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Press release

Join the SuSanA Sanitation Wikipedia project

Wikipedia is one of the key global channels for disseminating information about sanitation. The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance is now organizing a major upgrade. Join this important crowd-sourcing event for World Toilet Day.
Published on 17 October 2017
Press release contact

Ylva Rylander / ylva.rylander@sei.org

Related people

Arno Rosemarin
Arno Rosemarin

Senior Research Fellow

SEI Headquarters

Linus Dagerskog
Linus Dagerskog

Research Fellow

SEI Headquarters

Ylva Rylander
Ylva Rylander

Communications and Impact Officer

Communications

SEI Headquarters

Hand wash in Burkina Faso
Hand wash in Burkina Faso  Photo credit: Linus Dagerskog, SEI

The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) is calling on writers, editors, sanitation experts and Wikipedia enthusiasts for another major upgrade of Wikipedia’s sanitation-related pages in the run-up to World Toilet Day on 19 November.

Special attention will be given to Wikipedia articles related to this year’s World Toilet Day theme: wastewater. Seventy articles dealing with various topics such as India’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India campaign), the Sustainable Development Goals, wastewater and related topics will be in the spotlight for five weeks.

Sanitation Wikipedia has a serious purpose: about 2.5 billion people lack access to basic functioning sanitation, putting them at high risk of exposure to deadly and chronic diseases.

“We need to get this important knowledge out to the public. We are looking forward to seeing what committed people can accomplish when we crowd-source for this global editing project,” says Arno Rosemarin, Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute. “With joined resources and lots of good-will, it is possible to stop the taboo-laden cycle that starts with poor sanitation and leads to disease and environmental degradation.”

On World Toilet Day, millions of curious people will go to Wikipedia to search for information on sanitation. Sanitation Wikipedia volunteers will edit texts and add images to make material that visitors find there more informative, readable and visually attractive.

Sanitation Wikipedia is part of a larger global SuSanA project aimed at more effectively gathering and disseminating knowledge and best practices across the world within the sanitation sector. The project is led by Stockholm Environment Institute and implemented by a consortium that includes Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), WaterAid and Oxfam. The project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

If you are interested in joining Sanitation Wikipedia, find out more and sign up here.

Download the Media Advisory (pdf)

For further information, please contact:

Arno Rosemarin – Senior Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
[email protected]
+46 70723 0088

Doreen Mbalo Advisor at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
[email protected]

Diane M. Kellogg Bentley University Management Department; Partner, Kellogg Consultants
[email protected]

Ylva Rylander – Press Officer, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
[email protected]
+46 73150 3384

Learn more »

Visit SuSanA project Sanitation Wikipedia 

Read about World Toilet Day

Check for updates on the SuSanA discussion forum

Contact: [email protected]

The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) is a global network of partner organizations who share a common vision on sustainable sanitation. The SuSanA network has over 310 partners with 8 700 members around the world. www.susana.org/en/

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