Wikimedia Armenia/Reports/2020-05

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2020

May

Wiki Loves Earth

After a six-year break in 2020 May, Wikimedia Armenia joined the “Wiki Loves Earth” annual international photographic competition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 and the state of emergency in Armenia, it was not possible to organize visits to the protected areas of Armenia and take new photos. Wikimedia Armenia asked the contestants to observe the travel restrictions imposed by the government's decision, not to gather together, and to be careful in interpersonal interactions.

There are 232 natural monuments in Armenia, and their lists separated according to the regions of Armenia were initially added on the pages of the competition. To help the contestants, the links to the articles on all the reserves and national parks of Armenia were posted on the competition page. During May, 4848 photos of various objects included in the lists of natural monuments of the Republic of Armenia were uploaded in Wikicommons. In June, all the photos will be filtered, those with explicitly poor quality, without codes and incorrect titles, will be removed, and then they will be presented to the jury for evaluation.

Edit-a-thon dedicated to International Museum Day

May 18 is International Museum Day. According to the established tradition, people visit various museums on the weekend following the Museum Day, which was impossible this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wikimedia Armenia offered to the Wiki community and everyone to make virtual visits on May 17, the day before the International Museum Day, and to spend two days to create articles about museums and museum artifacts.

In two days, 20 members who participated in the edit-a-thon created 25 articles and two lists on museums in the world and museum artifacts.

CEE Spring 2020

This year 43 Wikipedians from Armenia participated in the CEE Spring, annual article writing contest, which took place from March 21 to May 31. Choosing from the articles offered by other countries and also based on their preferences, the participants wrote articles on 20 topics and 35 countries. Overall, 1122 articles were written by Armenian Wikipedians during the contest.

One of the Armenian participants wrote more than 200 (234) articles and two others wrote more than 100 articles (196 and 134 respectively). Armenian Wikipedians also wrote articles about women: 178 such articles were created. The most articles on this topic were written by one participant - 61 articles.

The largest article was 338,236 bytes, and the total size of all articles was 12,594,405 bytes.

WikiTeam 1+3

In May 2020, Wikimedia Armenia initiated a new project in Armenian Wikipedia called “WikiTeam 1+3”. The purpose of the competition is the wiki editors’ teamwork. Participants had to form teams consisting of both new and experienced editors and create articles together. Thanks to the teamwork, 3 to 4 editors worked on each article, which makes the editing process even more interesting and effective. One of the members of the team of 3-4 people is the captain of the team, who is also the "teacher" of the beginner editors. The captain is responsible for the work of the teams and keeps in touch with the organizing team of the competition. During the competition, the teams were provided with a list of 25,000 articles that were missing in Armenian Wikipedia. The articles were chosen from the 50,000 most important articles in the English Wikipedia.

In the first stage of the competition, we posted an announcement about the competition, the editors were introduced to the rules of the competition, and they were given some time to form teams. A day before the start of the second stage, the organizing team had a video call with the captains of 27 teams, with whom the procedure of the competition was discussed. The major factors of the competition are:

• the quality of the articles
• the involvement of each team member
• teamwork on each article
• beginner editors in the teams
• the size of contributions

There are also competition nominations:

• the best team (two teams according to age groups)
• the best article
• the best editor
• the best team captain

The second stage of the competition started on May 10 and lasted until May 25. During that time, the already formed 27 teams created articles competing with each other. Meanwhile, the captains of the teams had three video calls with the organizing team and discussed the issues related to the competition. During the last video call on May 24, the details of the third stage of the competition were presented to the teams. The third stage started on May 25, during which the contestants did not create new articles, but checked their articles and corrected their mistakes. The third stage ended on May 31, during which the quality of the articles significantly improved. The fourth stage of the competition started on June 1, during which the organizing team will evaluate the articles according to different criteria (spelling, translation, wikification (with the help of Wikiclub coordinators), teamwork, volume, etc.), as a result of which the winners of the competition will be decided.

Overall, 27 teams took part in the "Wikimedia 1+3" contest with a total of 105 participants, 30 of whom are new editors. During the competition, 420 articles were created making a total of 15,580,264 bytes contribution in Armenian Wikipedia. The competition was received with great enthusiasm by the community, especially the participants. In fact, it is obvious while looking at the large number of participants; the investments made in a short time represent the effectiveness of the competition in the development of the Armenian Wikipedia.

“Journey to Nakhijevan” project

The "Journey to Nakhijevan" project took place in the Armenian Wikipedia from April 15 to May 31. The aim of the project is to develop the topic of the Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic on the Armenian Wikipedia. About 157 articles were created and improved by 7 editors who used exceptional books for this purpose. Some of the articles are very important from the historical-cultural point of view. This project is also exceptional because the articles are created not by translating from other-language editions of Wikipedia, but on the basis of specially selected valuable literature.

Online seminar on Legal awareness

On May 10, an online seminar on Legal awareness for members of the organization was organized by Norayr Baghdasaryan, an active member of the organization. Overall, 25 people participated in the seminar. Within the framework of Wikimedia Armenia, such initiatives are going to be continuous and they are aimed at the development of the wiki community.

Video calls with the WikiClubs

During the month of May, employees of Wikimedia Armenia Arthur Khumaryan and Davit Sargsyan together with Susanna Mkrtchyan, the president of the organization, had a video call with the members of 12 WikiClubs. During the video call, each of the club members presented their activities in the WikiClub and on different wiki platforms, as well as the changes related to their new workstyle in the current pandemic situation. The participants of the video call were presented in detail the organization's work in the new situation and as well as the implementation of new projects and the ongoing projects ("WikiTeam 1+3", "Saturday Workshop", "Wiki Loves Earth").

The organizers of the video call talked to the club members about the steps needed for the further development of the clubs, and how to attract new participants to join the clubs. A part of the call was dedicated to Wikipedia and its importance not only for editors but also for readers. The video calls were very effective, and through it, the club members were given the opportunity to ask their questions. A total of 143 club members took part in the video calls.

WikiClubs’ report

In April 2020, Wikiclubs participated in many projects on the Armenian Wikipedia. The club members took part in "CEE spring 2020", "Wiki Loves Earth 2020", "WikiTeam 1+3", "One article per week" and other projects. Wikiclubs continue to work online, and workshops are done via video calls. In May, the clubs had a video call with the staff of Wikimedia Armenia and Susanna Mkrtchyan, the President of Wikimedia Armenia. Ten new members joined the Wikiclubs this month. During the month, the club members were quite active on various wiki platforms, which is reflected in the statistics.

On May 1, Labor Day, the Alaverdi Wikiclub once again had the opportunity to emphasize that volunteering is also a very important job. In this regard, an interesting article has been created (Wiki grandmothers) about people for whom age is not an obstacle to learning something new and doing community service. That article received a great response, it was also shared in the Facebook and MetaWiki groups of the Bashkir wiki grandmothers. On May 15, International Family Day, the Alaverdi Wikiclub created a joint article on Persian Language Day, which was celebrated on the same day. May 29 is the holiday of those who carry out a peacekeeping mission under the UN flag. The next joint article of the club is about that holiday. In May, the coordinator of the Alaverdi Wikiclub Narine Muradyan created the article called "WikiClubs".

During the month the Hatsik Wikiclub members discussed a very interesting and educational bestseller by Spencer Johnson called "Who Moved My Cheese?", after which the club members created an article about Spencer Johnson.

In May, the members of Goris Wikiclub held a video call with Armine Hovhannisyan, an employee of the Kapan Yerkrapah Museum, who participated in the "Wiki LovesEarth" international photographic competition and uploaded about 150 photos. The Karvachar and Alaverdi Wikiclubs participated in the Edit-a-thon dedicated to International Museum Day.

Saturday workshops

In May 2020, Wikimedia Armenia continued to conduct online Saturday workshops every week, in which both experienced editors and newcomers took an active part.

Remote Saturday workshops took place on May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. The workshops were conducted with two groups, the first was prepared for experienced editors and the second one for beginner editors.

For each Saturday workshop, a topic was prepared for the first group which was meant for providing more in-depth information and knowledge for the experienced editors. The topics were both about the materials necessary for Wikipedia and other Wiki projects, which are very relevant at the moment, as well as about the projects being implemented in Wikimedia Armenia. During the month of May, the participants were introduced to the topic of references and Wikidata. Moreover, during the workshops, the "Wiki Loves Earth" and "WikiTeam 1 + 3" contests were presented. During the month of May, 74 participants took part in the workshops organized for experienced wiki editors.

The second part of the workshop is organized for new editors. During workshops, the new editors gain the necessary knowledge for editing on Wikipedia through theoretical and practical lessons. During the month of May, 28 newcomers took part in the workshops organized for this group.

Overall, 102 people participated in the online Saturday workshops during the month of May.

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Newsletter articles

This month Wikimedia Armenia has submitted one article in the Educational Newsletter of Wikimedia Foundation. The article Wikipedia as a career counseling tool for teenagers prepared by Tamara Grigoryan from Karvachar WikiClub represents the impact of Wikiprojects on Wikiclubs' members on the way of choosing their future career.

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)	12	121976	396944	-26654	45	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alaverdi Wikiclub	34	13000	2953369	-85808	1520	154	3744	-226	119	3	0	-34	1	0	1	0
Arevatsag Wikiclub	67	960	968882	-10696	822	85	0	0	0	0	23604	-72	13	9	9	0
Gyumri Wikiclub (KASA)	79	121976	165872	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Goris Wikiclub	21	20300	635393	-54700	677	50	0	0	0	0	2762	-17	5	1	5	0
Ddmashen Wikiclub	24	2876	3475932	-62831	2897	139	0	0	0	0	3647	0	1	1	1	0
Lernapat Wikiclub	74	2279	6241127	-235143	1640	127	944	-43	4	0	106734	-3	49	39	47	0
Koghb Wikiclub	34	5300	930475	-7163	520	75	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hatsik Wikiclub	21	1044	1722265	-14376	707	130	66733	-387	264	145	8156	-8	18	3	5	13
Mrgavan Wikiclub	61	1725	1444217	-19928	600	74	1	0	1	0	3288	0	2	1	2	0
Spitak Wikiclub	42	13000	245927	-3076	116	17	0	0	0	0	207534	-5106	307	64	54	231
Stepanakert Wikiclub	24	55200	1810742	-22801	687	80	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vanashen Wikiclub	49	2573	8993	-12	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vardenik Wikiclub	68	9880	170429	-220314	601	23	5	-5	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Togh Wikiclub	39	700	101490	-4967	35	20	0	0	0	0	112250	-5539	95	28	46	49
Karvachar Wikiclub	33	500	1090575	-28169	409	164	211	-351	11	1	77095	-102	46	27	31	0
Aygedzor Wikiclub	7	2608	6087	-37	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Archis Wikiclub	11	1109	427686	-2023	238	34	0	0	0	0	5557	0	2	2	1	0
Berd Wikiclub	25	7800	150440	-58	108	16	0	0	0	0	3872	0	9	0	2	2
Gandzakar Wikiclub	6	3656	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gosh Wikiclub	14	1218	26155	-340	13	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Lusahovit Wikiclub	13	390	83179	-1761	73	8	0	0	0	0	49815	-233	38	15	2	21
Kirants Wikiclub	12	298	18154	-139	16	3	0	0	0	0	8387	-472	8	3	5	0
Noyemberyan Wikiclub (2-nd school)	15	5000	310565	-2792	204	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Noyemberyan Wikiclub (high school)	16	5000	265008	-9624	183	45	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sarigyugh Wikiclub	7	1253	18138	-1	12	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Verin Karmiraghbyur Wikiclub	8	1837	344771	-1430	80	47	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	816	403458	24012815	-814843	12216	1326	71638	-1012	402	149	612701	-11586	594	193	211	316