Dear Wikimedia communities,
The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder of our global human
interconnectedness, and the responsibilities we have to one another. It is
also a moment that reminds us of how essential free and open knowledge is
around the world.
With roughly half the world under some form of restriction, traffic to the
Wikimedia projects has surged. Last Sunday, April 5th, we counted over 673
million page views in a single day across our projects, a five-year high
(from when we started using these measurements), and an increase of 30.5%
above the same day last year. At the time of this writing (Wednesday, April
8th) that was a new record for our projects. On Sunday, March 29th, we
counted over 650 million page views in a single day across our projects, a
record five-year high (from when we started using these measurements), and
an increase of 31.5% above the same day last year. Articles related to the
coronavirus and COVID-19 are among the most popular articles across dozens
of language Wikipedias.
Moments of uncertainty are often moments in which our movement shines.
Every day, every hour, thousands of Wikimedians are working diligently to
keep the world informed, from combing through medical updates in real-time
to make sure our COVID-19 articles are as accurate as possible, to creating
data models around COVID-19 patterns on Wikidata, to teaching people how to
contribute from the safety of their home.
At the Wikimedia Foundation, we have the honor of supporting all of your
work. We see its importance hundreds of millions of times each day as
people around the globe seek information. We hear from donors, readers,
educators, partners, journalists, and advocates around the world about how
much you matter.
*Today, I want to express our gratitude for what you have created on these
sites and in this movement. Thank you.*
We also want to hear how you are doing and what you need as volunteers,
organized groups, or affiliates during the pandemic. Please share and
discuss what you will need on this Meta-Wiki talk page:
Meta-Wiki:Talk:COVID-19 <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:COVID-19>
If you are interested in what the Foundation is doing, we have set up a
Meta-Wiki page with this information, where we invite others to contribute
additional information from across the movement: Meta-Wiki:COVID-19
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/COVID-19>
This is a moment in which not only what we do, but how we do it, will make
a meaningful impact on the world. We are so grateful for all that you do as
a movement to continue to rise to the challenges of our moment. On behalf
of all of us at the Wikimedia Foundation, thank you for your work and
dedication, your commitment to the Wikimedia vision, and your care for
people around the world.
Yours,
Katherine
--
*Regards*
*Justice Okai-Allotey*
*Freelance Digital Marketer*
Mobile: +233 (054) 039 4970 Skype: okai_allotey
|Avenger - Urithi Labs <https://www.facebook.com/urithimedia/>|
|Social Media Lead - Wikimedia Ghana User Group
<https://www.facebook.com/WikimediaGhanaUG/>|
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