Wikipedia for Peace Berlin 2017/Results
| Wikipedia for Peace | Participants | Program and Ideas | Article lists | Results |
Here we can collect the outcome of our project. New articles, new pictures, Wiktionary entries, improved articles etc.
Summary[edit]
New articles[edit]
Improved articles[edit]
| Article | Language | Author |
|---|---|---|
| LGBT Migration | German | Earlyspatz |
| Конфликт на юге Саудовской Аравии | Russian | Olgasvolgi |
| BABYMETAL | Russian | Ermolina Polina |
| Dekulakization | Russian | Ermolina Polina |
| Порук, Янис Екабович | Russian | Pterryx |
| Порук, Янис Екабович | Russian | Sergey.chemkaev |
| Премія Нансена | Ukrainian | Sergey.chemkaev |
New pictures[edit]
commons:Category:Wikipedia for Peace 2017 Berlin supported by Wikimedia Deutschland
- Photos
-
Participants of Wikipedia for Peace Berlin 2017 Brandenburg Gate. -
Kitchen Hub of Über den Tellerand in Berlin. -
Participants of Wikipedia for Peace Berlin 2017 on the rooftop of Sharehouse Refugio in Berlin. -
Participants of Wikipedia for Peace Berlin 2017 on the rooftop of Sharehouse Refugio in Berlin. -
Participants of Wikipedia for Peace Berlin 2017 on the rooftop of Sharehouse Refugio in Berlin. -
Participants of Wikipedia for Peace Berlin 2017 on the rooftop of Sharehouse Refugio in Berlin. -
Participants of Wikipedia for Peace Berlin 2017 on the rooftop of Sharehouse Refugio in Berlin. -
Participants of Wikipedia for Peace Berlin 2017 on the rooftop of Sharehouse Refugio in Berlin. -
Roof-top terrace of Sharehouse Refugio in Berlin.
Statistics[edit]
| Date | New articles (absolute / % change from prior day) |
|---|---|
| July 6 | 5
|
| July 7 | 6(+1 / +20 %)
|
| July 8 | 40(+34 / +566 %)
|
| July 10 | 66(+26 / +65 %)
|
| July 11 | 89(+23 / +35%)
|
| July 12 | 91(+2)
|
| July 17 | 131
|
Final score: 131 new articles in 14 languages by 17 authors
Media reports[edit]
User Contributions[edit]
Camp diary[edit]
July 4th[edit]
We arrived at our accommodation, Mennonitisches Friedenszentrum, on July the 4th. Some participants arrived earlier in the day, some came in the afternoon, and others even arrived the day before. After everybody got settled in the rooms, we said hello to each other and shared some delicious cheese cake in the garden and played various getting-to-know-each-other games. We all struggled with the pronunciation of each other's names, and it quickly became clear that the group was very diverse, with participants from 13 countries: Australia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Russia, South-Sudan, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, USA and Vietnam. After dinner everybody was quite tired from the travel and we went early to bed. --Kirkeboeg (talk) 17:30, 8 July 2017 (UTC)
July 5th[edit]
It was a nice morning actually, before it started raining. My friends were really sporty. When I was working out, I saw Olga first and then Jakob jogging outside. Then to the breakfast. We still had cakes and lots of strawberries for everyone. Also, this is the first time I tried Western milk coffee. Later that morning, we were introduced about our accommodation - the Mennoheim - and got to know about the religion status of it. In the afternoon, we all set off to Brandenburg Gate by train. It was a big, clean, modern square with a big gate, riding-taxies, horses and carts, and a Starbucks. At 4, we divided into 2 groups, one went to see Holocaust exhibition nearby, the other went to some tourist attractions elsewhere. I personally had had a much clearer picture about Holocaust, concentration camps, Jewish massacre. Later we went to a real Moroccan restaurant, had a delicious and fancy dinner there. When we were going home, Khanh did not manage to get on to the last train, so Sergey had to get back to pick him up. In short, it was a productive day. --Khanh.tran0201 05.07.2017
July 6th[edit]
Today we began by visiting the Wikemedia Berlin headquarters. We were taken on a tour of the offices by Martin Rulsch and met many of the staff. They explained the roles of the various teams. We learned some of the history, that Wikipedia was founded in 2001, and Wikimedia in 2003. The Wikemedia foundation is the organization that supports all the programs with funding, tech support, etc. Martin has been a Wikipedian for 12 years,and recently has become Community Manager for Wikimedia Berlin. He is also the primary contact for volunteers.
We went to a restaurant for lunch, joined by Maria Heuschkel, who works in Community Support with Martin. It was a delicious lunch, with choices ranging from pizza to spaghetti bolognese to spaetzle with cheese. (German mac and cheese, as Maria described it.)
In the afternoon, we headed over to WikiBär, a community space for Wikepedians. We watched a tutorial about how to write for Wikipedia, and began to write and edit entries. We made and ate a wonderful dinner in the garden there. Afterwards, Martin and the other Wikipedians there invited us to join them for sushi.
Back home after a full and productive day. --Joliss 07.07.2017
July 7th[edit]
After breakfast, we went to Über den Tellerrand, an organization that works toward fostering relationships between Berliners and newcomers. It began with food related programs, as food is a way of connecting people. The name of the organization translates literally as "Over the Edge of the Plate." It is a German expression that means going beyond one's horizons. They offer cooking classes, sports activities, language practice, calligraphy classes, and many other programs. Most are free, run by volunteers, and open to anyone interested. We will be going to one of their community dinners next week.
We returned home for lunch. In the afternoon we were taken on a tour of the Kreuksberg part of the city by Achmed, a tour guide with an organization called querstadstein, http://querstadtein.org/en/. They offer tours run by refugees, and by homeless people, showing their perspectives and experiences on life in Berlin. We spent an informative two hours with him, while he showed us places like a cafe that is a gathering place for Syrians, and told us about his journey from Syria to Germany, and played a game with us trying to recognize Arabic signs in the neighborhood.
We ended the day at Refugio, a building that houses the offices of querstadstein and a number of other organizations. There is a cafe on the ground floor, rooms for 40 people, half refugees, half not, wwho live in a community with shared kitchens and living room space. The roof level is a gatherine room and rooftop garden with many flowering plants and a number of berry bushes. Delightful. We spoke with a woman who lives there, had some tea, and sat out an impressive thunderstorm, relaxing on middle eastern style couches and cushions.
Back home for a late dinner and bed for most of us, out to a bar for a few. --Joliss 07.07.2017
July 8th[edit]
This was a really productive day for us. After breakfast we sat together and started translating articles. By the end of the workshop total count for translated and newly written articles were 40. At the evening Jakob and Khan played some guitar for us, we hung out in the living room a bit longer but being tired from all the work we have done many of us went to bed relatively early.
July 9th[edit]
Today was the free day that a lot of people used to sleep for a very long time. Others decided to visit different museums in Berlin. Arkun23, Martin and Sergii went to Potsdam to visit Sans Souci. Khan even went to Hamburg to visit another city in Germany. At the evening some people had dinner from the cook Earlyspatz. We talked for a long time and laughed a lot. --Earlyspatztalk 04:10, 11 July 2017 (UTC)
July 10th[edit]
Waking up today was a arduous task for me, due to being at Hamburg for whole Weekend. At 10am, we had a guest - Mrs. Martina Basso. She talked about Menno-where-we-lived, the organization, its missions and vision. Later, each of the participants had chance to talk about oneself. We didn't go out; instead, writing articles took most of the time. In the late evening, we gathered around the living room and played some games. For me, I think we were being a lil' bit closer together.--Khanh.tran0201 (talk) 07:48, 11 July 2017 (UTC)
July 11th[edit]
We had a full, and fullfillling day. It began, after breakfast, with Cecilia making a presentaton about her work with Guatemalan refugees on the Mexico/Guatemala border.
I think Ceci was very brave to do the first presentation, and it was very moving. She started with a short piece she had produced with a friend, Carolina, to explain the significance of the Day of the Dead. She had painted half her face a skeletal white, that added to the poetic quality of her film piece. And then she spoke about her experiences in Guatemala, quoting from some of the people she met.Her quite manner just served to make her presentation more moving and powerfu.
After a delicious lunch of omelettes and rice cooked by today’s cooking team, we went off to visit the social service agency Café, Kuchus which works with lgbt refugees. The co-director of the agency, a gay German man, told us about the various services the agency provides, including legal help, counseling, and a shelter that is home to over 100 gay, trans, intersex people. And also, about the complicated issues people face, including discrimination and even violence here that they didn’t expect, dealing with depression, the tensions of having to deal with people from their own cultures who don’t understand or respect their life styles, etc. They have a three year non governmental grant that has one more year to go. He is very optimistic about securing more funding, partly because the government has become very positively impressed by what the program does and now refers people in need of services to them. The other co director is a man who came here as a refugee, and so knows first hand the kind of issues people face, and speaks Arabic, the language many refugees speak. I had a lot of questions, and was worried that I was monopolizing the conversation too much. But a few people in the group thanked me later because they didn’t feel able to ask many questions, mostly because of the language, I think. Then, he introduced another young man, Michael, to also speak with us. He was a refugee from Georgia (the country, not the state) who has been here for several years. He was very open about his situation, saying that he had suffered from depression both at home and since he arrived it Germany, where he had been attacked and beaten. Now he has a oyfriend here, from Yemen, and a place to live, and is studying German. He spoke very good English, which he told me he had basically taught himself. He plans to learn enough German to go to school here. Ideally he’d like to study psychology, which he has always been interested in and had studied in Georgia. But one has to have extremely high grades, so he is now thinking of geography. I asked about his family situation, if they accepted and supported his being gay. He said that his father did not approve, and they didn’t get along. He knew his mother and his sister were okay with things, but could not openly go against his father. Now, his father has died, and so he was never able to reconcile with him. But he is working on improving his relationship with his mother and his sister, who is four years older. I was so touched by his story and his willingness to be open with us, a group of strangers, and went up to tell him so afterwards. I was in tears, so touched by his openness, and so was sniffling afterwards, causing a number of people in the group to ask me what was wrong. I assured them I was okay and tried to explain.
Later, we decided to go on the free city tour that we missed the other day because we were 10 minutes later for our reservation Their approach is to make the tour free, but ask for tips. I think that’s a fine way to do it.We were split into two grouop, because they try not to have a large number of people form the same group together. The reason is a practical one that they were open about -that a large group together doesn’t tip as well. Fair enough. Our group gave each of the two guides 40 euros, and then many of us gave them additional tips as well. Plus there were another dozen or so people in each of our groups, so I think they made out pretty well.
Our guide was a woman who sounded almost American, but I wasn’t entirely sure. I thought she might have been from another country but spent a lot of time in the U.S. Turns out she was half American, half Scottish, and had grown up partly in Chicago, partly in Scotland. Her name was Kyle, which she said her parents had named her because they wanted a boy!
The tour was a full three hours, with a little break for coffee and pastry. We had a choice of Starbucks, or a smaller German bakery/café across the street. I had no desire to go to Starbucks. Half our group went to each place.
Kyle was full of information and spoke at length about the history of Germany, Berlin before and after the war, the Wall, etc.
Tonight we are having a Vietnamese meal cooked by Khan/Brian, who we are mostly calling Khan despite his initial efforts to be Brian. It’s 9:45, but that’s ok, we've been eating meals fairly late. --Joliss
July 12th[edit]
Our day began with Wikidata Workshop with Lea Lacroix. It was very interesting to get knowledge about Wiki tools and we also tested some games of Wikidata. The journalist from Tagesspiegel newspaper also presented at that session, she interviewed some of the participants, took photographs which will be published soon. Then we continued writing articles and for lunch we prepared food from Vietnam. When for dinner we tried Spanish cuisine,it was really delicious. Waiting for tomorrow activities! --Joliss
July 13th[edit]
In the morning we had very productive session of writing Wikipedia articles. Later Viola gave a touching presentation about the conflict in South Sudan and shared her personal experiences. After that we went to R0G agency and we were introduced to their work in South Sudan and #DefyHateNow project, which is mobilising civic action against social media hate speech in South Sudan. Then we had the chance to talk with the agency staff and enjoy the very delicious meal they prepared. It was a very interesting and inspiring evening. --Kirkeboeg (talk) 15:36, 17 July 2017 (UTC)
July 14th[edit]
Today User:MB-One gave a workshop on Wikimedia commons, which is were all photos but also videos and audio files that are used in the Wikiprojects are stored. He explained the legal licensing of the wikiprojects but also how you can upload files and what you have to keep in mind while uploading the files. After that we took a photo tour focusing on the neighbourgh hoods Lichterfelde-West (where Earlyspatzs family is from), Lichterfelde- Ost (where the Mennoheim is) and Lankwitz. We took photos of monuments and Stolpersteine, which is the largest decentralized memorial in the world commemorating the victims of the Nazi persecution. The tour took about 2-3 hours and everyone was very tired afterwards. So we decided to have the evening free. --Earlyspatztalk 17:12, 19 July 2017 (UTC)
July 15th[edit]
We woke up and early attended the presentation about Russia and Latvia and their relationship with refugees by Larissa and Polina. They have a very interesting project where people write down stories of people that were locked up in GULAGS or persecuted during the Soviet repression. Polinas great grandfather was a wealthy farmer. Under communism those farmers who had acquired wealth by being better at producing food then their competitors where seen as "Kulak" which means tight fist (because of their grip on the money). They were seen as oppressors and capitalists. All of their belongings were taken from them and they were send to Siberia where a lot of them froze to death. Additionally famine was caused by this as the productive farmers couldn't produce the necessary food anymore. Larisa talked about how her jewish ancestors were persecuted during the Nazi aera but also during the Soviet Union. Additionally her ancestors were also persecuted under communism for being too wealthy. Larisa and friends of her are publishing short stories in a book and illustrations about the era of persecution under communism. A very impressive picture was the comparison of a Hitler poster with a Stalin poster that looked identical. Showing that both system are and were just as dangerous as the other. Further more Russia is becoming a dictatorship and is not a democracy anymore. It was stated that Russians are becoming more nationalistic because they feel threatened by NATO. Larisa and Polina are also conducting a study on the political opinions of people throughout Russia and used their stay in Berlin to also interview people here. In both cases people saw communism as a bad word. And people saw ideal leaders in Trudeau or Merkel.
After that, Leonardo, from SCI came and was ready to start a workshop. First of all we went outside to the garden, where we played some games to get to know each other better, and also a tricky game that put some questions into our mind. Leonardo explained a story about his country, using specifical words that are usually targeted as describing African countries and by groups we had to try and discover which country it was. To most of us it was a surprise: the country was Germany. We discussed about how most of us thought that it had to be an african country, because we heard the words "tribes", "skulls", not having TV or telephones in some places until 1990 or having different dialects and conflicts. After this game we ate Vietnamese lunch prepared by Khanh and his team. The topic of the workshop was centered on the idea that we can not base what we do, what we write about, what we explain to others,... just on a single story. We were inspired by a TED Talk of the nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi, who showed how she discovered that people form single stories in their minds, trying to explain facts with just one side of the story, which, as she says, is not untrue, but incomplete. She explains in the talk how she never used to identify herself as "African", as well as maybe people from Switzerland don't identify themselves with just being "europeans", but when she went to study in the United States she saw how people saw her, just reducing her to the broad adjective "African" and subsequently relating her to all the ways the media sells us the image of Africa. We need more sides of the story to have a 360º tour and be able to expand our knowledge, without reducing people to just one thing; dignifying them. After the workshop, we went to visit Über den Tellerrand again and ironically, we attended their "African dinner". It was really interesting to see how they cooked, all the community together, and how they let people from outside engage, help and participate in the process, encouraging the intercultural exchange as well as reinforcing the idea of integration and inclusion. We ate there after assisting to the cooking explanation, and some of us helped also by chopping onions, cutting potatoes... and it was really delicious.
Then we went to Loesje, an organization that's centered on intercultural exchange, by doing some activites and courses. We were introduced to Arabic Dances and everyone got to show some special dance or song from their country.--Joliss
July 16th[edit]
We begun today with the Mennonite Sunday service. It began at 10am, but the congregants started arriving at about 930Jam. There are several pastors who take turns doing the service. The pastor today was Joel. There were about equal numbers of members of the congregation and us from the project. As Joel's wife explained later, there are more members, but during the summer the attendance is lower, as many, especially the families with children, go away on vacation. Judith was there with their newborn daughter, and their three year old, Salome. Joel conducted the service alternating between German and English. We sang songs, some singing in English, the others in German, at the same time, which was quite nice.At the very end, little Salome shouted out something. Discovered later that it was " the service is over" which I guess she was happy about. The pianist concluded with Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, which many people seemed to know. Khanh knew the words.
The sermon was also quiet interesting. It concerned the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, which is the number one story focusing on hospitality in the bible. Sodom and Gomorrah is the story of a city full of wicked and vile people. A city full of sin. It is the story of how to visitors come to the city and Lod takes them in, shares his house with them and tells them that they can feel at home. The men of the city though knock on his door and demand that he should take them outside so they can rape them. Lod then offers his daughters to be raped instead of them. From the standpoint of a woman obviously a horrible story. I (Earlyspatz) was quiet frightened that the advice of the preacher would be to sacrifice oneself and ones own family in order to be hospitable to guests. Luckily I was wrong. The story end in the two guests turning out to be angels send from god. They tell Lod to take his daughters and his family away as they have come to destroy the city. And at the end the moral of the story in twofold: Sodom and Gomorrah is destroyed because of the wickedness of it's people. Lod the only person that showed kindness to the angels is spared and the daughters are not hurt. Additionally though our pastor added that Lod is in a situation of stress overwhelmed and becomes evil himself when he offers his daughters to be raped. And our pastor also added that he hoped his daughters would have fought their fathers if the angels hadn't protected them. Additionally he further added that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is often used to condemn homosexuality as the people of the city want to rape the two male guests. But this, he said, is wrong because "we have to protect the weak people and come and seek refuge here and we also have to protect the lgbt community". I thought what a long way my ancestors had to walk and what a fight it must have been from the dark ages, over reformation to enlightenment to arrive at a point in time where you hear in a sunday service at church that lgbt people have to be protected. I thought that it was a great sermon. A great thing also to have it simultaneously in German and English, great content and great music. And I was very proud and thought that it was a good thing that I had told the group to join the service on sunday morning at 10 am.
We had a huge BBQ lunch, organized mostly by Saskia (Earlyspatz), with the congregation and our group together, and a few extra people who joined us. It was quite a feast, with BBQ pork and chicken, and all kinds of salads
Later, we had another workshop with Leo, doing exercises to explore self identity, respect, etc.
The rest of the day was devoted to article writing. It is getting close to the end of the project, and we are trying to write as many articles as possible.
Tomorrow is half a free day, and then in the afternoon we will finish up with article writing, and have a last dinner and a movie.--Joliss
July 17th[edit]
This is the last day before we leave. It was a slow morning with nothing particular on the schedule. Some people decided to sleep in late and relax, while others decided to take a walk around the neighborhood and play frisbee and volleyball in the yard. At 3 PM a journalist presented her work with female refugees but also digital empowerment for poor communities in Brazil. She was also active in providing internet access to refugees. She had read the newspaper article about us online. After the presentation people continued to write articles. Overall we managed to get 131 articles which far exceeded our expectations. People cooked and ate dinner and spend the last evening playing games together. --Joliss
July 18th[edit]
People left the accommodation without any particular problems occuring. We had plenty of food left over which different people that stayed longer in Berlin could take with them.--Earlyspatztalk 17:04, 19 July 2017 (UTC)