Education/News/November 2025/Highly productive autumn education activities in Macedonia

Highly productive autumn education activities in Macedonia

Summary: In the last month, Wikimedia MKD has been actively promoting free knowledge and developing digital skills among students through a series of educational activities and workshops. These initiatives target different age groups, from primary and secondary school students to university students, aiming to introduce participants to the basics of Wikipedia, rules for editing and source verification, while also fostering creativity and critical thinking.

Through activities such as Wikipractice, educational workshops for students and teachers, and online editing competitions, young people gain the opportunity to become active members of the global Wikipedia community and contribute to the development of Macedonian Wikipedia and free knowledge in general. These events are organized in collaboration with educational institutions and form part of Wikimedia MKD’s broader mission to promote media and digital literacy, as well as to build a culture of open and reliable knowledge.

Wikipractice for students from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics on editing Wikipedia

On October 31, at the premises of Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Skopje, a training workshop on editing articles on Wikipedia in Macedonian language was held. This was the start of our new EDU project, named Wikipractice, and results till the end of the year could be followed on the dashboard. The Wikipractice workshop was organized for students from the faculty and it is a result of the cooperation between Wikimedia MKD and PMF, which officially began with the signing of a Memorandum for Cooperation on 7 October 2025.

This training represents the first concrete step towards the realization of the common goal – encouraging young academic citizens to contribute to the enrichment of free knowledge in the Macedonian language. By participating in this project, students have the opportunity to realize their professional practice in a creative and socially useful way, by writing, editing articles on Wikipedia.

The training was conducted by Bosa Filipović, Wikimedia MKD Education Program Manager, and Jovan Tasevski, Wikimedia MKD Community Manager, who introduced the students to the basic principles of Wikipedia, its structure, the rules for editing and source verification, as well as the technical aspects of content creation. The attendees also had the opportunity to practically get acquainted with the process of writing and publishing new articles.

The event was attended by 6 students, who during the training created a total of 9 articles on topics related to their study directions and interests. With this, they took their first step towards becoming active contributors to Wikipedia in Macedonian and in the free knowledge community.

This activity is just the beginning of the continuous cooperation between Wikimedia MKD and the Faculty of Natural Sciences, which aims to encourage students and the academic community to become part of the global movement for free access to information. Additional training and activities are planned in the upcoming period that will deepen this fruitful cooperation.

With initiatives like these, Wikimedia MKD continues to build its network of partners in the education sector and create opportunities for young people to actively contribute to the development of free knowledge in our country.

You can see how it went through the photographic material uploaded on Commons, but also some of the photos are bellow:

Bosa Filipovic giving a lecture
Bosa Filipovic giving a lecture
The students editing on Wikipedia
The students editing on Wikipedia

"Lakes in North America" workshop

As part of the Wikimedia MKD's education program, on November 4, 2025, a workshop on the topic "Lakes in North America" was held with students from the "Kole Nehtenin" High School in Shtip. At the beginning, Bosa Filipović, the educational program manager, spoke and introduced the participants to the encyclopedia itself, how Wikipedia works, what are the benefits of using Wikipedia as a teaching tool and how to properly use Wikipedia as an information source for accurate and verified information.

Then, under the guidance of the coordinator of the Wiki Club in Shtip, Professor Liljana Manova, and with the support of the Wikimedia MKD team, the students began to write articles. The goal of the workshop was to stimulate interest among young people in the world's natural resources, by writing about lakes as important natural ecosystems. The workshop took place in a pleasant and working atmosphere, where the students showed great interest in the topic and actively participated in all parts of the activity.

The workshop was attended by 15 students who learned how to structure an article in an encyclopedic manner and as a result of this activity was the creation of 27 new articles, which contributed to increasing the availability of information about natural resources in the world. The workshop was an opportunity for students to connect their knowledge of geography with practical application in a digital context, but also to develop critical thinking, teamwork and digital culture.

With such activities, Wikimedia MKD continues to build its network of active wiki clubs and support youth participation in the creation of free and open knowledge. The workshop in Shtip once again showed that young people have enormous potential to contribute and enrich the Macedonian language Wikipedia with quality and useful content.

You can see how it went through the photographic material uploaded on Commons, but also some of the photos are bellow:

Bosa Filipovic giving a lecture
Editing on Wikipedia
The students listening a lecture
Editing on Wikipedia
Editing on Wikipedia

Training workshop for students from "Saint Cyril and Metodij" primary school in Veles

On November 4, 2025, a Wikipedia editing training session was organized for students from the Primary School "St. Cyril and Methodius" in Veles. The activity aimed to introduce students to the principles of free knowledge sharing, the importance of reliable sources, and the process of contributing to Wikipedia as one of the world’s largest collaborative platforms.

A total of 17 students from the upper grades participated in the workshop. Through practical exercises, they learned how to create and edit articles, add references, and follow Wikipedia’s content and formatting guidelines. The students demonstrated great enthusiasm and engagement throughout the session.

As a result of the training, 17 new articles were created on the Macedonian-language Wikipedia. The topics covered various fields, including culture, geography, history, and notable figures, reflecting the students’ interests and their communities.

The activity contributed to improving students’ digital literacy, research skills, and understanding of open knowledge. It also encouraged teamwork and critical thinking, as participants collaborated to verify information and ensure accuracy in their writing.

The workshop was successfully completed, achieving its main goals: empowering young students to become active contributors to Wikipedia and promoting the values of free and accessible knowledge for all.

You can see how it went through the photographic material uploaded on Commons, but also some of the photos are bellow:

Editing on Wikipedia
The students
Editing on Wikipedia
Editing on Wikipedia
Editing on Wikipedia

Teachers conference at "Naum Ohridski" primary school in Creshevo, Skopje

On November 5, 2025, Wikimedia MKD organized a teachers’ conference at “Naum Ohridski” Primary School in Creshevo, Skopje, as part of its ongoing educational activities. The aim of the event was to present practical ways of integrating Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects into the teaching process, thereby enhancing students’ digital literacy, critical thinking, and collaborative skills. A total of 20 teachers from the school participated in the event.

The main presentation was delivered by Bosa Filipović, Wikimedia MKD’s Education Program Manager. She introduced the participants to Wikimedia’s mission and vision and explained the structure, principles, and functioning of Wikipedia as a global platform for open knowledge. Filipović demonstrated how teachers can use Wikipedia both as a learning resource and as a tool for developing students’ abilities in research, source evaluation, and responsible online collaboration.

Special attention was given to the importance of verifying sources and identifying reliable information. Filipović also discussed frequent mistakes made by new editors and offered practical advice for improving article quality and accuracy. The teachers expressed great interest in the editing process and in exploring how Wikipedia-based assignments can be integrated into their subjects.

The event concluded with an open discussion where participants shared their experiences, ideas, and potential classroom applications. The conversation highlighted numerous opportunities for using Wikimedia projects to support analytical and critical thinking, as well as to strengthen media and digital literacy among students.

This conference was part of Wikimedia MKD’s broader initiative to promote open and free access to knowledge as a key educational value. The event reaffirmed the organization’s dedication to empowering educators and students to become active contributors to the global community of knowledge sharing.

You can see how it went through the photographic material uploaded on Commons, but also some of the photos are bellow:

Bosa Filipovic giving a lecture
The teachers listening a lecture
The teachers listening a lecture
Bosa Filipovic giving a lecture

Edit a thon "Rivers and lakes"

The edit a thon on the topic "Rivers and Lakes" began on October 6, 2025 and ended on October 26, 2025. This contest aimed to help improve existing and create new articles on the topic "rivers and lakes". Only high school students had the right to participate in the contest. 28 high school students participated in the contest and a total of 112 articles were created.

All articles had to be created in accordance with the principles and rules of Wikipedia, so all articles had to contain sources and employ an encyclopedic style. The articles were reviewed by a jury, which consisted of three Wikipedians. The jury made the final decision on the winners. The jury members reviewed all the articles and scored each one individually with points from 1 to 10. The three winners of the competition are as follows:

First place: Горазд Војнески with 315 points,
Second place: Ritxyql with 182 points,
Third place: Doni12345 with 132 points.

In addition to these prizes, there were also prizes for the best articles for each week individually. The winners of these awards are the following:

First week best article: Doni12345 with the article "Kamel"
Second week best article: Doni12345 with the article "Ejvon"
Third week best article: Doni12345 with the article "Sarasvati"

With this edit a thon, Wikimedia MKD once again confirmed the importance of cooperation between education and digital knowledge. Through such activities, young people become part of the global Wikipedia community and contribute to the development of free knowledge in the Macedonian language. The "Rivers and Lakes" competition showed that enthusiasm, curiosity and the desire to learn can create valuable content that will serve future generations.

Training workshop for students from "St. Kliment Ohridski" primary school in Drachevo, Skopje

On November 6, 2025, a Wikipedia editing training session was held with students from St. Clement of Ohrid Primary School in Dračevo, Skopje. The training was organized as part of the activities of the school’s Wiki Club, under the mentorship of the club coordinator, Nataša Stardelova, and with the support of the Wikimedia MKD team.

During the training, students from grades 7 to 9 learned the basics of editing and contributing to Wikipedia in Macedonian. As a result, they created 11 new articles on the topic “Children’s Books and Authors”, enriching the Macedonian Wikipedia with new and original content on subjects that previously had no coverage in the local language.

The Wiki Club welcomed 9 new members, who joined the community of young editors motivated to contribute to free knowledge. This activity was also part of the school’s celebration of the Month of the Book, promoting literacy, creativity, and digital skills through Wikipedia.

The training was held by Bosa Filipović and Jovan Tasevski from Wikimedia MKD, while the coordination and mentorship were provided by Nataša Stardelova, the school librarian and Wiki Club coordinator. The outcomes included the creation of new content on Macedonian Wikipedia, increased student engagement in digital literacy, and strengthened collaboration between Wikimedia MKD and educational institutions.

You can see how it went through the photographic material uploaded on Commons, but also some of the photos are bellow:

Editing on Wikipedia
Editing on Wikipedia
Editing on Wikipedia
The club coordinator Natasha Stardelova with the students