March 31, 2011 - 15:12 AMT
Yerevan to host Hackathon in scope of Wikipedia Schools and Universities Project

On April 3, the ESPACES center will host a Hackathon in scope of Wikipedia Schools and Universities Project.

During the event, the participants will translate the rules of using Wikipedia encyclopedia from English into Armenian.

Participant and administrator of Armenian Wikipedia, Aleksey Chalabyan. told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter that the main aim of the Hackathon is to help new users of Wikipedia to add and edit articles according to the rules. "When new users register to Wikipedia they spend much time on adding and editing because there are no rules in the Armenian sector. We have some rules in Armenian, but those are not finite and need to be updated," he said.

Chalabyan also noted that Hackathon will be held in unofficial and free atmosphere. "We plan to make translations in pairs for a more productive work. If we manage to translate 20 articles out of 50, it will be a great result. We expect to have 40 participants.”

The name of event Hackathon came from words " Marathon" and "hacking".

Prior to the start, Hackathon participants will be given a short introduction about Wikipedia Schools and Universities Project, its' goals and problems.

To join the Hackathon, those who wish to participate should send an email with name, surname and mobile phone number to info@improve.am.

Wikipedia Schools and Universities Project has been implemented since 2010 in world famous universities and schools. The aim is to involve Armenian representatives of academic institutions to improve the international image of Armenia and to struggle against distortion of Armenia's history and culture. Project initiated by "KAZA" Humanitarian Fund, ANAHIT Initiative, Wikipedia administrators and community members, UITE, ARAX operating system team and "Instigate Training Center".