02 - 10 September 2021
Mont-Soleil / St. Imier BE
Our planet is being destroyed and we need to stand up against this! We need to become active on different levels, be it in the streets or in online spaces. In this online camp, which is part of the bigger “Wikipedia for Peace” project and cooperation between SCI and Wikimedia Switzerland, you will get to know Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. You will also learn about climate justice and get inspired to become a climate activist!
Type of Work: Doing research for Wikipedia articles about climate justice and climate activists, translating articles, improving existing articles in your native language and writing new articles. The project organizers will prepare a list of articles around people and topics related to the camp topic. It is crucial that you are interested in climate justice, that you like writing and that you like to do research on your own or in small groups. You don’t have to have knowledge on Wikipedia already.
Study Theme: There will be a big emphasis on studying in this workcamp. We will learn how to write good Wikipedia articles and take pictures for Wikimedia projects. We will learn about the principles behind Wikimedia projects as well as free licences/open content philosophy in general. We will learn about climate justice and climate activism. We will get to know more about amazing people that are fighting against climate change – through our own research, through exchange with other participants and through external inputs.
Accommodation: We will intentionally live a simple and sustainable lifestyle during the workcamp. The old art-nouveau villa houses up to 16 people and provides workshop rooms, the kitchen and social living space. There are dormitory rooms with beds, bed sheets, blankets and pillows. We are in charge of cooking and cleaning. Meals will be vegan – please bring own fun recipes that we can cook! A washing machine is available. Please be aware that the house is rather cold and there is a dog and a cat. If you like camping, you can also bring your own tent and set it up outside.
Language: We will speak English in the group. You can write Wikipedia articles in any language you want. We encourage you to write in your native language. The people of the hosting community speak German, French and of course English. The local languages are French and Swiss German.
Requirements: Please write a motivation letter to specify your interest in this work and your plan for follow up work after the camp. You will need a laptop for the editing (smartphones or tablets don’t work). Please provide us your ticket as soon as you booked for to prove that you are not coming by airplane – you will get the detailed infosheet only then.
Approximate Location: Mont-Soleil is a small hamlet at the edge of the Franche Montagne high-plateau in the Jura mountains. It is part of the community of St-Imier. Mont-Soleil is known for its educational eco-tourism offerings and as a show case for solar and wind energy technologies and installations as part of the Swiss Energy Park. It is at the heart of Chasseral Nature Park. The Décentrale is situated a 2 minutes’ walk from the cable railway, offering a 4 minute ride down to St-Imier, the small town 400 meters below in the valley, with its Espace Noir autonomous culture center and small commerce.
Further notes: Take a look at former Wikipedia for Peace workcamps:
Remember that the first and last days of the workcamp are dedicated to travelling. Feel free to leave at the most convenient time for you. Why did SCI Switzerland choose to support this workcamp? We believe that free tools like Wikipedia are necessary in order to spread knowledge. During the camp you can pick the topics they want to write about or translate and understand how easy it actually is to contribute to the building of a global cooperative sense of learning.