Wikipedia in Norway, through the Norwegian Wikimedia chapter, has received the prestigious Folkeopplysningsprisen (prize for public education/information) for the work it has carried out during the last ten years in producing encyclopedic content that reaches a large part of the Norwegian society.
The prize was awarded by the Voksenopplæringsforbundet (VOFO, or Norwegian Association for Adult Learning) on October 27 during a ceremony in Oslo. VOFO is a state supported umbrella organisation representing the various organisations that work with adult education in Norway. It was founded in 1932, and in 2010 its member organizations held 40 000 courses with 500 000 participants. Previous winners of the prize, which has been awarded since 1998, include the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s radio station NRK P2, Jørn H. Hurum (a Norwegian paleontologist and popularizer of science) and the popular science TV show Schrødingers katt.
It was awarded on the grounds that the online encyclopedia Wikipedia is doing perhaps more than any other entity to promote public education in Norway, and because Wikimedia Norway works to make knowledge free and accessible to all people. The organization is a non-profit, and the contributions are written by volunteers.
Jarle Vines, chairman of the Norwegian Wikimedia chapter, said: “At Wikimedia Norway, we are very happy on behalf of all contributors who year after year, brick by brick built the encyclopedia which is now the most popular in Norway.” It is the first such recognition that Wikipedia in Norway has received and it is hoped that it in several ways will help pave the way for the work being done by Wikimedia Norway and others to promote the growth of Wikipedia in Norway.
Tilman Bayer, Movement Communications
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