Welcome to ESN Wiki!

What is ESN Wiki?

The term "wiki" actually means quick in Hawaiian and the important part of Wiki's - what makes them different from any other type of website - is collaborative editing by the users. In our case, only a selected group of ESN volunteers can edit the Wiki, however, all of our volunteers use the Wiki and contribute to its development,    even if indirectly.   


Dear ESNer,

Welcome to the guide to the ESN Wiki, ESN's main knowledge and information platform, a cornucopia of information, toolkits, opportunities and more.

On the Wiki we store many resources that we hope will be helpful and serve as a support to you. This is intended to be a user guide and a resource for volunteers on all levels who wish to have a better understanding on how the Wiki works and how to make the most out of it.

You might have already used the Wiki a couple of times but this guide will help you unlock its full potential and show you how to contribute to its enrichment for the benefit of the whole network. 

This guide is divided into four chapters:

  • Chapter One - here you will find how to use the basic features such as logging in, spaces management and how to use the search feature.
  • Chapter Two - here you will find how to use the watchlist and the toolbox.
  • Chapter Three - this is dedicated to finding NO spaces and opportunities for volunteers and/or sections.



1. The Basics 

Logging in

Let’s start with the basics!

ESN Wiki is fully accessible to everyone after logging in with your ESN Account, so make sure that you have one and that you have an active role assigned by your section. Otherwise, your access to the platform will be limited. At the top-right corner, click on the “Login” button and you should be automatically directed to the login page. If not, you can log in manually at https://accounts.esn.org/ or https://accounts.esn.org/user/login

You have now entered the Wiki - Welcome

Space vs Page

Throughout this guide, you will encounter terms such as “Page” and “Space”. In fact, ESN Wiki is organised into Spaces and their Pages. They might sound similar but there is a substantial difference as a Space is a broader term, a folder that contains different Pages. This means that pages are always created under a specific Space as subfolders. 

So : Spaces (folders) – contain -> Pages (subfolders)

An example, and a really useful one too, would be the ESN Toolbox, which is a Space. By clicking on it, you will be able to access documents, guides and tools created by experienced volunteers and divided by clear topics (Organisational Management, Event Management, Human Resources, Education and Advocacy, etc.). All of these are Pages.

Additionally, there is a difference between the parent and child Pages - child Pages are sub-pages of the Pages on the Space. For example, Membership in ESN is a parent Page, however, ESN Associate Membership is a child Page.

Sidebar

Right after logging in, on the left side of your screen, you can find the sidebar. There you can find “My Spaces”. This is not set by us; everybody has their own selection of favourite Spaces. 

The page list for all the spaces will always be visible in the sidebar, which can be easily hidden by pressing the “collapse sidebar” button (<<) in the lower-right part of the sidebar, or even faster by pressing the [ key..



My Spaces

After you log in, you will find a sidebar on the left side of your screen. Click on the sidebar and you will find “My Spaces”. They contain your own selection of favourite Spaces, you can customise it however you like, your favourite (★) Spaces will always appear here.


How can you do so? There are two ways:

  1. While on any page of a certain Space (e.g. Causes of ESN), click on the star next to the name. You can find it in the sidebar. From now on, Causes of ESN will show up at your “My Spaces” list.
  2. In the top-left corner, you can find a scroll-down menu called “Spaces” (note that by doing so, you will be able to see recent Spaces you have visited). From there, go to the Space directory where you can find all the Spaces available on the Wiki. Use the star to add Spaces to your “My Spaces” list.


Tip: My Spaces is extremely useful to speed up your navigation through the Wiki. As mentioned before, everyone can tailor their own Space and can add as an example your country space, events, toolboxes or templates.

Country Space

If you are looking for specific information about an ESN country, you are in luck because each ESN national organisation is assigned its own country space. 

Use the search bar to find the country and you will discover, among other things, the History, Structure, Documents,  Events, Activities & Programmes, which are uploaded there and are available for all to read. Oh, and all those lengthy country reports that make for such a lovely Sunday read - you’ll find them also there.  

Space Directory

The Spaces dropdown displays the recent Spaces you have been on, however, the Space directory is a place where you can find all Spaces currently available on the Wiki. There are categories in place that can be used for filtering. An example is the country spaces under the category “country”.


Search

ESN Wiki has a really powerful tool - the search engine. You can search for Spaces, Pages, people, pictures, documents and so on… you are able to find everything that has been uploaded on the platform. You can search them by the full name or the key word and filter content across several categories that the search engine contains. If you write the word volunteer and filter it based on a specific Space, you will discover everything that has the word volunteer in the description or title. However, if you write nothing in the search bar and you use the search engine to filter everything based on a specific Space or by the type of content, you will see everything uploaded based on the specific category you choose as a filter. Additionally, you can search the content by label - all the attachements (e.g. documents in the Toolbox) are labeled and you can find them by entering the keyword in the label filter.



2. The Expansion Pack 

Watchlist 

The “Watch” button (👁 ) is an extremely useful tool that works exactly like a subscription button. It can be found in the top-right corner of every Space/Page, just under the search bar. When you click it, you become a watcher of this Space/Page and you will automatically receive email notification about changes and new files being uploaded.

Toolbox

ESN Toolbox is a set of documents and guides created by experienced volunteers for you to help you with everything you need for successfully building and empowering your section and national organisation.

The Toolbox is a Space on the new Wiki with the main purpose of gathering all useful documents, guides, TSOs, financial materials and many other resources in one place. This Space is divided into eight categories corresponding to areas the network works in.

The content is a compilation of tools and materials meant to be used by the whole network. Therefore, it is important for everybody to reach out to the Network Committee when you have a new tool or document available. Submissions will be received directly by the Wiki Team through a simple form.

Help Center

From the Welcome Page you can access the Help Centre by clicking on its name. You can then find 3 tools :

  • HOW TO: ESN Wiki Edition - a document that contains instructions on how to edit pages 
  • Feedback/Bug Report - a form through which you can report anomalies with the Wiki
  • Submitting a new document/tool - a submission form that can be easily filled in order to add a new document/tool created by any volunteer, section or national organisation in ESN
  • Submitting a new workshop - a submission form that can be easily filled in order to add a new workshop created by any volunteer in ESN

 3. Where can I find ... ?

Opportunities for volunteers/sections

ESN is full of opportunities for development! Whether you are interested in attending training events, you would like to apply for a position on the international level or you would like a chance to host an event in your city, we got you covered in three easy steps. First, log-in to Wiki, then look for the “Basics of ESN” space. Now click on the “Opportunities for you!” page in the sidebar.

The “Opportunities for you!” page is divided into “Opportunities for sections” and “Opportunities for volunteers”, and here is where all the network care, development, engagement, personal and professional development opportunities in ESN can be found.

Alternatively, you can click directly on the topbar to find current opportunities in ESN .

How does ESN work?  

In this page you can find a summary of how ESN is organised on all three levels (local, national and international level) with all the respective governing bodies and support structures. 

Membership in ESN

In this page you can find out the details on the three types of membership: local membership, national membership and associate membership. Since all types of membership have their own acceptance procedures, rights and obligations towards ESN, it is quite important to know the differences. 

In addition, you can find documents and instructions on how to become a volunteer, join as a local section and create a National Organisation.