The fourth "She did it" marathon was held in the Ukrainian-language section of Wikipedia in November. Almost thirty participants created and improved about 440 encyclopedic articles about famous women, in particular, defenders of Ukraine.
Wikipedia is one of the most popular resources in Ukraine — but quality Ukrainian-language information about prominent women is often lacking. It's up to the community to fix it: Wikipedia is filled by a community of volunteers that anyone can join.
The organizers of the "She Did It" marathon invited everyone to create articles about outstanding women and improve existing ones. The campaign continued from November 10 to 24.
More than thirty people joined the marathon in total. They have created and improved about 440 articles about famous women. For example, articles about French civil servant and political activist Sara Knafo and Ukrainian human rights defender Oleksandra Romantsova published for the first time in Ukrainian Wikipedia. The campaign’s participants also improved many articles about Ukrainian scientists, such as botanic researcher Taisia Omelchuk-Myakushko and biologist and social activist Valentina Radzimovska.
Defenders of Ukraine - women who help our country fight the Russian invasion at the front, as well as volunteers, paramedics and others - were singled out as a separate nomination. Campaign participants have developed at least 16 such articles. For example, they started an article about a participant in the Russian-Ukrainian war, Tetiana Chubar, who is the gun commander of the Ukrainian self-propelled howitzer 2C1 "Gvozdyka,” and improved the article about the well-known paramedic and volunteer Yulia Paevska (Tyra), who was captured by the Russians during the siege of Mariupol and was released in June.
Mykyta Nikiforov, an active participant in the campaign and special nomination about women defenders of Ukraine, said his motivation to join was "the desire to improve articles about military women. They are heroines, their stories must be preserved and passed on to future generations. Wikipedia is a good place for that."
Project participant, Hanna Makarenko joined to "tell the world about contemporary women, compatriots,” and Andriy (user YizhaChok59) decided to "combine the pleasant with the useful" - his fascination with the history of aviation and the need to highlight the achievements of women in this field in the Ukrainian Wikipedia.
Traditionally, all active marathon participants will receive commemorative souvenirs from the organizers, and the most enthusiastic will receive additional prizes, including thematic books of their choice.
The marathon "She did it" was held for the fourth time this year, annually since 2019. About a thousand articles on the Ukrainian Wikipedia have been processed within its limits.
The project is organized by the public organization "Wikimedia Ukraine" with the support of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine, and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund in Ukraine.
