ECLAC’s newest Wikipedians create trilingual entry  on the “ECLAC Library” in Wikipedia

Officials, mostly from the ECLAC Library throughout the region, participated in their first-ever wiki-editating marathon, held during the week of 31 August – 4 September. The trilingual effort culminated in the launch of three articles on the ECLAC Library in Wikipedia - in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. But what exactly is an editing marathon or editathon, in Wikipedia lingo?

According to Wikimedia Chile, an Editathon is an editing marathon in which new editors participate by learning how to create and edit Wikipedia articles. This work is carried out massively, collectively and simultaneously. In this case, the staff of ECLAC in Santiago, Mexico, Port of Spain and Brasilia were trained by Wikimedia Chile during a week-long regional training session in July in the fundamentals aspects of writing for Wikipedia. Furthermore, by consensus, they agreed to create an article in Wikipedia using their newly acquired skills.

This is the third time that Wikimedia Chile and the ECLAC Library are collaborating to add information to the largest encyclopedia and one of the most visited websites in the world. The first encounter coincided with el día del patrimonio in Chile and resulted in an article on the ECLAC headquarters building. The second encounter occurred earlier this year, when gender experts created an article on the Regional Conference of Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. Through such initiatives, the Library reinforces its commitment to providing access to quality information to the widest audience possible.

On this third occasion, however, the staff of the ECLAC Library have been trained as Wikipedians, a title reserved for volunteers who write and edit articles for Wikipedia, to bridge the gender gap and add greater linguistic diversity to Wikipedia. The resulting articles are an example that even in a pandemic, time, language, distance and diversity can be challenged through effective will, leadership, vision and collaboration.

Review the articles here:

• Biblioteca de la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) 

• Library of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) 

• Biblioteca da Comissão Econômica para a América Latina e o Caribe (CEPAL)