Emirates Literature Foundation and Wikimedians of the UAE celebrate International Women’s Day with Editathon

• Event aims to narrow the gap between the number of pages for Emirati men and women on Wikipedia.

Dubai, UAE, 3 March 2022: The Emirates Literature Foundation and the Wikimedians of the UAE user group have issued an open invitation to the Wikipedia community in the UAE to celebrate Women’s Day with action. Hosting an editathon event dedicated to recognising Emirati women’s achievements at both a local and international levels, the target is to create a minimum of 50 new Wikipedia pages for notable Emirati women. Pages can be created in Arabic, English or both.

The event will open with a short greeting from Maryana Iskander, Chief Executive Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation, and Ahlam Bolooki, Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature and leader of the UAE Wikimedia User Group. It will take place at the iconic Foster + Partners-designed House of Wisdom in Sharjah at 16:00 – 18:00 on Tuesday, 8 March, 2022. Participants will need to bring their own laptops to contribute. The event will end with free refreshments and networking for those who have taken part.

Those unable to attend the event in person are also able to join virtually. All attendees will receive participation certificates recognising their contribution as well as a small gift, and those who create the greatest number of articles during the event will receive a special prize from the Wikimedians of UAE user group and the Emirates Literature Foundation. Anyone wishing to register for the event can do so using this link: https://zfrmz.com/aJ32poQgLJ9vIZvKOGpP

Since Emirates Literature Foundation launched the Kateb Maktub initiative, which led to the team taking on the Wikimedians of UAE User Group, it has successfully increased the number of pages of Arab authors on Wikipedia, in both Arabic and English, by more than 500%.

More information about the Emirates Literature Foundation can be found online and year-round news of #EmiratesLitFest on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. The Foundation also has two podcasts; the Best of the Emirates LitFest, and the Boundless Book Club.