The 20th Arabic Wikipedia Day on July 13, 2024, marks a special year for celebrating the founding of Arabic Wikipedia, a place that has profoundly impacted our family and introduced us to a vast community of special people.
As every year, my mother Luma Salman, brother Mohammed Harith Khalil, and I participate in celebrating this day. this year was exceptional because our knowledge and experience with Wikipedia have significantly grown over the past year, enhancing our ability to celebrate this day meaningfully.
Locally, I was thrilled to organize the first Wikimedia Iraq event to celebrate the 20th Arabic Wikipedia Day. We hosted an event in Baghdad – Iraq to introduce Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects to interested individuals. This was done through Wikimedia Iraq UG and the group members, Mahmoud Al-Rawi, Mohammed Qais, and Luma Salman, who shared their valuable experiences with attendees keen on volunteering with Wikimedia.
“For the first time, I realized there is a large community of volunteers behind Wikipedia’s content. I’m very excited to be part of this community,” Doha Amir, Attendee.
“I’m a content writer and have attempted to write articles before, but they were deleted because I didn’t understand the process correctly. Learning about the Wikimedia community in Iraq will help me improve my understanding of writing articles for the encyclopedia” Hawraa Al-Safi, Attendee
As for my mother “Luma”, besides participating in the event in Iraq, she was part of the organizing team for Arabic Wikipedia Day alongside some Arab colleagues.
“I am very happy with the support I receive from the Arab community. Three years ago, I didn’t know how to use a computer, but today, with the community’s trust in me despite my basic skills, I contribute and use different tools on the computer to help organize this special day. I learned new things, especially from my organizing colleagues Donia El-Domiaty and Mohammad Hijjawi. I believe in the skills of youth and learn a lot from them” Luma Salman, Editor
As for my younger brother, despite his school commitments, he insisted on contributing to this day by designing the logo for the 20th Arabic Wikipedia Day, which the Arab community adopted for this Day.
By the end of the day, we gathered in the same room at our home to enrich Arabic articles and share free knowledge with the world.
As a family, Wikimedia has become a part of our daily lives at home, and we are incredibly grateful for the presence of wonderful and distinguished colleagues in the Arab community with whom we can volunteer remotely and learn from their expertise to expand our contributions to Wikimedia projects.
Looking forward to the next year to celebrate the 21st anniversary!
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