Wikipedia edit-a-thon training session

This training session is being organised as part of the GenTree Final Conference "Genetics to the rescue - Managing forests sustainably in a changing world"

Leaders: Ewa Hermanowicz (European Forest Genetic Resources Programme, Bonn, Germany) Toni Sant and Enrique Tabone  (WCM, Malta)

Sharing knowledge through Wikipedia is becoming a very effective way to create awareness on less known topics, as many people consult it on a daily basis. This free online encyclopedia is the fifth most popular website in the world with 22 million articles written in 285 languages, available to anyone who has an electronic device connected to internet and created by thousands of volunteers with an open-source software.

As part of the events linked to the conference, in collaboration with Wikimedia Community Malta, we are offering a Wikipedia edit-a-thon session through which you can become a Wikipedia editor and can share your science more widely. It will be a hands-on session: we will edit selected articles together, according to the areas of expertise of the participants.

Session outline:

9:00 am - 10:00 am: General introduction and orientation to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects

10:00 am - 10:45 am: Exploring the subject area/s of interest to the participants in the room

10:45 am - 11:00 am: Coffee break

11:00 am - noon: Preparing to contribute to specific Wikipedia pages and/or wikidata.org and/or Wikimedia Commons

Noon - 1:30 pm: Lunch break

1:30 pm - 3.00 pm: Editing workshop to apply skills and knowledge acquired during morning sessions

The participants are kindly asked to bring a laptop and to set up a Wikipedia account prior to the workshop (we will send instructions).

The maximum capacity of training session if 25 places. We accept registrations on first come-first served basis. Female Wikipedians are only around 13% of the active community, so we encourage women to participate. Students, early stage career and senior scientists are welcome.

More information and registration