Most of us know how useful Wikipedia has become. We also know the many problems it faces. In spite of those problems a lot of people use it as one of their main general references online.
I have a wee proposal: let's help improve the information there is there about Venezuela. I am talking about collaborating on Wikipedia articles to
- help create awareness about Venezuela's regions among Venezuelans and foreigners alike
- inform about Venezuela's scientists and artists, who should be more our role models than they have been so far (we need to stop the obsession with military figures)
- make it easier for Venezuelans and non-Venezuelans to have a better overview of Venezuela's history (beyond the War of Independence or the last 20 years)
Point 1) is about planting some seeds for future tourism in Venezuela and about helping Venezuelans know what areas beyond the main cities have or still are lacking. Are there public libraries or hospitals in Venezuelan Parapara as they are in tiny German or British towns? Do they have museums? Environmental problems?.
I have been helping a little bit over the years with articles in Spanish and other languages on some regions of Venezuela, on native American languages and on Venezuelan scientists, but there is a lot to do compared to other regions. You can take a look at the articles about Carabobo (Spanish), Carabobo (German), Los Guayos (Spanish, but also in German or Russian) and Acuario de Valencia (German) and compare them with other regions in Venezuela.
This is what I propose:
I have been helping a little bit over the years with articles in Spanish and other languages on some regions of Venezuela, on native American languages and on Venezuelan scientists, but there is a lot to do compared to other regions. You can take a look at the articles about Carabobo (Spanish), Carabobo (German), Los Guayos (Spanish, but also in German or Russian) and Acuario de Valencia (German) and compare them with other regions in Venezuela.
This is what I propose:
- Select a region outside the capital or the main urban centres (a state or municipality or otherwise from Los Llanos or elsewhere) and try to improve it little by little with reliable information on history, geography, infrastructure or whatever you think may be useful (doing a quick search on place + "biblioteca", place + hospital helps). A minute or two a week or a month could mean a lot
- Select a topic like Venezuelan scientists or ecology issues about Venezuela and try to expand the information on that
- Translate articles about forgotten regions into English, German, Dutch or other languages
Venezuela is a country with terrific weather, wonderful, very varied nature and welcoming people, but it lacks a tourist infrastructure. Tourism is chaotic, the industry is mostly in the hands of adventurers. and it tends to be rather expensive. Some of the tourist operators are so-called ecourist organizations with no ecology in mind, people who settle down in national parks without permits and without contributing to the region and rip off tourists. Some regions have a lot to offer but nobody knows about them.
Take a look at the pages on states, villages and scientists from the German (like Aichach) or English Wikipedia. They are not perfect but they tend to be better documented than similar regions in Venezuela. Venezuelans don't seem to put much information about public libraries or hospitals, for instance. Those libraries and hospitals are some of the most forgotten places in the Americas. We know they have hardly the resources people have in Europe. Still, we can help to make people think they are there or they should be there and are not yet.
I will adopt state Delta Amacuro.Take a look at the pages on states, villages and scientists from the German (like Aichach) or English Wikipedia. They are not perfect but they tend to be better documented than similar regions in Venezuela. Venezuelans don't seem to put much information about public libraries or hospitals, for instance. Those libraries and hospitals are some of the most forgotten places in the Americas. We know they have hardly the resources people have in Europe. Still, we can help to make people think they are there or they should be there and are not yet.
Ps. we should always keep in mind Wikipedia's principles about neutrality, documenting sources and good editing practices