WikiSchoenstatt – the new Internet alternative

Wikischoenstatt: all you need to know about Schoenstatt – a free initiative by young professionals in Chile

Categoría: Textos Category: Texts Kategorie: Texte
Artículo sobre la estructura de Schoenstatt Article on the structure of Schoenstatt Artikel über die Struktur Schönstatts

INTERNATIONAL, mkf. Many people daily visit the various Schoenstatt websites on the Internet. Among the hundreds of already existing sites and the many new ones that are continuously being created, a new page deserves our attention. WikiSchoenstatt is an initiative by a group of young professionals in Chile, whose aim is to collect all the existing information about the Movement, its pillars and its heroes.

The Schoenstatt Movement exists in many countries and it is only with everybody’s help that the whole world can find out about this project. The young people in Chile have used this idea to invite everyone to help them to spread this project. Although it is currently only available in Spanish, Chile’s official language and the language spoken by the majority of Scheonstatters, it also includes articles about other countries and therefore other languages, so that nobody misses out on the opportunity to read them.

Passing on all the knowledge of almost 100 years of our history to the large Schoenstatt Family

Wikischoenstatt - similar to its little brother Schoenstatt-wiki, a Paderborn Diocese Boys’ Youth project in Germany – is a kind of encyclopaedia and IT initiative that allows everything connected to Schoenstatt, a movement within the Catholic Church founded by Fr. Kentenich, to be compiled on a single website that is open to everyone. The home page reads: "Our movement is very rich in concepts, ideas and milestones but often the transfer of information is slow and unsatisfactory. This initiative was created with the desire to pass on all knowledge of almost 100 years of our history to our large Family, especially since there are many places, dates and people that have contributed to this history and there is extensive information and material written by Fr. Kentenich. The website, WikiSchoenstatt, is not focused only on the past. On the contrary, it aims to become a communicative space for the Family where each group, branch or section of the Movement can have its own space so that we can project into the future and dream about the next 100 years.

Their intention is not to compete with Wikipedia. On the contrary, everything interests them, but their exclusive focus is on all Schoenstatt-related information. "On the page entitled "Germany," the information does not focus on traditional foods or the country’s economy, but rather the Movement’s founding dates and its development in Germany. For more information on the country, you can visit Wikipedia or any other general information source."

This site is not the sole responsibility of the Chilean group that started it. On the contrary, "the benefit of a wiki is that the whole community permanently contributes to its construction, by means of a very simple editing format. Therefore, the invitation is that we will build it up by providing a contribution, writing an article that did not exist or completing existing ones."

Main topics

Most of the articles on WikiSchoenstatt are organized according to the following categories:

• Notions: Basic Schoenstatt notions
• Family: The Schoenstatt Family, its groups and branches
• Milestones: Schoenstatt’s milestones
• Shrines: Shrines around the world
• Initiatives: Initiatives that have arisen from Schoenstatt
• People: Gallery of Schoenstatt members who were instrumental to the Movement’s growth
• Texts: Complete texts written by leading Schoenstatt members, such as prayers and general interest articles

One can see that they are just starting and that some important articles are still missing, but part of the philosophy behind the wikis is that it is not necessary to wait until something is perfect and complete but rather that a start is made based on personal and free initiative among all those who contribute something. This is how Schoenstatt was born, expanded and continues to grow. Together, we know what Schoenstatt is and together we are "the living Father."

Although schoenstatt.de is not a wiki and will soon operate with a CMS, its aim is not to present Schoenstatt knowledge but to present the real life experience of the International Family. The philosophy behind both websites is therefore the same (hence our support for this new project): what we can read about the life of the Movement arises from individual initiative, where someone sits in front of their PC and writes about something they experienced and which made their hearts burn. Together, we can explain what Schoenstatt is; together we are the living Father, today.

Congratulations to the WikiSchoenstatt creators!

• wikischoenstatt.org

Translation: Sarah-Leah Pimentel, South Africa