich Armenian Wikipedia with new articles on the native language.

The Goris Wikiclub was hosted at the Goris Press Club on February 21. Within the framework of Syunik's InfoTun program, a media seminar on media literacy was held, as a result of which the club members gained a better understanding of media literacy and its tools.

The clubs of Ddmashen and Alaverdi shared their interests via video call, discussing different projects. The clubs have written a joint article dedicated to the International Day of NGOs, which is celebrated on February 27.

The second day of the second week of the second month of each year marks the day of the Safe Internet. The Alaverdi Wikiclub organized a game quiz during which teams of boys and girls checked their knowledge of the topic. As a result of the almost equal struggle the boys won, but they got new knowledge and everyone enjoyed the prize. The event was also covered by Ankyun Plus 3 TV company and safe.am website.

On February 22, the Alaverdi Wikiclub summed up the year dedicated to famous Armenian writer Hovhannes Toumanyan by visiting Hovhannes Toumanyan’s House-Museum in Lori region. The day was summed up in one of Tumanyan's favorite places in the Dsegh Seas, which, although it looks like a glacier, is a picturesque place.

Stepanakert Wikiclub visited Karabakh Carpet Factory and got acquainted with our ancient tradition of carpet weaving. The club members participated in the "Wiki Loves Folklore 2020" photo contest, featuring a number of beautiful and colorful photos.

Finally, all the Wikiclubs participated in the 20-day editathon dedicated to Oscar winners and created overall 295 articles.

Wikiclubs' statistics

Wikiclubs	Participants	Community population	Bytes+ (Wikipedia)	Bytes-	Edits	Articles	Bytes+ (Wiktionary)	Bytes-	Edits	Articles	Bytes+ (Wikisource)	Bytes-	Edits	Created	Proofread	Confirmed
Gyumri (Khrimyan Hayrik 46)	13	121976	313635	-2	8	3	0	0	0	0	83719	-1885	23	20	23	0
Alaverdi Wikiclub	89	13000	633214	-40447	894	56	1810	-336	39	3	11361	-50	5	2	3	0
Arevatsag Wikiclub	65	960	463853	-3917	972	62	23953	-61	90	38	112777	-95	63	44	52	11
Gyumri Wikiclub (KASA)	79	121976	302721	-13	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Goris Wikiclub	67	20300	194585	-3727	345	36	1	0	1	0	9321	-3525	50	2	8	42
Ddmashen Wikiclub	22	2876	1343233	-84605	3510	69	0	0	0	0	347303	-130	255	200	222	0
Lernapat Wikiclub	58	2279	1386574	-42385	1657	131	1	-53	3	0	141614	-6314	75	45	9	14
Koghb Wikiclub	101	5300	133845	-1774	93	13	64218	-2134	325	139	1771	-3939	5	1	2	0
Hatsik Wikiclub	50	1044	539232	-2841	158	72	32400	-5	71	53	218196	-666	120	75	75	38
Mrgavan Wikiclub	61	1725	721857	-105750	2538	78	0	0	0	0	27079	-267	44	7	7	28
Spitak Wikiclub	64	13000	106227	-335	75	16	0	0	0	0	270701	-2195	290	100	112	152
Stepanakert Wikiclub	243	55200	732582	-31077	276	54	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vanashen Wikiclub	49	2573	60131	-128	32	11	0	0	0	0	10665	0	6	5	5	0
Vardenik Wikiclub	66	9880	24184	-433362	141	8	0	0	3	0	1	0	2	0	0	1
Togh Wikiclub	87	700	61238	-1300	29	12	0	0	0	0	67013	-3392	74	19	55	17
Karvachar Wikiclub	114	500	764238	-7669	239	115	11256	-3880	176	23	261137	-179	154	90	20	74
Aygedzor Wikiclub	13	2608	11773	-362	8	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Archis Wikiclub	10	1109	231905	-3158	244	41	0	0	0	0	8567	-58	14	3	12	2
Berd Wikiclub	25	7800	24733	0	4	3	0	0	0	0	153841	-1225	244	32	41	112
Gandzakar Wikiclub	6	3656	25182	0	19	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gosh Wikiclub	12	1218	303464	-606	52	38	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lusahovit Wikiclub	12	390	2553	-433	2	1	0	0	0	0	103340	-1475	90	32	71	17
Kirants Wikiclub	16	298	43494	-17738	19	4	0	0	0	0	514558	-3250	441	169	360	74
Noyemberyan Wikiclub (2-nd school)	13	5000	105914	-424	53	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Noyemberyan Wikiclub (high school)	20	5000	675830	-4292	194	65	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sarigyugh Wikiclub	7	1253	20975	0	9	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Verin Karmiraghbyur Wikiclub	7	1837	244742	-549	36	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	1369	403458	9471914	-786894	11618	940	133639	-6469	708	256	2342964	-28645	1955	846	1077	582

Saturday workshops

Every Saturday Wikimedia Armenia organizes open workshops-edit-a-thons at the WMAM office where new editors are taught how to edit different wiki projects. Anyone interested in wiki projects, Wikipedia, wiki editing and needed assistance, as well as wiki editors who want to edit in pleasant atmosphere participate in these workshops-edit-a-thons. This month we anticipated having 5 Saturday workshops, however, we did only 4 out of 5 because of the Youth WikiCamp taking place in Tsaghkadzor. Overall there were around 55 participants in the workshops.