In November Wikimedia Community Ireland travelled to Friesland in the Netherlands for the final Multiplier Event and Partner meeting of the WikiWomen Eramus+ Project.
For the last three years, partners from Ireland, Friesland and The Basque County have been piloting an educational programme that focuses on teaching digital literacy skills to secondary school students who speak minority languages. Secondary school students become digital activists by creating Wikipedia articles about women who are missing from the online encyclopedias in Irish, Frisian, and Basque to close the gender gap in information.
For the final meet-up, partners from Wikimedia organisations, language advocacy institutions and schools travelled to Leeuwarden for a week of cultural exchange and celebration of the work that has been done.
The Wiki Women Erasmus+ Multiplier Event also took place during the exchange in collaboration with the Explore the North Arts Festival. Students, teachers and partners made presentations about their experience, and lessons learned and answered questions about the project. A key result of the project is that toolkits and lesson plans for teachers, pupils and GLAMS (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) are freely available in multiple languages and open for anyone interested in getting involved to use.
You can accesss the free WikiWomen Erasmus+ teacher’s toolkits here.
Read on to find out what we got up to at this fantastic week of Frisian culture and digital activism!
Where is Friesland?
Friesland or Fryslân is in the North of the Netherlands. We visited Leeuwarden, Friesland’s capital city. Leeuwarden is a historcal city and bears the title UNESCO City of Literature. Friesland has its own minority language that is spoken in the region, similar to how Irish is. The region also has its own cultural heritage.
Day 1
The WikiWomen Erasmus+ partners and students at Afuk in Leeuwarden.
On the first day, we took a visit to Tresoar (West Frisian for “treasure”) short for the Frysk Histoarysk en Letterkundich Sintrum (“Frisian History and Literature Center”) in Leeuwarden. Indeed we did see some treasures here! We were taken on a guided tour into the catacombs of Tresaor to explore their archives. It was interesting to notice how each collection smelled different depending on the type of paper used in that period of history. A serendipitous highlight was when we got to see a book written and signed by Erasmus himself and some beautifully hand-illustrated prayer books decorated with gold leaf dating back to the Middle Ages.We also got to learn about the history of the Frisian region and how the language developed over time.
A decorative prayers book from the middle ages which is part of the archive at Tresoar in Leeuwarden.
The students also got an amazing surprise, when it was revealed that our Firisan Partners had worked with a local band to create a song especially for the Wiki Women Erasmus+ Project. It made reference to Ireland and the Basque country and the students spent time translating it into each of their minority languages and teaching each other a few phrases.
In the afternoon we headed to the local ice rink for a fascinating educational session featuring journalists and ice skater Jessica Merkens. She is also the author of the book ‘Op eigen houtje’, which is about women in the Elfstedentocht. This is a speed skating race that took place in Friesland for decades. It is not for the faint-hearted as it spans the eleven cities of the region and is almost 200km long!
Jessica explained the turbulent history of the race when it came to gender equality. She explained how women were banned for showing too much skin (ankles) and eventually were led to carry out their own race under the cover of darkness which turned out to be a gruesome and dangerous affair with accidents happening in the dark. She also explained how the race had not taken place for years due to climate change.
After the talk, it was time for us to hit the ice for a masterclass in speed skating led by the professionals!
Day 2
On the second day, we braved the snow and headed to Dokkum, the city known for its maritime history and culture. Here we had a fascinating talk by Sippy Tigchelaar, who is the author of the book ‘Schippersvrouwen’,. She told us about the lives of skippers’ wives in Fryslân which were often difficult but overlooked. They would be responsible for all household chores along with caring for and educating the children and sailing the boat. We got to climb aboard the inland vessels and also explored the museum after.
Then we headed back to Leeuwarden for the Multiplier Event that was taking place in the main square in the ‘Stadkas’. This is a temporary cultural space constructed from glass houses that is built every year as part of the Explore the North Festival. It becomes the festival hub featuring a curated program and restaurant located at the Oldehoofsterkerkhof. Here the partners presented the WikiWomen Toolkits that are not openly accessible to use here. They include resources for teachers to teach critical digital skills, Wiki Editing and to teach students about the Gender gap in information. There are also pupil toolkits and toolkits for galleries, libraries, archives and museums to use to get involved.
The teachers and students from all regions also shared their experiences and answered questions from the audience. The students highlighted how the project helped them to gain confidence writing in their minority language and how rewarding it was for them to see their work published online for others to use. They also explained their research process and how important it is to use sources and citations. The teachers expressed how critical it is for students to get the opportunity to do research and writing ahead of going to university. They also explained how the project gave students an opportunity to engage with their local heritage. A key outcome of the project was that it also taught students to view the information they find online with a critical eye and learn to decipher misinformation from reputable sources.
Take a look at the amazing work done by some of our Irish students. For example this biography about Carmel Snow and this one about Carmel Corbet Yeats were both written by secondary students at Coláiste Oiriall as part of the project.
After all the excitement of the Event, the students boarded a canal boat to sample some traditional Dutch pancakes. While the partners stayed on at the ‘Stadkas’ for a Wikipedia Masterclass and Edit-a-thon.
The event began with presentations in different minority languages about inspiring women from history. Amy, from Wikimedia Community Ireland, made a fascinating presentation about Dr. Kathleen Lynn, ‘the woman who was airbrushed from history’ but played a critical role in the Irish resistance. Sophie, from Wikimedia Community Ireland, presented on Máire Rua, who was known as a warrior queen and is shrouded in myth and folklore. This made the participants critically aware of how women are presented or misrepresented in history so we went into our editing with that in mind. We had a very productive event with lots of new editors and partners successfully creating their first Wikipedia articles in all different languages!
Day 3
On the final day, we woke up to a blanket of snow over Leeuwarden before heading to an educational session at CSG Liudger, a high school in Burgum, that some of our Frisian students attend. While the project partners had one of the last project meetings, the students teamed together to surprise us with a fabulous typical Frisian lunch. They served us local delights such as herring with onions, pickles wrapped in ham, sweet bread fried in the pan and devilled eggs.
In the afternoon, we further explored Frisian culture through traditional activities, such as ‘fierljeppen’ (pole vaulting) and ‘klompen’ (wooden clogs) at Scherjon’s Klompen. We then visited the dykes of the region to learn about reclaimed land before heading to our final party to celebrate the week. Here we took part in the ultimate WikiWomen Erasmus+ Project quiz, and had a wonderful performance of the song mentioned above by the band X and a bit of a sing-song!
It was a wonderful end to the project and it was so rewarding to see our final launch of the resources we have been working on for the last three years. It was also wonderful to see our students become Wiki experts and how passionate they are about digital activism and closing the gender gap. Thank you to everyone involved and our Frisian partners for putting together such an incredible week!
