Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that allows you freely and easily to find information on the web, and the main function of WikiClub is to educate participants (students, schoolchildren) to create articles about different areas developing Armenian Wikipedia. WikiClubs are active not only in Armenia but also in Artsakh. The WikiClubs of Stepanakert, Karvachar and Hadrut region’s Togh village are operating in Artsakh. Stepanakert’s WikiClub was established in 2015 and has already 120 members, 30-40 of which are active.
Irina Safaryan
Co-founder and coordinator of the club Irina Safaryan, who, by the way, has graduated from Yerevan State University’s Faculty of International Relations with specialization in Political Science, mentioned that from the very beginning, one of the main reasons for the creation of the club was to write articles about Artsakh in Artsakh itself, as it is very important and it’s another small step towards recognition. After graduating from the university and returning to Stepanakert, Irina Safaryan decided to apply her professional knowledge in the public sector through Wikipedia.
“Recently, “Wikimedia Foundation” visited Yerevan. And I was invited as the representative of the general idea of the WikiClub, since the WikiClub is the monopoly of Armenian Wikipedia. I started to present and so they learned that Artsakh also has WikiClubs. The most important thing is that you announce about the existence of Artsakh, of Stepanakert, that there are bright children (young people) in Stepanakert, who edit and develop Armenian Wikipedia”, she said.
Articles about Artsakh’s history, culture, and other spheres are mostly written by students or more mature editors, who already know how to write scientific works and can make analyses, but as there are younger members of the club, that is schoolchildren, who can find it difficult to write analyses, “that is why the young people write about their favourite footballers, cartoons, fairy tale characters, movies, models, everything they are interested in. I want them to write about their favorite topics so that they are more motivated. If you force them, of course, no one will want to, and so he writes and sees that he has created an article about David Beckham, for example, and the author of the Armenian version is him. Attending the WikiClub also develops keyboard skills, that is they work well with Armenian keyboard since childhood. Also, translations from English and Russian are constantly being done”.
Irina Safaryan also attaches great importance to ties with Armenia, as WikiCamps are held 3-4 times a year, during which they establish contacts with members of various clubs, communicate and make friends and still maintain the connection even after the camp. The club is also a place of entertainment. I mainly work with such children who have smaller opportunities for entertainment, and just waste their time in vain. It’s better to use that time effectively and usefully, here in the WikiClub: safe, secure, and most importantly useful”.
Irina Safaryan noted that thanks to the club’s work nearly a thousand articles have been written, most of which are about Artsakh: “One of the club’s achievements can be considered the creation of clubs in Karvachar and Togh. Having a WikiClub in Stepanakert also helps to open clubs in different regions and villages of Artsakh”.
Nane Sargsyan
12-year-old Nane Sargsyan has been participating in the activities of Stepanakert’s WikiClub for a year. She had learned about the club from her friends attending the club. I liked our club and the atmosphere reigning here very much, so I started attending every day, and as a result, as an active editor, I was selected to participate in the camp. We, younger members, are proofreading books. Currently, I’m proofreading Sibil’s novels. These works help us to enrich our knowledge. The older ones write articles or do translations”.
Nane Sargsyan thinks that her participation in the WikiClub has helped her to expand her worldview, enrich her knowledge, make new friends, and use free time effectively.
Ami CHICHAKYAN
