The Embassy of Sweden in collaboration with the Unisa department of English Studies and WikimediaZA to host Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon event that aims to increase South African women representation on the online Wikipedia Encyclopaedia
Pretoria: The Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria in collaboration with the Unisa department of English Studies and WikimediaZA is proud to announce the #HerStory Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon taking place on the 29th of July 2017 from 9:00 to 13:00 at the Unisa Muckleneuk Campus, Theo van Wijk Building, Floor 7, Room 7-68. The Embassy is inviting a group of individuals to write and contribute to a Wikipedia edit-a-thon, themed around South African women – it will begin with an explanation of the day’s main objective: to rectify the imbalance on Wikipedia’s well-documented gender gap by improving, however incrementally, its coverage of women in business, arts, academia and so on. Participation in the #HerStory Wikipedia Edit-A-thon is open and free to the public. Limited slots are available and registration can be made online at [herstory.hearmyvoice.co.za]. Refreshments will be provided. The University of South Africa’s Digital Teaching Laboratory (DTL) in the Department of Communication Science have afforded the event an opportunity to reach a broader audience by making use of livestream technology [livestream.hearmyvoice.co.za].
“An Edit-a-thon is a community organized event that aims to teach people how to edit, update, and add articles on Wikipedia. It also serves as a way to increase content on the platform.”
Wikipedia is one of the most visited sites in the world. The aim of this edit-a-thon is to increase the contribution and representation of women, particularly South African women on the online encyclopaedia. Information on Wikipedia and many other platforms is often prejudiced and contributes towards biases that affect women, this subsequently leads to misrepresentation of women. About 91% of editors on Wikipedia are men and there are about four times as many articles about men compared to women.
The event will begin with an explanation of the day’s main objective: to rectify the imbalance on Wikipedia’s well-documented gender gap by improving, however incrementally, its coverage of women in business, arts, academia and so on. A Wikipedia expert from WikimediaZA will be on hand to facilitate a brief session to help write, edit and contribute on Wikipedia- therefore, no prior Wikipedia entry experience is required. The University of South Africa’s Department of English Studies have also come on board to provide research librarians to help gather information, reference material and online resources in order to supplement the work.
Event Details
#HerStory Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon
Date: 29 July 2017
Venue: Unisa Muckleneuk Campus, Theo van Wijk Building, Floor 7, Room 7- 68
Time: 9am – 1pm
RSVP: herstory.hearmyvoice.co.za
Livestream: livestream.hearmyvoice.co.za
The #HerStory Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon is brought to you by The Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria in partnership with WikimediaZA, the University of South Africa’s department of English studies and Department of Communication Science
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Media Contacts:
Ishmael Sibiya || 072 781 7689 || phiziks@gmail.com
Phomolo Sekamotho || 084 452 2945 || psflexibility@gmail.com
Embassy of Sweden Contact:
Hedda Krausz Sjögren || +27 12 426 64 00 || hedda.krausz@gov.se
André Mkandawire || +27 12 426 64 43 || andre.mkandawire@gov.se
Unisa Contact
Claudia CJ Fratini || +27 12 429 3241 || fraticcj@unisa.ac.za
