Submissions/Hackathon goes Hogwarts: Creating learning environments at tech events

This is a Completed submission for Wikimania 2017 ready to be reviewed by a member of the Programme Committee.

Submission no. 2014 Subject - C9 and C5

Title of the submission

Hackathon goes Hogwarts: Creating learning environments for tech events

Type of submission (lecture, panel, tutorial/workshop, roundtable discussion, lightning talk, poster, birds of a feather discussion)

Lecture

Author of the submission

Claudia Garád, Magdalena Reiter

Language of presentation

English

E-mail address

claudia.garadwikimedia.at, mailmagdalenareiter.at

Username

--Claudia.Garad (talk)

MaxdalenaReiter

Country of origin

Austria

Affiliation, if any (organisation, company etc.)

Wikimedia Österreich, Jugend hackt Österreich, OPEN COMMONS Linz (Austria)

Personal homepage or blog

https://www.wikimedia.at https://jugendhackt.org

Abstract (up to 300 words to describe your proposal)

“Coding for a better world” is the credo for a series of hackathons that started in 2013 in Berlin and is meanwhile a program that takes place regularly in different cities in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. “Jugend hackt” (which means “young people are hacking”) is not only a weekend with the possibility for people from 12 to 18 years to think about socially relevant issues and create helpful prototypes. But it is also an format with an integrated educational concept behind it that has been constantly refined and improved. Its aim is to address a diversity of people, not only those that are already associated with technology. Therefore one of the main functions of the organisation team and the mentors is to create a space that is comfortable and leaves no one behind.
The organizing team from Wikimedia Österreich applied many concepts and learnings from “Jugend hackt” to the Wikimedia Hackathon 2017. Especially their mentoring approach to welcome and integrate newcomers seemed to be an idea with a lot of potential which hasn’t been systematically applied to Wikimedia tech events before. In our presentation we will showcase the concepts behind the youth hackathons and how they can relate to tech community building in the Wikiverse. We will also share first experiences and learnings from the Hackathon, which will take place in May 2017 in Vienna.

What will attendees take away from this session?

The Wikimedia movement still struggles to integrate newcomers in a sustainable way. We will present our learnings from the work with young people at tech events: On the one hand the strategies of youngsters differ from those of adults and are worth to look at. On the other hand having educational concepts in the background can also help when working with adults. We will show how turning Wikimedia (tech) events into learning environments for newcomers can contribute to a positive welcome culture, reduce entry barriers for new volunteers, and foster sustainable motivation.

Theme of presentation

WikiCulture & Community

For workshops and discussions, what level is the intended audience?

Beginning

Length of session (if other than 25 minutes, specify how long)

25 minutes

Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?

Yes.

Slides or further information (optional)

Special requests

Is this Submission a Draft or Final?

This is a Completed submission for Wikimania 2017 ready to be reviewed by a member of the Programme Committee.

Interested attendees

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