Hi friends,
Writing to invite you all to a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon on Sunday,
December 14 in San Francisco.
Join volunteers from the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, Creative Commons, and the Bay Area
Wikipedia community to write and edit about human rights and free
speech online. We will improve, create, and update Wikipedia
articles related to global internet censorship. People regularly
turn to Wikipedia to get a basic overview of internet censorship, so
it's crucial that we ensure Wikipedia’s coverage is up-to-date and
accurate.
I'm a co-organizer and will be driving from the East Bay to
participate, if anyone wants a ride! Let me know if you have any
questions or want a lift.
Date: December 14, 2014
Time: 1-5pm
Location: Electronic Frontier
Foundation office (815 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA 94109)
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/San_Francisco/Internet_Censorship
Edit-a-thons are actually really fun. You end up learning a ton,
become a stronger writer, and produce articles that will be read by
millions. This is also a great way to learn more about Wikipedia.
Wikipedia entries on Internet censorship are thin, particularly
about regions where censorship is most problematic, since users in
those areas are often restricted from editing.
Internet censorship impacts users everywhere, because fewer people
are able to upload or contribute to the Internet or access
information online, making our digital commons less robust and less
diverse.
As someone who has helped with a lot of individual case advocacy,
let me tell you all that this is one of the best ways to help raise
awareness about international issues, where we often have little
influence. Often for long standing cases of injustice, a good
Wikipedia presence raises awareness more than most any news article.
Here's a link to an edit-a-thon we did earlier this year to raise
awareness about imprisoned journalists in Ethiopia:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/10/wikipedia-edit-thon-zone-9-bloggers-great-way-raise-awareness
All my best,
April
PS: Please share widely. Here's a
link to a tweet or a sample tweet/FB post you can use:
This Sunday we're editing Wikipedia to expand articles on Internet
censorship worldwide. Learn and raise awareness!