CEE/Newsletter/Newsroom/Summer Wikicamps in Armenia
Wikicamps are considered to be one of the most efficient and motivating projects for the Armenian Wikimedia community. Wikimedia Armenia has been organizing Wikicamps since 2013. Generations have passed through Armenian Wikicamps and they always remember the camps with the warmest memories. This year Wikimedia Armenia organized two summer Wikicamps: one for teenagers in July and the other for the youth in August. Though the article cannot pass on all the hard work and fun of the Wikicamps but it will give an insight into the days Armenian community members spend in camps.
Teens’ Summer Wikicamp
On July 7-14, Teens’ Summer Wikicamp took place in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia. 45 teenagers aged 13-17 participated in this Wikicamp. The selection of the participants was done based on their active contributions to Wikimedia projects and the quality of created and improved articles within the previous one year.
The campers were separated into 5 groups of 9 people each which were competing with each other by wiki edits, sports activities, intellectual games and cultural events. Within the seven days of the Wikicamp participants translated and created 588 articles with a volume of 8,694,616 bytes. Based on edits (both quality and quantity) the best editor and the best group were determined and they received awards and certificates from Wikimedia Armenia.
During the Wikicamp, participants competed in various sports, played the “Brain Ring” intellectual game and the best-loved “Fort Wiki” multi staged game. On the last day of the Wikicamp a theatrical performance was staged during which the groups prepared performances picturing the cultures and traditions of different countries. After the closing ceremony campers gathered around a bonfire, sang songs and had a lot of fun.
Youth Summer Wikicamp
On August 11-18, the Youth Summer Wikicamp 2024 was held in Tsaghkadzor, in which 46 young individuals aged 18-35 took part. 22 of them were experienced editors, whose selection was made after the Youth Winter Wikicamp 2024 based on the combination of their activity on Armenian Wikipedia and the quality of the articles they created. The other 24 participants were newcomers who were selected after the training sessions which were held at Wikimedia Armenia’ office, as well as Wikiclubs; those who actively participated and created quality articles were selected as participants of the Summer Youth Wikicamp.
The participants of the Wikicamp were divided into 4 groups of 11-12 people, which competed with each other not only in editing Wikipedia, but also in sports, intellectual games and cultural events. During the 7 days of the camp, the participants translated 461 articles from different languages. In total, they contributed 15,594,760 bytes to Armenian Wikipedia. The articles were written from the lists of the vital articles on Wikipedia. As a result of the edits, the best wiki editor, the best new wiki editor and the best team were determined, who received the awards and certificates set by Wikimedia Armenia.
As during the Teens’ Wikicamp, the youth also competed in various sports and played the “Brain-Ring” intellectual game and the multi-staged “Fort Wiki”. In addition to these games, there was a special “Tasty Competition” organized for the participants; the teams presented their cooking skills by preparing a dish with the pre-provided foods, and the dishes were evaluated by the judges.
During the Wikicamp, an excursion was organized to several natural and historical monuments of Armenia - Jukhtak Monastery, Haghartsin, Hidden Waterfall - during which the participants took photos of these historical-architectural and natural monuments in order to later upload those images to the Wikimedia Commons during the "Wiki Loves Monuments" and "Wiki Loves the Earth" photo contests.
Wikicampers also welcomed some guests. The representatives of the "Grkaser" website visited the Wikicamp. The attendees participated in the discussion of the audio book, after which the campers who created articles on literature from the pre-provided lists, were awarded special prizes from the “Grkaser” website and Darak publishing house. The deputy head of the Youth Department of theMi nistry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Armine Petrosyan, visited the Wikicamp. The youth programs and future opportunities of the camp participants were discussed. The guest answered the questions from the audience, then she attended the "Fort Wiki" game.
On the last day of the Wikicamp, a theater performance was held, during which the groups performed their plays using the plots of well-known movies. After the official closing ceremony, the camp participants gathered around the campfire, where they spent several hours singing and networking.
