Project

WEIWER® International Academic Network | Rede Académica Internacional WEIWER®

PTIN/UID4372-LEaD/012018

R&D Strategic Area of Research @ LEAD: 1 – Theories and Practices in Open and Distance Education
Leitmotiv: Share, Learn & Discover

The WEIWER® logo tries to convey the key features of the network, collaboration and partnership; the two languages aim at both our national and international scope and focus (Portugal, Portuguese speaking countries, and the other countries of the world).

Goals:

  • Develop research regarding open educational practices with wikis, namely with the Wikipedia and its sister projects (i.e., other projects of the Wikimedia Foundation).
  • Disseminate research results in the field of open education and training with wikis, namely the Wikipedia and its sister projects, to foster and inform new axis of research and development.
  • Stimulate critical reflection on the integration of wikis, namely the Wikipedia and its sister projects, both at a curricular and pedagogical dimension, including in teachers’/trainers’ continuous training.
  • Establish partnerships in the field of open education, research and training, specifically in the context of wikis and Wikipedia.

Wikis and Wikipedia as a pedagogical strategy, in different levels of education and training contexts, have been increasing in the world, and thus considered as an object of study.

The WEIWER® International Academic Network developed a research agenda to analyse those phenomena, a way to meet e.g. the Portuguese national strategy for digital skills, which is being implemented through the program Portugal INCoDe.2030 (www.incode2030.gov.pt) by the Portuguese government. Internationally, we expect to be contributing to the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment), through its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), namely SDG 4, on “Quality Education”, to ensure access to inclusive, quality and equitable education, and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

By promoting and creating conditions to implement this SDG 4, we will surely be promoting other SDGs, of which we highlight the following: 5th “Gender Equality”; 8th “Decent work and economic growth”; 10th “Reduced inequalities”; 17th “Partnerships for the goals”.

The integration of these SDGs reflects commitments to ethics, global citizenship and natural and cultural diversity, also present in the mission of Wikipedia, which we assume in a sustainable development reasoning, both for people and institutions.

We understand the WEIWER® Network as the result of partnerships between different institutions, especially from the field of education and training, whose work is based on the principles, programs and initiatives that we have been mentioning, ultimately aiming to develop, throughout life, key competences for the 21st century citizen, essential in different curricular areas and scientific domains.

Scientific Director: Teresa Margarida Loureiro Cardoso
Executive Director: Filomena Pestana
Social Media Director: João Paulo Pinto
International Relations Director: Luciano Gamez
Scientific Advisor: Eduard Aibar

WEIWE(R)BE
The WEIWE(R)BE programme, designed primarily for secondary education, is the result of a partnership between the WEIWER® International Academic Network and the School Libraries Network of the Portuguese Ministry of Education (RBE).
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WSIS CHAMPION PROJECT
The International Academic Network WEIWER® – Wikis, Education & Research is a Champion Project at the WSIS Prizes 2020 contest.
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