Wikipedia Education Program/News/17 April 2012

Determine future of U.S., Canada programs

The United States and Canada Education Programs are at a turning point. When we started the U.S. program as the Public Policy Initiative pilot in 2010, we had no idea if it would work. But it succeeded, so much that we've had to turn away interested professors because we didn't have enough Ambassador resources to support the demand. Given the enormous interest in the program, we need to start thinking about its future. While the Wikimedia Foundation is fully committed to the long-term success of the program, we believe that the Education Program should be led by our volunteers who have made this program successful: the Wikipedians and the academics. Learn more about and apply to join the new Working Group to determine the future of the U.S. and Canada Wikipedia Education Programs.

Brazil pilot kicks off at two universities

Students at two universities in Brazil are editing the Portuguese Wikipedia this term as part of their coursework. Professors in history, sociology, physics, and public policy will be assigning their students to improve Wikipedia's coverage of course topics in a small pilot of the Wikipedia Education Program in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Ambassadors are supporting the Brazilian students in class and online, with virtual support coming from Portuguese-speaking Wikipedians worldwide. Learn more about the pilot program by reading this blog post.

Cairo outreach event draws 200+ participants

More than 200 students and faculty members at Ain Shams University in Cairo showed up to an in-person outreach event organized by Wikipedia Ambassadors from the Cairo Pilot and a local student group. Attendees learned how the Arabic Wikipedia works and how they could contribute to it. Check out the group's photo album to see photos from this successful event.

News media covers program in four languages

Journalists from around the world are taking note of the Wikipedia Education Program. Articles in Portuguese, English, Spanish, and Arabic have come out in April highlighting the work being done to promote Wikipedia's use in higher education classrooms worldwide, including a long article in tech magazine Fast Company's online site about the international program. As always, you can read all about the Wikipedia Education Program news coverage on and add other articles you see to this page.