We are happy to announce the third International Wiki Camp for Western Armenian that will be held in France! This year’s camp will be organized at the Gîte François et Suzon, in La Bourboule, in the Auvergne region in central France from 12 to 20 August 2017.  During those days, participants will not only have the opportunity to write articles on subjects that interest them in Western Armenian, but also be involved in numerous outdoor activities, meet new friends from all over Europe and elsewhere, and enjoy a memorable experience in a relaxed but active environment.

The first international Wiki Camp for Western Armenian was held in Beirut, Lebanon, August 2015 and the second at Tempo de Aventura, in Cadaval, Portugal, August 2016. Each Camp attracted over 60 participants (students, teachers and IT facilitators). During the camp, students had an opportunity to develop their skills and confidence in writing and editing articles on Wikipedia and Wiktionary, as well as translating articles from European languages.

The camp is directed at young individuals between the ages of 16 and 25. Interested individuals should submit an application as soon as possible. The deadline is April 10. There are a limited number of places available and we expect the competition to be high. The application process is on-line (link below), and includes a motivation statement in Armenian.

Participation in the camp is free (excluding travel).

The Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation started to support Wikimedia Armenia in 2015 to encourage young authors to write articles in Western Armenian. At the beginning of 2015 there were some 650 Wikipedia articles in Western Armenian. A year later, in early 2016, that number had increased to 3546 articles and in the beginning of 2017 to 5565. The main reason for this five-fold increase is the organization of Wiki writing camps for teenagers which facilitate and give inspiration to write articles in Western Armenian in a casual, fun and dynamic environment.

For more information regarding the Wiki Camp please click here (information available only in Armenian).

To access the application form please click here .

Watch a short film about last year’s WikiCamp in Portugal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW7boE0h8Ec&feature=youtu.be

Wikimedia Armenia was founded in 2013. It is an active member of the International Wikimedia Foundation, and recognized for its innovative initiatives under the leadership of Susanna Mkrtchyan.