Wikipedia for Peace: Not Your Soldier (St. Imier BE)
Description: In many countries it is obligatory to do military service, usually only for young men (or what the government perceives to be “men”). Other countries are debating whether they should reintroduce obligatory military service in the context of a global militarization and an increase of wars. But will more militarization of young people really ever bring us peace? In this camp, we will discuss and research military conscription, its history and present, with a special focus on people who refuse(d) to do military service (= conscientious objectors).
Type of Work: Doing research for Wikipedia articles online about military service and conscientious objectors, writing new articles and improving/translating existing ones. SCI will prepare a list of articles around people and topics that are related to the camp topic. For beginners, there will be a training about technical and content aspects of editing Wikipedia. You don’t have to have knowledge on Wikipedia already.
This camp is a part of the initiative Wikipedia for Peace that Service Civil International and Wikimedia have been running since 2015 in order to improve the content about peace on Wikipedia and in order to engage new target groups (young people, activists, women*, queer people) in the world of Wikipedia.
Study Theme: There will be a big emphasis on studying in this camp. We will learn how to write good Wikipedia articles. We will learn about the principles behind Wikimedia projects as well as free licences/open content philosophy in general. We will learn about antimilitarism, military conscription and discuss our own positions around this. We will get to know more about people that are fighting against war - through our own research, through exchange with other participants and through external inputs. The workcamp provides a space for discussion & debate.
Accommodation: We will be accommodated at a nice and big house that provides different dormitory rooms, a big kitchen and a social living space. Beds, blankets and pillows with covers are available. Please make sure you bring a sleeping bag or sheets, a towel and slippers! There is no washing machine available. There is free internet. The house is located at 1260 meter above sea level in the countryside and offers fantastic views. On the very last day we will clean altogether.
Language: We will speak English in the group. You can write Wikipedia articles in any language you want. We encourage you to write in your native language.
Requirements: This workcamp is for beginners as well as for experienced Wikipedians (no experience is required!). You need a laptop (smartphones or tablets won't work).
Please send us a motivation letter stating why you are interested in Wikipedia and in working on Wikipedia articles about military service as well as confirming your availability during the project.
Notes: We will cook vegan meals in teams in order to contribute to the principle of sustainability of the camp - food can be obtained from regional and sustainable resources. We are planning to visit SCI Archives in the Bibliothèque de la Ville La Chaux de Fonds and have a lecture about SCI history if the library will be open at the time of the workcamp. There will be hiking trips around Mont Soleil as well as a chance to visit the local area of the town of Saint Imier.
There will be co-funding for this project and we will be able to support some participants with a travel grant: this concerns for sure participants living in Switzerland, Austria & Germany.
INCOMING/ADDITIONAL FEE for volunteers applying via Partner organisations & Contacts of SCI: https://scich.org/en/incoming-fee/
Camp Photographs
