Overview
Programme Education saw important changes in 2023. As mentioned above, we welcomed two new team members to manage Education activities in the second half of the year. Daniela Mor started at 50% in June and now works at 80% as the Education Expert. She is based in Ticino and speaks Italian, Swiss German and English. In August, Daniela was joined by Vivian Epiney, the founder of DicoAdo (a longtime Education partner). Vivian works at 40% and speaks French and English.
Despite transitions within the programme, the team still implemented most of the annual plan. What’s more, not having an Education Lead for half of the year opened up opportunities for collaboration with other programmes and for other team members to advance Education projects. The Community Managers, in particular, stepped up to meet the demand for educational activities and support the new Education team members.
Highlight activity
Media in Piazza
One such collaborative project was the two-day workshop Wikimedia CH offered as part of the Media in Piazza series of events in Ticino. The event series, which is open to all secondary school classes in Italian-speaking Switzerland, brings together organisations and people working in the field of media and digital education. For years, Wikimedia CH has supported the event to advance our objective of making online knowledge more accessible and safer for young people. Past events have seen Wikimedia workshops that teach students ages 12-15 how to find and use information online, how to differentiate information sources and how to responsibly share knowledge.
This year’s theme of “Respect” aligned perfectly with Wikimedia and Wikipedia’s values. In line with the theme, Wikimedia CH offered a workshop on “netiquette” in online communities, including how to debate respectfully in the digital space. Using the five pillars of Wikipedia as a guide, the workshop aimed to translate the principles of neutrality, free and open knowledge, and respect into students’ daily interactions online. Through the workshop, we demonstrated that respecting each other is fundamental to carrying forward one’s ideas, having a constructive discussion and collaborating to improve knowledge.
The workshop was a resounding success, both in terms of impact and collaboration. Around 200 students participated over two days, underscoring how important the topic is for young people. Additionally, from an internal perspective, the workshop represented a deep and successful collaboration between different programmes and team members. While the two new Education Managers helped implement the event, they worked in tandem with the outgoing Education Lead, as well as the Community Manager for Ticino. This was an important step forward as our chapter aims to work in a more cooperative and less siloed manner.
Key programme activities
- Worked on the certification workstream, learning from other chapters about how we might implement it.
- Officially sponsored the EduWiki Conference in Belgrade and gave two speeches about Wikimedia CH’s education strategy and education tools.
- Prepared materials for teachers using Openedu.ch as a knowledge base and set the stage for a more detailed look at the user interface in 2024.
- Collaborated on a project with the Institute of Psychology at the University of Zurich to teach 26 students to improve and expand Wikipedia articles around stereotypes. The project spurred significant engagement and discussion among students and staff, underscoring the interest in this topic.
- Hosted a Wikipedia edit-a-thon with Les sans pagEs to create biographies of women in medicine and biology at the "Gender equity and digital transformation" conference in Lausanne.
- Supported the translation of Wikeys into Italian, German and Swiss German; it is an educational board game for secondary students to understand Wikipedia.
Programme impact
- Following workshops we gave to librarians and teachers in Gland on the online dictionary for kids, DicoAdo, those trained were able to organise and lead workshops themselves. This illustrates our commitment to empowering educators with digital knowledge and tools for the long-term sustainability of our initiatives, even after Wikimedia CH is no longer involved.
- We strengthened our relationship with Wikimedia France, especially around educational projects, setting the stage for increased collaboration going forward.
- Programme Education worked with the new Wikimedia Innovation Lab to advance free online educational platforms, including migrating DicoAdo onto our servers.
- The team carried out all planned Education activities despite transitions among personnel.
- Programme Education successfully collaborated with other programmes on various activities to ensure a more holistic approach to our Education goals.
Looking ahead
In 2024, we will focus on what has been identified as “the missing link” in education: teacher training and lifelong learning. We will do this by strategically promoting the use of Wikimedia projects and specific tools (such as OpenEdu.ch and DicoAdo) in schools and by offering a new certification that enables volunteer trainers to validate their work. We aim to create a more sustainable approach to the concept of “training the trainer” and empower teachers and trainers to use these tools in their classrooms.
To expand our impact, we will look at innovative ways to fund new activities, as well as new partnerships to advance our mission. This includes continuing Programme Education’s close collaboration with Programme Community, especially in French-speaking Switzerland, with several new initiatives. Examples are training librarians on our educational tools for the Semaine des Medias, a project with the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, and a Wikipedia training for students at the Haute Ecole d’Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud. We are also working with Wikimedia France on a candidature for a Wikeys workshop to be included as part of the Ludovia#CH Explorcamp.
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Photo credits
- Bumblebee on a goldenrod flower. Entry in the Wiki Science Competition 2023, a global photo contest. Photo by Lavandulifolia - own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Human looking at the stars during the Perseids. Entry in the Wiki Science Competition 2023, a global photo contest. Photo by By Giles Laurent - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Group photo at the EduWiki Conference 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia. Photo by Bondova devojka - own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Wikeys board game. Photo by IngridThomson - own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- University of Zürich main building as seen from the southwest. Photo by Roland zh - own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.
- DicoAdo mascot holding a magnifying glass. Photo by Myriam Thomas, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- A wildlife photographer in a ghillie suit. Swiss submission to the Wiki Science Competition 2023, a global photo contest. Photo by Giles Laurent - own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Lauterbrunnen. Entry in Wiki Loves Switzerland 2022. Photo by Dini78 - own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.