[Wikimedia-l] NEW Instructional website for Arabic WP editors and writers!
Dear all, I am writing to share some good news! After two years of brainstorming and planning, our instructional website in Arabic is out! This is yet another step for Wikimedia Israel in developing instructional tools. We’re thrilled to introduce Wiki Warsha ويكي ورشة <http://wikiwarsha.org/>! Wikiwarsha.org <http://wikiwarsha.org/> is a multimedia instructional website designed to introduce Wikipedia to Arabic readers, to invite new editors to write and edit content on Arabic Wikipedia, to assist teachers in school activities, and instructors in editing workshops. Warsha is the Arabic word for ‘workshop’, the website includes short instructional films, texts and images and is divided into 13 informative and instructional lessons: - Wikipedia homepage structure - About Wikipedia articles - Create account - Sign in to a registered account - Create a userpage - Create a new article - Edit an article - Formatting the article - Request edits approval on Arabic Wikipedia - Adding image - Adding internal and external links - Adding references - Adding categories In addition to those lessons, the website contains informative sections about copyright issues, FAQs, good article criteria, and talk pages, all in order to facilitate understanding how Wikipedia communities function. For further details and info: war...@wikimedia.org.il Michal Lester Bekriah Mawasi [[user: bks-WMIL]] Michal Lester Executive Director Wikimedia Israel ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Agreement Reached Between Wikimedia Israel and Israeli Archives
Hello all, I'm happy to share with you that last Monday, nearly four months after Wikimedia Israel’s extraction of nearly 28-thousand public-domain photographs <http://wikimedia.org.il/image-mining-project/> from archives affiliated with the State of Israel and the Zionist movement, an agreement was finally reached to reconcile the differences between the parties and to assure future cooperation. The archives from which the photographs had been extracted last November questioned the legitimacy of Wikimedia Israel’s move and demanded an apology for the misuse of their websites. They agreed, on the other hand, to enhance access to public-domain material stored in their archives and to further cooperation with Wikimedia Israel. Following the agreement, Wikimedia Israel released a statement saying it “regrets the situation that has resulted from lack of communication between the archives and Wikimedia Israel”. The statement further says that “different world-views and organizational cultures harmed the dialogue and distorted the understanding of the intentions of the archives and of Wikimedia Israel”. The statement ends by saying that “this is not how the affairs should have been conducted, and we wish to apologize to anyone who sees themselves offended by the move”. The agreement calls for better access to public material, while maintaining better sensitivity, and “respecting the rights of those who deposited the material and the Israeli law”. In addition, Wikimedia Israel offered its help in the effort to digitalize the material and make it more accessible. This should serve not only Israelis, but also people throughout the Middle East, who could find interest in historical photographs taken decades ago in neighboring countries and territories. I hope that in the near future this agreement will lead to a better collaboration and releasing of materials. Michal *Michal Lester,* *Executive DirectorWikimedia Israel* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Developing instructional material for Wikidata Query Service
Dear all, One recurring phenomenon we encounter when we present Wikidata to various audiences, is the enthusiasm with they react to the Wikidata Query Service, and the possibilities it offers for extracting specific information from the vast network of linked and structured data contained in Wikidata. This enthusiasm is not surprising, as the query feature of Wikidata is quite unique within the landscape of information services available today. The Wikidata Query Service is powered by SPARQL – a semantic query language for databases. Unfortunately, for users who are new to Wikimedia platforms, there is currently little instructional material on how to learn SPARQL for use in Wikidata. At Wikimedia Israel we believe that a user-friendly tutorial to Queries/SPARQL will attract new users to engage with Wikidata and help build a community around the project. In recent years, Wikimedia Israel has developed online instructional materials, such as the Wikipedia courseware and the guide for creating encyclopedic content. We plan to use our experience in this field, and in collaboration with Wikimedia Deutschland, we intend to develop a website with a step-by-step tutorial to learn how to use the Wikidata Query Service. The instructional material will be available in three languages (Hebrew, Arabic and English) but it will be possible to add the same instructions in other languages. We are quite confident that having a tutorial that explains and teaches the Query Service will help expand Wikidata to new audiences worldwide. *Best regards,* *Michal Lester,* *Executive DirectorWikimedia Israel* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] The Open Law Book project on Wikisource
Hi all, Together with the Public Knowledge Workshop[1], a non-profit organization whose mission is to release public information, we signed a Declaration of Principles with the Israeli Parliament regarding the Open Law Book project on Wikisource[2]. This project began in 2004 and is an initiative to make all the laws and regulations passed by the parliament accessible to the public in a clear and reliable manner. Recently, the Israeli Parliament launched the National Legislation Database, which contains all information and data regarding the state's laws. In the collaboration agreement signed between the three stakeholders, it is agreed that the Nationals Legislation Database will include links to the corresponding information in the Open Law Book, while vice versa the database may freely use any information from the Open Law Book. This collaboration will allow the public to have the most up-to-date information in a clear and understandable way, and thus also increase the transparency of legislation in Israel. This groundbreaking achievement is an example to the kind of impact that open knowledge initiatives can have on civil life. *Michal Lester,* *Executive DirectorWikimedia Israel* *http://www.wikimedia.org.il <http://www.wikimedia.org.il/> * * [1] http://www.hasadna.org.il/en/about/ <http://www.hasadna.org.il/en/about/>[2] https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%98%D7%A7%D7%A1%D7%98:%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%94%D7%A4%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%97 <https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%98%D7%A7%D7%A1%D7%98:%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%94%D7%A4%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%97> * ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Welcome Delphine Ménard as WMF's Annual Plan Grants Program Officer
Mazal tov! Looking forward to our work together. *Regards,* *Michal Lester,* *Executive DirectorWikimedia Israel* *http://www.wikimedia.org.il <http://www.wikimedia.org.il/> * *972-50-8996046 ; 972-77-751-6032 * 2016-06-21 13:03 GMT+03:00 <wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org>: > Send Wikimedia-l mailing list submissions to > wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > wikimedia-l-ow...@lists.wikimedia.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Wikimedia-l digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > >1. Re: Welcome Delphine Ménard as WMF's Annual Plan Grants > Program Officer (Nicola Zeuner) >2. Re: Welcome Delphine Ménard as WMF's Annual Plan Grants > Program Officer (Christophe Henner) >3. Re: Welcome Delphine Ménard as WMF's Annual Plan Grants > Program Officer (Nicole Ebber) >4. Re: Welcome Delphine Ménard as WMF's Annual Plan Grants > Program Officer (Shlomi Fish) >5. Re: Welcome Delphine Ménard as WMF's Annual Plan Grants > Program Officer (attolippip) >6. Re: Welcome Delphine Ménard as WMF's Annual Plan Grants > Program Officer (Ting Chen) >7. Re: Welcome Delphine Ménard as WMF's Annual Plan Grants > Program Officer (Pierre-Selim) > > > -- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2016 10:09:44 +0200 > From: Nicola Zeuner <nicola.zeu...@wikimedia.de> > To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org> > Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] Welcome Delphine Ménard as WMF's Annual > Plan Grants Program Officer > Message-ID: >
Re: [Wikimedia-l] An Open Letter to Wikimedia Foundation BoT
Thank you Delphine for a fascinating analysis of of the recent history and current state of the situation. *Michal Lester,* *Executive DirectorWikimedia Israel* *http://www.wikimedia.org.il <http://www.wikimedia.org.il/> * *972-50-8996046 ; 972-77-751-6032 * ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Old maps of Jerusalem released
I am thrilled to share with you that The National Library of Israel had > released a collection of 200 high-resolution unique maps[1] of Jerusalem > in collaboration with Wikimedia Israel. This collection of ancient maps, > spanning from 1486 to 1947, contains a variety of styles and languages. The > maps released were celbrarted by a Mapathon in the National Library of > Israel, a writinig contest in NOWP (initiated by Wikimedia Norway)[2] and > a post in the Wikimaps community blog[3]. > The maps are beautiful! Take a peak. > Happy holidays for those of you who celebrate at this time of the year! > > > [1] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Laor_collection > [2] > https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ukens_konkurranse/Ukens_konkurranse_2015-52 > [3] http://wikimaps.wikimedia.fi/ > > *Regards,* > > > *Michal Lester,* > > *Executive DirectorWikimedia Israel* > *http://www.wikimedia.org.il <http://www.wikimedia.org.il/> * > *972-50-8996046 ; 972-77-751-6032 * > > > ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Community revitalization
Dear friends and colleague, I would to share with you the post we published on Wikimedia Blog (November 13, 2015) [1]. It describes how WMIL works with few *Wiktionary* volunteers in a process of revitalization of *Wiktionary* community. I believe it could be useful case study for those of you who deal with similar issues. I would be happy to provide more info. to anyone who is interested Michal [1] https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/11/13/hebrew-wiktionary-community-revitalization/ *Regards,* *Michal Lester,* *Executive DirectorWikimedia Israel* *http://www.wikimedia.org.il <http://www.wikimedia.org.il/> * *972-50-8996046 ; 972-77-751-6032 * ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Israel survey among HEWP editors
> Thanks Luis. added my notes next to yours. > > Hi, Michal- > Very interesting, thanks for sharing! Some comments in-line: > > On Sun, Oct 11, 2015 at 2:59 AM, Michal Lester <mles...@wikimedia.org.il> > wrote: > > > We are pleased to share with you the initial results of the HEWP editors > > survey: > > > > > > Wikimedia Israel conducted an editors’ survey in August among HEWP > editors. > > The questionnaire was based on the WMNL survey in order to to enable > > international learning in the future. > > > > The survey had two target audiences: active editors (with voting rights > > [1]) > > and contributors. The questionnaire was the same but distributed > > differently. Active editors got an invitation to participate on their > talk > > page, while contributors were invited through a “Sitenotice”. Some 151 > > active editors and 171 contributors participated. > > > > *Gender*: Almost 20% of the respondents were women. > > > > Among the active editors, only 10% were women whereas 29% of the > > contributors were women. The explanations (open answers) for limited > > diversity among the editors ranged from a negative work atmosphere to a > > conservative point of view about gender roles. > > > > Editors in general did not find the low participation of women negatively > > affects the coverage of topics in Wikipedia. > > > Did this vary by gender? i.e., do both men and women agree that low > participation affects coverage? > We checked again the data and there is difference but not significant. But most of the women (82%) think that low participation of women has an impact on the working environment. While men (44%) think that it has only some impact. > > > > Answering a question about how > > to increase the participation of women, respondents offered workshops, > > encouraging high school students to participate, expanding the wiki-women > > group and providing general support. > > > > *New editors*: A large majority of editors acknowledged that new editors > > wanted to contribute to HEWP. They recognized the importance of a > > continuous arrival of new editors and felt that new editors were welcome. > > > > Did this vary by age of editors? i.e., did new editors agree that new > editors were welcome? :) > Yes but 44% of the contributors agree that new editors were welcome. 23% do not agree with the saying. Only 31% of contributors are new editors (less than a year) so it is hard to say because we do not analyze the newbies' answers apart from the contributors. > > > > *Work Atmosphere*: 34% of the respondents reported that they were > satisfied > > with the work atmosphere on the Hebrew Wikipedia. Only 5.5% of the > editors > > were not satisfied with it at all. However, 46% noted that there was a > > large number of conflicts. Active editors (66%) reported such conflicts > > more than contributors (29%). Almost 46% of the active editors stated > that > > they felt like they were in a conflict in the past six months, while only > > 29% of contributors expressed the same. 61% of the editors indicated that > > conflicts were either mostly or sometimes resolved in a good way. > > > > Interesting! > > > > Ideology, worldviews and egos were considered to play a major role in the > > development of conflicts. Contributors also mentioned lack of patience > from > > the active editors. > > > > > *Wikimedia Israel*: 60% of the respondents are familiar with Wikimedia > > Israel. As expected active editors are more acquainted with WMIL than > > contributors. Among them, 78% agree with the statement that WMIL provides > > practical support to editors. > > > > That's terrific. > > > > The survey provides important information for the HEWP editors’ community > > and for Wikimedia Israel. > > Wikimedia Israel will learn the data and use it to develop better support > > for editors, contributors and newbies. > > > > Please do keep us up to date on this; it would be very interesting to see a > model for transforming data into action. (My own department has been > thinking about this in light of our recent hire of a survey specialist; > hopefully something for us to keep improving on across the movement.) > > Luis > Michal ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Wikimedia Israel survey among HEWP editors
We are pleased to share with you the initial results of the HEWP editors survey: Wikimedia Israel conducted an editors’ survey in August among HEWP editors. The questionnaire was based on the WMNL survey in order to to enable international learning in the future. The survey had two target audiences: active editors (with voting rights [1]) and contributors. The questionnaire was the same but distributed differently. Active editors got an invitation to participate on their talk page, while contributors were invited through a “Sitenotice”. Some 151 active editors and 171 contributors participated. *Gender*: Almost 20% of the respondents were women. Among the active editors, only 10% were women whereas 29% of the contributors were women. The explanations (open answers) for limited diversity among the editors ranged from a negative work atmosphere to a conservative point of view about gender roles. Editors in general did not find the low participation of women negatively affects the coverage of topics in Wikipedia. Answering a question about how to increase the participation of women, respondents offered workshops, encouraging high school students to participate, expanding the wiki-women group and providing general support. *New editors*: A large majority of editors acknowledged that new editors wanted to contribute to HEWP. They recognized the importance of a continuous arrival of new editors and felt that new editors were welcome. *Work Atmosphere*: 34% of the respondents reported that they were satisfied with the work atmosphere on the Hebrew Wikipedia. Only 5.5% of the editors were not satisfied with it at all. However, 46% noted that there was a large number of conflicts. Active editors (66%) reported such conflicts more than contributors (29%). Almost 46% of the active editors stated that they felt like they were in a conflict in the past six months, while only 29% of contributors expressed the same. 61% of the editors indicated that conflicts were either mostly or sometimes resolved in a good way. Ideology, worldviews and egos were considered to play a major role in the development of conflicts. Contributors also mentioned lack of patience from the active editors. *Wikimedia Israel*: 60% of the respondents are familiar with Wikimedia Israel. As expected active editors are more acquainted with WMIL than contributors. Among them, 78% agree with the statement that WMIL provides practical support to editors. The survey provides important information for the HEWP editors’ community and for Wikimedia Israel. Wikimedia Israel will learn the data and use it to develop better support for editors, contributors and newbies. [1] The Hebrew Wikipedia has adopted a policy of deletion upon a 55% majority, with no minimum number of votes. In these votes, only registered users with one month seniority and at least 100 edits in the article, image, category or template namespaces in the past 90 days can vote. Michal Lester Executive Director Wikimedia Israel ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
[Wikimedia-l] Awareness of Wikipedia and its usage patterns in Israel
Several months ago, Wikimedia Israel conducted a survey on attitudes of the Israeli public towards Wikipedia. 751 respondents, which provides arepresentative sample of the population of Israel, responded to the questionnaire.We paid particular attention to the fact that the sample included a representation of young people and the Arabic-speaking population in Israel. According to the findings, 84 percent of the respondents said they rely on the online encyclopedia for information, and 60% said they visit the Wikipediawebsite at least once a week. Almost three-quarters (74%) said the information found in Wikipedia articles provides all that they need, and they don’t seekadditional resources. The survey also showed gaps in relation to Wikipedia between the Arab and Jewish populations in Israel. While around 60% of the population uses Wikipedia once a week or more. Within the Arabic-speaking population, the percentage of daily usage is larger than that of the Hebrew-speaking population (27.9% versus 21.6%). In addition, 54% of the Arab-speaking respondents were interested in editing Wikipedia compared to only 33% in the Jewish population. 41% of the Arab-speaking population said that they search Wikipedia for articles in scientific fields, compared to 36.2% among the Hebrew speakers. Only 8% of respondents had ever edited a Wikipedia article, even though 20% encountered information they deemed to be in need of amending. For the results, please see: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Awareness_of_Wikipedia_and_its_usage_patterns Michal Lester Executive Director Wikimedia Israel http://www.wikimedia.org.il/ 972-50-8996046 ; 972-77-751-6032 *Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. **That's our commitment.* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
[Wikimedia-l] Introducing WMIL's Community Coordinator
I'm pleased to introduce Chen Spector who started to work at WMIL as Community Coordinator at April 1st. Chen is an active Wikipedia editor, especially in the fields of psychology and education. Username: chenspec. Chen has a BA in psychology and sociology from Bar - Ilan University and a master's degree in learning disabilities from the Faculty of Education at the University of Haifa. Chen holds a teaching certificate in Special Education from Oranim College and certification for coaching by the Israeli Coaching Association. Chen has extensive experience in remedial teaching and the use of assistive technology for children and adults with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder. Plaese welcome Chen to Wikimedia World! Michal Michal Lester Executive Director Wikimedia Israel http://www.wikimedia.org.il/ 972-50-8996046 ; 972-77-751-6032 *Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. **That's our commitment.* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
[Wikimedia-l] images deletedfrom WikiCommons
Hi, As some of you know, images are been deleted in the past month from WikiCommons due to a change in the ruling of the United States Supreme Court. (The case of Golan v. Holder, confirming the legality of the URAA, has restored copyright status to foreign works that were placed in the public domain after January 1, 1996). Court ruling brought WikiCommons volunteers to delete images that do not meet the new guideline. Consequently, Israeli images were deleted even though the Israeli law releases them into the public domain. We wrote to the legal department of the Foundation to alert about the situation. The department has posted a legal opinionhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikilegal/Use_of_Foreign_Works_Restored_under_the_URAA_on_Commons on the subject following our inquiry. WMIL is going to turn to the Minister of Justice and seek for written statement that confirm that images released by the State of Israel to the public domain may be used freely around the world. We hope that WikiCommons operators rely on the letter and will not delete more images. It will be great if other chapters will update if they encountered the problem and what you intend to do. All the best Michal -- Michal Lester Executive Director Wikimedia Israel http://www.wikimedia.org.il/ 050-8996046 *Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. **That's our commitment.* ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe
