Dear friends,
During the past three years, I have been privileged to be a part of this
movement and this organization.
I have been honored to be your colleague and to work with you in service of
the sum of all knowledge.
The Wikipedia Education Program [1] is especially near and dear to my
heart. It is a means of educating readers, recruiting contributors, and
creating quality content. Since 2014, the number of education initiatives
around the world has increased by 36%. [2] [3] And 25% of all education
programs now are in one of the regions that I directly supported. [4] I am
so proud of what they have accomplished. And I am enthusiastic about what
great things they have yet to achieve.
I want to thank and compliment my current manager, Floor Koudijs. She is a
competent, considerate, conscientious leader, and her diplomacy skills are
unsurpassed. I am confident that the education team and the education
program will continue to excel under her leadership. They are in the best
hands.
I want to thank my teammates, past and present, from whom I have learned so
much: Floor Koudijs. Tighe Flanagan, Samir Elsharbaty, Kacie Harold, Rodney
Dunican, Sage Ross, Jami Mathewson, and LiAnna Davis.
I want to thank the Wikipedia Education Collaborative [5] for sharing their
experience and expertise with the greater global education community. I may
ask to mentor me when I pilot a Wikipedia assignment in my own classroom!
And I want to thank the education program leaders, past and present, with
whom I had the privilege of working closely, especially those whom I had
the privilege of visiting. To be able to support their great work was an
honor and a lot of fun.
Wikipedia is a miracle, a monument to altruism. It is vital to the internet
ecosystem, and it is vital to the education system. I hope that more young
people especially will find their way to it and help out. And when they do,
I hope that they are met with wise mentorship from veteran community
members, just as I was.
I intend to remain a Wikipedian even after I am no longer a WMF staff
member. And, with that promise, I’ll see you on the wikis. [6]
All the best,
Anna Koval, M.Ed.
[1]
https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education
[2]
https://outreach.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Education/Countries&ol…
[3]
https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Countries
[4]
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ACEE_2015_State_of_th…
[5]
https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Wikipedia_Education_Collabora…
[6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Msannakoval
--
Anna Koval, M.Ed.
Manager, Wikipedia Education Program
Wikimedia Foundation
+1.415.839.6885 x 6729
Skype: annakoval.wiki
akoval(a)wikimedia.org
education.wikimedia.org