Education/News/September 2021/Education program in Ukraine is finally back to offline
Education program in Ukraine is finally back to offline!
Author: Hanna Osadchuk, Education & GLAM Manager at Wikimedia Ukraine
Summary: In 2020, our Educational Program was forced to switch to the online-only mode. Training sessions were replaced by webinars, and the exchange of experiences could take place exclusively online. Ukrainian teachers and students also had to switch to distance learning. Now everyone is thirsty for live meetings and events. In August this year, we finally had the opportunity to meet in person during the Wikipedia 20 Forum in Kyiv; the event brought together over 40 participants, including over a dozen educators. In September, we took part in an event with partners to present a joint educational project for Kyiv school students for 2021/2022.
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Wikipedia 20 Forum in Kyiv
In 2021, Wikipedia celebrated its 20th anniversary. This is an important event and an occasion for the Wiki community to look back at the past achievements, reflect on the current state of the Wiki movement, and discuss plans for the future.
To discuss these important topics and to continue the discussions raised at Wikimania 2021, on August 21-22, Wikimedia Ukraine held a forum “20 Years of Wikipedia: Successes and Prospects” in Kyiv. Over 40 people tuned in to discuss the development of the Ukrainian Wiki community and the international Wiki movement.
15 out of 43 forum participants were active participants of the Educational Program or implemented the program in their educational institutions. The event's second day started with presentations on Wikipedia Education Program in Ukraine – its implementation experience, important lessons, and vision for development. Four participants from different parts of Ukraine shared their own stories of how they implement the Education Program. Everyone involved in the discussion appreciated the opportunity to meet old friends and get to know new people.
On September 14th, we had an opportunity to present a new joint project from Wikimedia Ukraine and the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv — the article contest «Wikipedia for young researchers».
Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (also known as Minor Academy of Sciences) is the governmental organization dedicated to engaging school students in research and experimental activities as part of extracurricular education.
During the 2021-22 school year, Wikimedia Ukraine will conduct a series of training sessions for teachers and students to help them understand the rules of Wikipedia and create Wikipedia articles on the topics students cover in the course, of their own research; so together we improve the Ukrainian-language edition of Wikipedia. This project will center on Kyiv-related topics, with participants creating new articles and expanding existing ones. Kyiv is Ukraine's capital and its largest city, so we want to improve its representation on Wikipedia, making the articles more accurate and expansive through this new Education Program partnership.
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