Bhubaneswar : In this digital age, where mobile and internet technologies thrive, Wikipedia has become a vital reservoir of free, reliable knowledge. Understanding the need to strengthen Wikipedia communities in India and to train dedicated volunteer leaders, the Center for Internet & Society – Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K), based in Bangalore, Karnataka, has been organizing “Train the Trainer” (TTT) workshops since 2013. This year’s 9th edition was held with great success in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from October 18th to 20th, thanks to commendable coordination support from the Odia Wikimedians User Group.
The two-day national workshop saw participation from over 35 enthusiastic Wikimedians, representing various linguistic communities across India. Attendees included representatives from Odia, Assamese, Punjabi, Santali, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Bengali, Tulu, Kannada, Marathi, and Malayalam Wikipedias, along with other Wikimedia projects such as Wikimedia Commons and FOSS.
The program began on October 18th with a city tour, featuring a visit to the beautiful “Kalabhumi” Museum. The main sessions on October 19th and 20th included a series of diverse panels, thematic training, and discussions held at Hotel Hindusthan International. Active participants from the CIS team included Executive Director Tanveer Hasan, A2K Program Manager Pavan Santosh, Program Officer Nitesh Gill, Nivas Ramishetty, Subodh Kulkarni, Medini Subhu, and Christina.
Key contributors from the Odia Wikimedians included Mrutyunjaya Kar, Jnanaranjan Sahu, Chinmayee Mishra, Sangram Keshari Senapati, Gayatree Tripathy, Sailesh Pattnaik, and Abhijit Patro, who played pivotal roles in organizing and managing the event. The workshop highlighted the efforts and achievements of the Odia Wiki community and its sister projects, such as Wikidata, Wikisource, Wiktionary, Commons Wikimedia, Lingua Libre, with notable contributions discussed by Dr. Subash Chandra Rout, Subhasis Panigrahi, and Pritiranjan Tripathi.
On the evening of October 19th, Odia and Santali Wikimedians based in Bhubaneswar joined participants for a casual dinner. The event concluded with a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Odia Wikisource, where volunteers and CIS-A2K members commemorated the occasion by cutting a cake and congratulating newly approved Admin Sangram Keshari Senapati.
This program marks a significant milestone for the Wikimedia movement in India, fostering a spirit of collaboration and learning among its diverse linguistic communities and tech enthusiasts.
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