Education/News/November 2020/Fifteen years of implementation of the Wikipedia Education Program in Serbia

Fifteen years of implementation of the Wikipedia Education Program in Serbia

Author: Nebojša Ratković

Summary: This year, Wikimedia Serbia celebrates 15 years since the launch of the Wikipedia Education Program in Serbia. So far, more than 70 schools and faculties in Serbia have used Wikipedia in teaching. Serbia was the first country in which the use of Wikipedia began in the school and academic environment, while this project is being implemented worldwide today. During the last school year, more than 1,000 students from all over Serbia participated in the projects of the Educational Program. Together with the celebration of this jubilee, Wikimedia Serbia is organizing an online edit-a-thon for the International Student Day, which will last from 15th to 22nd November.

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This year, Wikimedia Serbia celebrates 15 years since the launch of the Wikipedia Education Program in Serbia. So far, more than 70 schools and faculties in Serbia have used Wikipedia in teaching. Serbia was the first country in which the use of Wikipedia began in the school and academic environment, while this project is being implemented worldwide today. During the last school year, more than 1,000 students from all over Serbia participated in the projects of the Educational Program. Together with the celebration of this jubilee, Wikimedia Serbia is organizing an online edit-a-thon for the International Student Day, which will last from 15th to 22nd November.

The Educational program of Wikimedia Serbia is intended for all educational and scientific institutions in the country and aims to spread free and accessible knowledge, as well as to raise awareness of its importance. The basic vision is to popularize and enrich Wikipedia and related Wiki projects with the new content, in an academic environment. The program consists of a series of projects which are implemented through workshops, seminars, edit-a-thons, etc.

The program has been implemented in Serbia since 2005, and its first mention was at the seminar of the Department of Computer Science and Informatics at the Faculty of Mathematics by Djordje Stakić, one of the founders of Wikimedia Serbia. The main goal of the project is to introduce Wikipedia into the educational system of Serbia by writing papers on given topics from a certain school or faculty subject. This includes introducing students to Wikipedia and the concept of free knowledge, creating seminar papers that will be visible, free, and accessible to all, but also encouraging teachers to use a modern approach to teaching. In addition, Wikimedia Serbia is implementing a program of professional development of teachers, which is accredited by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia.

Social Media channels or hashtags: Wikipedia, Wikimedia Serbia, Education program