Did you know that there are more than 1,000 World Heritage Sites in the world? The pyramids of Egypt, Chinese walls and old radio masts in Sweden are just a very few examples. In the World Heritage list of UNESCO, we find some of the most visited monuments in the world. Now, we would like your help to make sure that there is also adequate information about them on Wikipedia!
Thus, Wikimedia Sverige and UNESCO are co-arranging the writing challenge UNESCO Challenge. The challenge will start on the International Day for Monuments and Sites on 18 April. It will then go on for one month, until 18 May, when the competition closes.
In combination with the challenge, UNESCO will release a series of images on Wikimedia Commons, the image database of the Wikimedia family. What’s more, they will release open access texts about the sites. These may be great inspiration when choosing which articles to write. We hope that you will get use of the images and the texts in the competition!
The way the challenge works is very simple: sit down with your computer, choose some world heritage sites – preferably the most endangered – and start to write, in whatever language you like! The more you write, the more points you get. The more points you get, the higher probability for you to win! You find all the world heritage sites here, and the ones the most in danger here.
Wikimedia Sverige and UNESCO are jointly working with the project “Connected Open Heritage”. Several of the world heritage sites are in critical danger: war, climate change and lacking maintenance are just some of the reasons. To make sure that at least information about them are saved to future generations, we are, as part of the project, collecting as much data, images and information we can about the world heritage sites, to be able to make it digitally reachable in the future.
And now, this is where you enter the picture! Many of the Wikipedia articles on world heritage sites have little information, are in need of update or lack good images. Now you have the opportunity to not only increase the coverage of the world heritage sites – but also win fine prizes and a great honor!
Start planning already today. Which articles lack crucial information? Which images would you like to include in an article? The competition will soon start – and we wish you good luck!