MARATONES EN WIKIPEDIA: EDITANDO POR LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS EN ARGENTINA / MARATHONS ON WIKIPEDIA: EDI
- IHRC NEWSROOM
- Jul 26, 2019
- 4 min read
July 19, 2019 – Gianluca is a high school student who tries to be one of the best in his class. But when you live in Buenos Aires, you also need time to see the goals of the Lionel Messi soccer star or to drink mate with friends, according to Argentine tradition.
Like most of his classmates, Gianluca uses the Internet a lot to do his homework. “We use Wikipedia quite a lot,” he admits. However, you are aware that certain information quickly found on the Internet may not always be accurate. “That’s why it’s important for me to contribute,” he says.
Gianluca participated in the first edition marathon organized jointly by UN Human Rights and Wikimedia , held in July in the capital of Argentina. The theme: rights of women and LGBTI people.
But what exactly is an editing marathon? Or an editatón , in the jargon of Wikipedia.
Promote free knowledge
Lila Monasterios is from Bolivia and lives in Buenos Aires. In the city, he spends most of his time studying for his master’s degree, but on Saturday he decided to take his laptop and participate in a Wikipedia edition . I wanted to meet other people interested in human rights and share their knowledge.
This is exactly what Lila found in the editatón supported by UN Human Rights in Argentina. He met people with different interests and experiences, some who knew a lot about human rights but didn’t have a clue about how to edit on Wikipedia – and also the other way around. Meeting in the same room for a few hours, the group worked on different laptops, but with a common purpose: to create or improve human rights content on Wikipedia, using official sources from the United Nations.
“Every time we edit, we are promoting free knowledge. And in this case, Wikipedia becomes a tool to make human rights visible, to democratize them, ”says Lucas Reynoso, a regular contributor to Wikipedia.
Luisina Ferrante, of Wikimedia Argentina, explained that the editatones unite people and organizations to generate quality content on Wikipedia. Although its editing days can take different forms and themes, human rights are a priority in them. “Human rights issues are constantly evolving, which should also be reflected in Wikipedia, especially now with the expert support of UN Human Rights.”
Rights edition in Spanish!
“Journalists often find it difficult to access reliable sources or information checked quickly and, above all, in Spanish,” says Adrián Arden, a broadcaster with extensive experience reporting stories about women’s and children’s rights. He values the idea of optimizing Wikipedia with official UN sources, which are essential to his work. “Initiatives like this are very necessary in the light of a worrying trend of deliberate misinformation or misleading information on human rights, which can then be amplified through traditional or social media,” he adds.
Wikipedia is available in more than 217 languages, which reduces access barriers for millions of people worldwide. “Wikipedia is a multilingual experience that is available in as many languages as people want and can create content in it,” says Galileo Vidoni, vice president of Wikimedia Argentina. “It is not only a platform to spread free knowledge, but also for the promotion and protection of minority languages.”
The head of external relations of UN Human Rights, Laurent Sauveur, also highlights multilingualism as a cornerstone in the work of his Office. “Access to information and education makes it easier for people to exercise their rights. That is why we started this new and interesting partnership with Wikimedia through our regional office for South America , editing in Spanish, where volunteers from the region were able to use official UN sources in an interactive and participatory manner. ”
The first edition supported by UN Human Rights was a success: during the activity, 19 articles on human rights were created or updated in the Spanish version of Wikipedia, including the entry on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Women ( CEDAW ), for example.
One of the priorities of UN Human Rights is to promote a better understanding of human rights and make this knowledge widely available. Therefore, according to Sauveur, this is only the beginning of the collaboration with Wikimedia, which will include editing days in other countries.
“This is a call for people to defend human rights in the digital world, no matter where they are and in their own language, so that other members of their community and beyond can know their rights and defend them too,” he concludes.
Source: OHCHR
Historias de impacto sobre derechos humanos en nuestra región
Por ACNUDH – AMÉRICA DEL SUR
ENHISTORIAS DE IMPACTO GLOBAL
19 de julio de 2019 – Gianluca es un estudiante de secundaria que trata de ser uno de los mejores de su clase. Pero cuando uno vive en Buenos Aires, también necesita tiempo para ver los goles del astro del fútbol Lionel Messi o para tomar mate con amigos, según la tradición argentina.
Como la mayoría de sus compañeros, Gianluca ocupa mucho el Internet para hacer sus deberes. “Usamos Wikipedia bastante”, admite. Sin embargo, es consciente de que cierta información encontrada rápidamente en Internet puede que no siempre sea precisa. “Por eso es importante para mí contribuir”, dice.
Gianluca participó en la primera maratón de edición organizada conjuntamente por ONU Derechos Humanos y Wikimedia, llevada a cabo en julio en la capital de Argentina. El tema: derechos de las mujeres y de las personas LGBTI.
Pero, ¿qué es exactamente una maratón de edición? O una editatón, en la jerga de Wikipedia.
Promover el conocimiento libre
Lila Monasterios es de Bolivia y vive en Buenos Aires. En la ciudad, dedica la mayor parte de su tiempo a estudiar para su maestría, pero un sábado decidió tomar su computadora portátil y participar en una editatón de Wikipedia. Quería conocer a otras personas interesadas en los derechos humanos y compartir propio su conocimiento.
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