Centre for Internet and Society

Digital native: Control A, Backspace

nishant — 2016-06-05T02:25:45Z

The rewriting of textbooks should not be compared to the collaborations on Wikipedia, which only goes by evidence.

The article was published in Indian Express on June 5, 2016.

I remember the first time I made an edit on Wikipedia — it was almost 10 years ago, and it was a heady feeling, to realise that here is a global encyclopaedia being written, and that I could be a part of it. It felt strange, because I was brought up to believe that authors are special people with specialised knowledge, which can only be validated from special institutions, and that authorship required years of practice and perseverance.

However, a historic experiment by Nature magazine showed, that despite the average age of the then Wikipedia editor as somewhere in the late teens, articles in Wikipedia were not any more prone to error than in other established, institutionalised fountains of knowledge like the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In fact, not only were the non-specialised editors of Wikipedia spot on with their knowledge outputs, but that because of its iterative nature, errors, once spotted on Wikipedia could be immediately corrected, thus leading to a more robust source of knowledge.

Two key principles helped Wikipedia establish this process of reliable and resilient knowledge systems — neutrality of viewpoint, and evidence-based knowledge. In the largely free and open space of Wikipedia editing, the one thing that remained constant is neutrality. Editors, despite their own biases, locations, contexts, experiences or embodied knowledges, could not introduce their opinions or original research into the Wikipedia articles. This necessarily meant that every truth and knowledge claim made in a Wikipedia article needs to be verified through a source. This source could come from different spaces and different formats, but it serves as objective evidence for the information being provided there. In instances — and there are thousands of them, if not more — where two editors disagreed on how to interpret an event, or how to describe a person or a thing, the edit-war was fuelled not by the I-said-You-said never-ending rhetoric, but by relying on the soundness of research conducted by external sources.

For some years now, Wikipedia has become the de facto global reference system, which still relies on volunteers and non-specialised editors to contribute to complex, complicated and very specialised domains of human knowledge production. Even when the editors are experts or scholars, their contribution has value and merit, only when it is supported by externally verifiable source that supports their view points.

Wikipedia has become one of the foundational models of the information web, that makes it clear that knowledge can be freely produced, consumed and circulated, and more importantly, it can be negotiated and contested, thereby making our scientific research practices relevant and pertinent beyond the hallowed and often closed halls of the university. Wikipedia became a prime example of how information can be revised, changed, mutated, updated, upcycled, and subjected to deep scrutiny as long as it is informed by an alignment towards neutrality and supported by evidence produced through research.

I invoke these principles that have fostered one of the most magnificent pieces of collaborative human effort because it directly puts into contrast the revisionist, biased, authoritative and closed practices by which the Indian educational councils seem to be editing textbooks. The removal of the names of historical figures, the rewriting of history to reflect a biased, narrow and unsubstantiated narrative, the erasure of alternative histories and voices of protest and dissent, and the false planting of information which is grounded in the school of “People say” and the university of “I have heard” is an alarming development. Many people unfortunately think of this political revisionism as mimicking the wisdom of the crowds recounting and contestation of information on spaces like Wikipedia.

It is important to note that these attempts at revising known facts and of producing religious histories of exclusion and violence are not the digital mode of information upcycling. These revisions are firmly rooted in a political agenda that seeks to sanctify the discriminatory violences of our neo-authoritarian governments. They remain challenged by the scholars in the field who have enough evidence — of archives, of tracts, of data, and of information — that show that this information is false. They are entrenched in the politics of power that insist that this is the only true account of things, excluding public discourse, and performing acts of censorship that discourage all access to scientific learning.

The proponents who want to Make in India, cannot limit their rhetoric only to economic production, but have to extend collaborative and connected making to knowledge and information production. And this entails the unmaking of these authoritarian and fascist attempts at justifying rumours as information, hate speech as free speech, and revisions as conversations.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/indian-express-june-5-2016-nishant-shah-digital-native-control-a-backspace

ଅନଲାଇନ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ଗଢ଼ା

subha — 2016-06-08T02:51:14Z

I wrote this article in Samanya Kathan, an Odia-language portal on June 5, 2016. The article is about the journey of the Odia Wikipedia and was published on the day the contributor community was celebrating the 14th anniversary of the project.

Read the originally published article here

ଜଣାଶୁଣା ବ୍ୟକ୍ତି, ବିଷୟ, ଘଟଣା, ସ୍ଥାନ ଆଦି ବିଷୟରେ ସଂକ୍ଷେପରେ ଲେଖିବା ପାଇଁ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ ବା ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷର ପରିକଳ୍ପନା। ତାକୁ ପୁଣି ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟର ଉପଲବ୍ଧ କରିବା ପାଇଁ 2001ରେ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହେଲା ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ। ପ୍ରଥମେ ଇଂରାଜୀରେ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହୋଇ ପରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ଭାଷାକୁ ଏହା ବଢ଼ିଲା। ଆଉ ଇଂରାଜୀ ଉ ଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହବାର ବର୍ଷଟିଏ ପରେ 2002 ମସିହାରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ, ଅହମିୟା, ପଞ୍ଜାବୀ ଓ ମାଲାୟାଲାମ ଭାଷାରେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହେଲା। ପ୍ରଥମ ଚାରୋଟି ଭାରତୀୟ ଭାଷାରେ ତିଆରି ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଭିତରୁ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଗୋଟେ ବୋଲି ଅନେକଙ୍କୁ ଆଜି ବି ଅଜଣା। ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ https://or.wikipedia.org ରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ। ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ପାଖାପାଖି 9 ବର୍ଷ ଧରି ସକ୍ରିୟ ସମ୍ପାଦନାର ଅଭାବରୁ 2011 ଯାଏ ଏକ ରକମ ନିଷ୍କ୍ରିୟ ହୋଇ ପଡ଼ିରହିଥିଲା। 2011ରେ ଏଥିରେ ଅନେକ ସ୍ବେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ସମ୍ପାଦକ ବଉଇକିଆଳିମାନେ ଯୋଡ଼ିହୋଇ ଲେଖିବା ଆରମ୍ଭ କରିବା ଫଳରେ ଅଧୁନା ଏଥିରେ 10,619 ସଂଖ୍ୟକ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗ ଲେଖାସରିଲାଣି। ଆଉ ନିତି ନୂଆ ନୂଆ ଲେଖା ଏଥିରେ ଯୋଡ଼ିହୋଇ ଚାଲିଛି।

ତେବେ ଜଣେ ସାଧାରଣ ପାଠକ ପାଇଁ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ କ’ଣ ରହିଛି ତାହା ଜାଣିବା ବେଶି ଜରୁରୀ। ଜ୍ଞାନ ଆହରଣର ବାଟ ପିଢ଼ିରୁ ପିଢ଼ିକୁ ବଦଳେ। ଆମ ପିଲାବେଳେ ଆମେ କାଁ ଭାଁ କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟର ଓ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟର ସୁବିଧା ପାଉଥିଲୁ। ଆଉ ସେତେବେଳେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ମିଡିୟମ ସ୍କୁଲର ପାଠାଗାର କିଛି ଗପ ଉପନ୍ୟାସ ବହି ଭିତରେ ସୀମିତ ଥିଲା। ନୂଆ ବହିଟିଏ ଦେଖିବା ଆଗରୁ କାନ୍ଥରୁ ଚୂନ ଝଡ଼ିପଡୁଥିଲା। ହେଲେ ଏବେ ଘରେଘେ ଏକାଧିକ ମୋବାଇଲ ଆଉ ସେସବୁ ପୁଣି ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ସୁବିଧା ଥିବା ସ୍ମାର୍ଟଫୋନ ଆସିଲାଣି। ସ୍କୁଲ ପିଲାଏ ଆଉ କିଛି କରନ୍ତୁ ନ କରନ୍ତୁ କିନ୍ତୁ ଗେମ ଖେଳିବା କି ଫେସବୁକ ଆଦିରେ ସାଙ୍ଗମାନଙ୍କ ସଙ୍ଗେ ଚାଟିଂ ଆଦି କରିବାରେ ପୋକ ହେଲେଣି। ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟରରୁ ସମ୍ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ ମୋବାଇଲମୁଖୀ ହୋଇଗଲାଣି। ପିଲାଙ୍କଠୁ ବଡ଼ ଯାଏ କାହା ପାଖେ ଆଉ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ ବ୍ରିଟାନିକା ଭଳି ଓଜନିଆ ପୋଥି ଦେଇ କିଛି ଖୋଜିବା ପାଇଁ ବେଳ ନାହିଁ। ତେଣୁ ଏଭଳି ପରିସ୍ଥିତିରେୌଣସି ବିଷୟକୁ ଅଧିକ ଲୋକାଭିମୁଖୀ କରିବାର ସୁବିଧା ବାଟ ହେଉଛି ସେସବୁକୁ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ କରାଇବା। ତେବେ ଏହା ବହି ବା ଜର୍ଣ୍ଣାଲର ବିକଳ୍ପ ନୁହେଁ। ବରଂ ବହି ସଙ୍ଗେ ଭିନ୍ନ ଏକ ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ଜ୍ଞାନ ବିତରଣର ବାଟ ରୂପରେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ଅଧିକରୁ ଅଧିକ ଲୋକଙ୍କ ପାଖେ ପହଞ୍ଚିପାରୁଛି।

ବିଭିନ୍ନ ଭାଷାରେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଜ୍ଞାନ ଆହରଣର ସ୍ଥିତି ଭିନ୍ନ। ତେବେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ପାଇଁ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟର ଅବସ୍ଥା ଯେତେ ଚିନ୍ତାଜନକ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷାକୁ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଅଧିକ ବ୍ୟବହାର ଉପଯୋଗୀ କରିବା ସେତେ ଅଧିକ ଲୋଡ଼ା। 2011 ଜନଗଣନା ତଥ୍ୟ ଅନୁସାରେ ଓଡ଼ିଶାରେ ମାତ୍ର 1.4 ଭାଗ ଲୋକଙ୍କ ପାଖେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟର ସୁବିଧା ଥିଲା। ଏହି ପାଞ୍ଚ ବର୍ଷ ଭିତରେ ଏହା ବହୁ ଅଧିକ ବଢ଼ିଥିବ। ହେଲେ ସେ ସଭିଏଁ କ’ଣ ସତରେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟର ବ୍ୟବହାର କରୁଛନ୍ତି ନା ସୀମିତ କେତୋଟି ସାଇଟ ଭିତରେ ସୀମିତ। ଅଧିକାଂଶ ତଥାକଥିତ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ବ୍ୟବହାରକାରୀ ଫେସବୁକରେ ସାଙ୍ଗମାନଙ୍କ ସଙ୍ଗେ ଭାବ ଦିଆନିଆ କି ହୁଆଟସଆପରେ ପରିଚିତଙ୍କ ସଙ୍ଗେ ଆଳାପ ଅଥବା ଇଉଟିଉବରୁ ଗୀତ ଶୁଣିବା ବାହାରେ ବେଶୀ କିଛି ଜାଣନ୍ତି ନାହିଁ। ଏହାର ମୁଖ୍ୟ କାରଣ ହେଉଛି ସେମାନଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ସବୁଠୁ ବେଶୀ ପରିଚିତ ଭାଷା ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ବେଶୀ ୱେବସାଇଟ ନାହିଁ। ଖବର ପଢ଼ାଳିଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ନା ଭଲ ଖବର ୱେବସାଇଟଟିଏ ରହିଛି ନା ଗବେଷକଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ଆମ ଐତିହ୍ୟ ଓ ପୁରୁଣା ଶିଳ୍ପ ବାବଦରେ ପଢ଼ିବା ପାଇଁ ଆମ ମିଉଜିଅମ ୱେବସାଇଟରେ ସମସ୍ତ କଳାକୃତିର ତଥ୍ୟ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଦିଆଯାଇଛି। ସେମିତି ଭିନ୍ନ ଭିନ୍ନ ବିଷୟରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ବିଷୟ ଜାଣିବା ପାଇଁ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ନିହାତି ଦରକାରୀ ବିଷୟ ମଧ୍ୟ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ନାହିଁ। ଏଭଳି ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ପ୍ରକାଶିତ କେଇଶହ ଖବରକାଗଜ ଭିତରୁ କେବଳ ଗୋଟେ କାଗଜର ଖବରଗୁଡ଼ିକ ଇଣଟରନେଟରେ ଖୋଜି ପାଇହେବ। କାରଣ ବାକି ଖବରକାଗଜର ଲେଖା ଇଉନିକୋଡ଼ ଭଳି ଆନ୍ତର୍ଜାତିକ ମାନକକୁ ନ ଆପଣାଇ ଆକୃତି, ଶ୍ରୀଲିପି ଆଦି ପୁରୁଣାକାଳିଆ ଅଣ-ମାନକ ସଫ୍ଟଓଏରରେ ଲେଖି ଛବି ଭାବେ କିମ୍ବା ପିଡିଏଫ ଡକୁମେଣ୍ଟ ଭାବେ ସେମାନଙ୍କ ସାଇଟରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ। ସେଗୁଡ଼ିକ ଦେଖିବାକୁ ଭିନ୍ନ ନ ଲାଗିଲେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଗୁଗୁଲ ବା ସର୍ଚ ଇଞ୍ଜିନରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଟାଇପ କରି ଖୋଜିହୁଏ ନାହିଁ କିମ୍ବା ମୋବାଇଲ ଆଦିରେ ସଳଖେ ପଢ଼ିହୁଏ ନାହିଁ।

ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ 1930 ମସିହାରେ ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣଚନ୍ଦ୍ର ଭାଷାକୋଷ ଭଳି ବିଶାଳ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ରଚନା କାମ ଆଜିଯାଏ ଆଉ କିଛି ହୋଇପାରିନାହିଁ। ଆଧୁନିକ ଟେକନୋଲୋଜି ବ୍ ୟବହାର କରି ଏବେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଅତୀତ ସହ ସନ୍ଧିଟିଏ ତିଆରି କରିପାରିବ। ଏହା ସମ୍ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ ଭାବେ ଅଣ-ଲାଭକାରୀ ଓ ଏଥିରେ ବିଜ୍ଞାପନ ନ ଥାଏ। ଏଥିରେ ଲେଖାଗୁଡ଼ିକ ଲେଖୁଥିବା ଉଇକିଆଳିଏ ସଭିଏଁ ସ୍ବେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ଓ ଲେଖାସବୁ ସେମାନଙ୍କ ସତ୍ବାଧ‍କାରରେ ପ୍ରକାଶିତ। ତେବେ ଜ୍ଞାନ ବିତରଣ ଉଦ୍ଦେଶ୍ୟରେ ତିଆରି ହୋଇଥିବାରୁ ଲେଖାସବୁ କପିରାଇଟ ଦେଇ ନ ରୋକିବା ଲାଗି ସେସବୁ କ୍ରିଏଟିଭ କମନ୍ସ ସେଆର-ଏଲାଇକ ଲାଇସେନ୍ସରେ ବିତରିତ। ଫଳରେ ସଭିଏଁ ମାଗଣାରେ ପଢ଼ିପାରିବେ , ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗଗୁଡ଼ିକ ପୁନଃବ୍ୟବହାର କରିପାରିବେ ଓ ଉଭୟ ଲାଭକାରୀ ଓ ଅଣଲାଭକାରୀ କାମରେ ବ୍ୟବହାର କରିପାରିବେ। ଏଥି ସହିତ କୌଣସି ଲେଖାରେ ଭୁଲ ପାଇଲେ ଜଣେ ଲେଖା ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରି ସୁଧାରିପାରିବେ। ଏଥିରେ ଲେଖା ଓ ସମ୍ପାଦନା ପଦ୍ଧତି ଏତେ ଖୋଲା ଯେ ପ୍ରାୟ ସବୁ ଲେଖା ଏକ ନୁହେଁ ଅନେକ ଲୋକଙ୍କ ଦେଇ ଏକାଠି ଲିଖିତ। ତେବେ ଲେଖାର ମାନରେ ସମତା ରଖିବା ନିମନ୍ତେ କେତେଗୁଡ଼ିଏ ନିୟମାବଳୀ ତିଆରି ହୋଇଛି। ଏଗୁଡ଼ିକ 293ଟି ଭାଷାରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ସବୁ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ପାଇଁ ମୋଟାମଟି ଏକା ହେଲେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଭିନ୍ନ ଭିନ୍ନ ଭାଷାଭାଷୀ ଉଇକିଆଳିଗଣ ନିଜ ଭାଷା ଓ ସମାଜର ଆବଶ୍ୟକତାକୁ ଆଖିରେ ରଖି ସେଗୁଡ଼ିକୁ ସାମାନ୍ୟ ବଦଳାଇଛନ୍ତି। ବିଭିନ୍ନ ବ୍ୟକ୍ତିବିଶେଷଙ୍କ ବାବଦରେ କିମ୍ବା ଘଟଣା ବାବଦରେ ଲିଖିତ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗ ଏକପାଖିଆ ନ ହୋଇ ନିରପେକ୍ଷ ଭାବେ ଲେଖିବା ଏହି ନିୟମାବଳୀ ମଧ୍ୟରୁ ଏକ ମୁଖ୍ୟ ନିୟମ। ସେହି ଭଳି ନିଜ ବ୍ୟକ୍ତିଗତ ମତ ବଦଳରେ କେବଳ ପ୍ରକାଶିତ ତଥ୍ୟ ଲେଖିବା ଆଉ ଏକ ନିୟମ। ସବୁଠାରୁ ମଜାର କଥା ହେଲା ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ କୌଣସି ଦେଶ ବା ସଙ୍ଗଠ ଅଧୀନରେ ନ ଥାଇ ଏହା ଉପରେ ପ୍ରତିଟି ଉଇକିଆଳିଙ୍କ ସମାନ ଅଧିକାର ରହିଛି। ପୁଣି ସେମାନଙ୍କ ଭିତରେ ସେମାନଙ୍କ କାମକୁ ନେଇ ଦାୟିତ୍ବ ବଣ୍ଟାଯାଇଛି। ବିବାଦ ଉପୁଜିଲେ ବି ସୁଧାରିବାକୁ ରହିଛି କିଛି ସ୍ବେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀଙ୍କୁ ନେଇ ତିଆରି କମିଟିମାନ।

ତେବେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ଥିବା ସବୁଯାକ ଲେଖାକୁ ଆଖିବୁଜି ଗ୍ରହଣ କରାଯାଇପାରିବ ନାହିଁ। କାରଣ ପ୍ୟାରିସ ଉପରେ ଥିବା ଲେଖାଟି ଶହେ କି ହଜାରେ ଲୋକ ମିଶି ଲେଖିଥିବା ବେଳେ ଭୁବନେଶ୍ବର ଉପରେ ଥିବା ଲେଖାଟି ହାତଗଣତି କେତେ ଜଣ ହୁଏତ ଲେଖିଥିବେ। ଯେଉଁ ଲେଖା ଯେତେ ଅଧିକ ଅଭିଜ୍ଞତା ଥିବା ଲୋକଙ୍କ ଦେଇ ଯେତେ ଘସାମଜା ହୋଇ ଲେଖାହୋଇଥିବ ସେ ଲେଖା ସେତେ ଉଜ୍ଜଳ ହୋଇ ଚମକୁଥିବ। ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଓ ଓଡ଼ିଶା ସମ୍ବନ୍ଧିତ ଲେଖାସବୁରୁ ଇଂରାଜୀ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଭଲ ଲେଖା ଖୋଜି ପାଇବା କଷ୍ଟ। ଆଉ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଲେଖୁଥିବା ଉଇକିଆଳିଙ୍କ ସଂଖ୍ୟା ପାଖାପାଖି 30 ଭିତରେ। ସାଢ଼େ ଚାରିକୋଟି ଓଡ଼ିଆଙ୍କ ଭିତରୁ ଯଦି ଏତେ କମ ଲୋକ ଏତେ ବଡ଼ କାମର ବୋଝ ଉଠାଉଥିବେ ତେହେଲେ ସବୁ ଲେଖାର ମାନ ଯେ ଏକା ଭଳି ଓ ସବୁ ଲେଖାରେ ଆବଶ୍ୟକ ସବୁ ତଥ୍ୟ ମିଳିବ ତା’ର ମାନେ ନାହିଁ। ତେଣୁ କେବେ କେବେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ମେଳା ମଉଛବକୁ ଧ ରି ଲେଖାଳିଏ ମିଶି ଗୋଟେ ବିଷୟରେ ଅଧିକ ଲେଖା ଲେଖିବା ପାଇଁ ଗଣ-ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରନ୍ତି। ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ ଚଳଣି ଉପରେ ଲିଖିତ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗସବୁ ନବକଳେବର ସମୟରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ଖବରକାଗଜ ଓ ପତ୍ରିକା ଆଦିରୁ ତଥ୍ୟ ସଂଗ୍ରହ କରି ବହୁଭାବେ ଉନ୍ନତ କରାଯାଇଥିଲା। ଏବେ ଏ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗସବୁ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ବାକି ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗ ସବୁଠାରୁ ଅଧିକ ତଥ୍ୟରେ ଭରା। ଏଥିରେ ଲେଖିବାକୁ ଆଗ୍ରହୀ ଓଡ଼ିଆମାନେ https://or.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:CS ପୃଷ୍ଠାରେ ଦିଆଯାଇଥିବା ସରଳ ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦେଶ ପଢ଼ି ନିଜେ ମଧ୍ୟ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ସ୍ଥାନ ଅନ୍ୟାନ୍ୟ ବିଷୟରେ ଲେଖିପାରିବେ।

ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ହେଉଛି ଏକ ଯାତ୍ରା। ଆଉ ଏ ବାଟ ଅସରନ୍ତି। ଯେତେ େଖିଲେ ବି ସରିବନି କିନ୍ତୁ ଲେଖା ଚାଲିରହିଥିବ। ଆଜି ଓଡ଼ିଆଙ୍କ ଭିତରେ ଅଳପ ଜଣା ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଜଗତର ବାକି ଭାଷାରେ ପ୍ରକାଶିତ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଓ ବାକି ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ସଙ୍ଗେ ସମକକ୍ଷ ହୋଇ ଓଡ଼ିଆଙ୍କ ମଥାକୁ ଟେକି ଧରିବା ପାଇଁ ସପନ ଦେଖିବା ପାଇଁ ଲୋଡ଼ା ଅଧିକରୁ ଅଧିକ ହାତ।

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/samanya-kathan-subhashish-panigrahi-june-5-2016-article-on-journey-of-odia-wikipedia

ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ: ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ବିଶାଳତମ ଅନଲାଇନ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ଗଢ଼ିବାର ଅଭିଯାନ

subha — 2016-06-09T11:58:39Z

ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆକୁ ଆଜି ୧୪ ବର୍ଷ ପୂରିଲା । ଏ ଅବସରରେ ଏହି ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ ଓ ତାକୁ ଗଢୁଥିବା ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ଉଇକିଆଳିଙ୍କ ବାବଦରେ ଏକ ଆଲେଖ ।

This article. that details about the journey of the Odia Wikipedia in the last 14 years appeared in YourStory Odia on on June 3.

ଜଣାଶୁଣା ବ୍ୟକ୍ତି, ବିଷୟ, ଘଟଣା, ସ୍ଥାନ ଆଦି ବିଷୟରେ ସଂକ୍ଷେପରେ ଲେଖିବା ପାଇଁ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ ବା ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷର ପରିକଳ୍ପନା । ତାକୁ ପୁଣି ଇଣ ୍ଟରନେଟର ଉପଲବ୍ଧ କରିବା ପାଇଁ ୨୦୦୧ରେ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହେଲା ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ (Wikipedia) । ପ୍ରଥମେ ଇଂରାଜୀରେ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହୋଇ ପରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ଭାଷାକୁ ଏହା ବଢ଼ିଲା । ଆଉ ଇଂରାଜୀ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହବାର ବର୍ଷଟିଏ ପରେ ୨୦୦୨ ମସିହାରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ, ଅହମିୟା, ପଞ୍ଜାବୀ ଓ ମାଲାୟାଲାମ ଭାଷାରେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଆରମ୍ଭ ହେଲା । ପ୍ରଥମ ଚାରୋଟି ଭାରତୀୟ ଭାଷାରେ ତିଆରି ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଭିତରୁ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଗୋଟେ ବୋଲି ଅନେକଙ୍କୁ ଆଜି ବି ଅଜଣା । ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ https://or.wikipedia.org ରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ପାଖାପାଖି ୯ ବର୍ଷ ଧରି ସକ୍ରିୟ ସମ୍ପାଦନାର ଅଭାବରୁ ୨୦୧୧ ଯାଏ ଏକ ରକମ ନିଷ୍କ୍ରିୟ ହୋଇ ପଡ଼ିରହିଥିଲା । ୨୦୧୧ରେ ଏ ିରେ ଅନେକ ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ସମ୍ପାଦକ ବା ଉଇକିଆଳିମାନେ ଯୋଡ଼ିହୋଇ ଲେଖିବା ଆରମ୍ଭ କରିବା ଫଳରେ ଅଧୁନା ଏଥିରେ ୧୦,୬୧୯ ସଂଖ୍ୟକ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗ ଲେଖାସରିଲାଣି । ଆଉ ନିତି ନୂଆ ନୂଆ ଲେଖା ଏଥିରେ ଯୋଡ଼ିହୋଇ ଚାଲିଛି ।

ତେବେ ଜଣେ ସାଧାରଣ ପାଠକ ପାଇଁ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ କଣ ରହିଛି ତାହା ଜାଣିବା ବେଶି ଜରୁରୀ । ଜ୍ଞାନ ଆହରଣର ବାଟ ପିଢ଼ିରୁ ପିଢ଼ିକୁ ବଦଳେ । ଆମ ପିଲାବେଳେ ଆମେ କାଁ ଭାଁ କମ୍ପ୍ୟୁଟର ଓ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟର ସୁବିଧା ପାଉଥିଲୁ । ଆଉ ସେତେବେଳେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ମିଡ଼ିଅମ ସ୍କୁଲର ପାଠାଗାର କିଛି ଗପ ଉପନ୍ୟାସ ବହି ଭିତରେ ସୀମିତ ଥିଲା । ନୂଆ ବହିଟିଏ ଦେଖିବା ଆଗରୁ କାନ୍ଥରୁ ଚୂନ ଝଡ଼ିପଡୁଥିଲା । ହେଲେ ଏବେ ଘରେ ଘରେ ଏକାଧିକ ମୋବାଇଲ ଆଉ ସେସବୁ ପୁଣି ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ସୁବିଧା ଥିବା ସ୍ମାର୍ଟଫୋନ ଆସିଲାଣି । ସ୍କୁଲ ପିଲାଏ ଆଉ କିଛି କରନ୍ତୁ ନ କରନ୍ତୁ କିନ୍ତୁ ଗେମ ଖେଳିବା କି ଫେସବୁକ ଆଦିରେ ସାଙ୍ଗମାନଙ୍କ ସଙ୍ଗେ ଚାଟିଂ ଆଦି କରିବାରେ ପକ ହେଲେଣି । ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ କମ୍ପୁଟରରୁ ସମ୍ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ ମୋବାଇଲମୁଖୀ ହୋଇଗଲାଣି । ପିଲାଙ୍କଠୁ ବଡ଼ ଯାଏ କାହା ପାଖେ ଆଉ ଏନସାଇକ୍ଲୋପିଡ଼ିଆ ବ୍ରିଟାନିକା ଭଳି ଓଜନିଆ ପୋଥି ଦେଇ କିଛି ଖୋଜିବା ପାଇଁ ବେଳ ନାହିଁ । ତେଣୁ ଏଭଳି ପରିସ୍ଥିତିରେ କୌଣସି ବିଷୟକୁ ଅଧିକ ଲୋକାଭିମୁଖୀ କରିବାର ସୁବିଧା ବାଟ ହେଉଛି ସେସବୁକୁ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ କରାଇବା । ତେବେ ବହି ବା ଜର୍ଣ୍ଣାଲର ବିକଳ୍ପ ନୁହେଁ ବରଂ ବହି ସଙ୍ଗେ ଭିନ୍ନ ଏକ ମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ଜ୍ଞାନ ବିତରଣର ବାଟ ରୂପରେ ଇଣଟରନେଟ ଅଧିକରୁ ଅଧିକ ଲୋକଙ୍କ ପାଖେ ପହଞ୍ଚିପାରୁଛି ।

ବିଭିନ୍ନ ଭାଷାରେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଜ୍ଞାନ ଆହରଣର ସ୍ଥିତି ଭିନ୍ନ । ତେବେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ପାଇଁ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟର ଅବସ୍ଥା ଯେତେ ଚିନ୍ତାଜନକ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଭାଷାକୁ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଅଧିକ ବ୍ୟବହାର ଉପଯୋଗୀ କରିବା ସେତେ ଅଧିକ ଲୋଡ଼ା । ୨୦୧୧ ଜନଗଣନା ତଥ୍ୟ ଅନୁସାରେ ଓଡ଼ିଶାରେ ମାତ୍ର ୧.୪ ଭାଗ ଲୋକଙ୍କ ପାଖେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟର ସୁବିଧା ଥିଲା । ଏହି ପାଞ୍ଚ ବର୍ଷ ଭିତରେ ଏହା ବହୁ ଅଧିକ ବଢ଼ିଥିବ । ହେଲେ ସେ ସଭିଏଁ କଣ ସତରେ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟର ବ୍ୟବହାର କରୁଛନ୍ତି ନାଁ ସୀମ ିତ କେତୋଟି ସାଇଟ ଭିତରେ ସୀମିତ । ଅଧିକାଂଶ ତଥାକଥିତ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟ ବ୍ୟବହାରକାରୀ ଫେସବୁକରେ ସାଙ୍ଗମାନଙ୍କ ସଙ୍ଗେ ଭାବ ଦିଆନିଆ କି ହୁଆଟସଆପରେ ପରିଚିତଙ୍କ ସଙ୍ଗେ ଆଳାପ ଅଥବା ଇଉଟିଉବରୁ ଗୀତ ଶୁଣିବା ବାହାରେ ବେଶୀ କିଛି ଜାଣନ୍ତି ନାହିଁ । ଏହାର ମୁଖ୍ୟ କାରଣ ହେଉଛି ସେମାନଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ସବୁଠୁ ବେଶୀ ପରିଚିତ ଭାଷା ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ବେଶୀ ୱେବସାଇଟ ନାହିଁ । ଖବର ପଢ଼ାଳିଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ନାଁ ଭଲ ଖବର ୱେବସାଇଟଟିଏ ରହିଛି ନାଁ ଗବେଷକଙ୍କ ପାଇଁ ଆମ ଐତିହ୍ୟ ଓ ପୁରୁଣା ଶିଳ୍ବାବଦରେ ପଢ଼ିବା ପାଇଁ ଆମ ମିଉଜିଅମ ୱେବସାଇଟରେ ସମସ୍ତ କଳାକୃତିର ତଥ୍ୟ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଦିଆଯାଇଛି । ସେମିତି ଭିନ୍ନ ଭିନ୍ନ ବିଷୟରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ବିଷୟ ଜାଣିବା ପାଇଁ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ନିହାତି ଦରକାରୀ ବିଷୟ ମଧ୍ୟ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ନାହିଁ । ଏଭଳି ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ପ୍ରକାଶିତ କେଇଶହ ଖବରକାଗଜ ଭିତରୁ କେବଳ ଗୋଟେ କାଗଜର ଖବରଗୁଡ଼ିକ ଇଣ୍ଟରନେଟରେ ଖୋଜିପାଇହେବ । କାରଣ ବାକି ଖବରକାଗଜର ଲେଖା ଇଉନିକୋଡ଼ ଭଳି ଆନ୍ତର୍ଜାତିକ ମାନକକୁ ନ ଆପଣାଇ ଆକୃତି, ଶ୍ରୀଲିପି ଆଦି ପୁରୁଣାକାଳିଆ ଅଣ-ମାନକ ସଫ୍ଟଓଏରରେ ଲେଖି ଛବି ଭାବେ କିମ୍ବା ପିଡିଏଫ ଡକୁମେଣ୍ଟ ଭାବେ ସେମାନଙ୍କ ସାଇଟରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ । ସେଗୁଡ଼ିକ ଦେଖିବାକୁ ଭିନ୍ନ ନ ଲାଗିଲେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଗୁଗୁଲ ବା ସର୍ଚ ଇଞ୍ଜିନରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଟାଇପ କରି ଖୋଜିହୁଏନାହିଁ କିମ୍ବା ମୋବାଇଲ ଆଦିରେ ସଳଖେ ପଢ଼ିହୁଏନାହିଁ ।

ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ୧୯୩୦ ମସିହାରେ ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣଚନ୍ଦ୍ର ଭାଷାକୋଷ ଭଳି ବିଶାଳ ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ରଚନା କାମ ଆଜିଯାଏ ଆଉ କିଛି ହୋଇପାରିନାହିଁ । ଆଧୁନିକ ଟେକନୋଲୋଜି ବ୍ୟବହାର କରି ଏବେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଅତୀତ ସହ ସନ୍ଧିଟିଏ ତିଆରି କରିପାରିବ । ଏହା ସମ୍ପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ ଭାବେ ଅଣ-ଲାଭକାରୀ ଓ ଏଥିରେ ବିଜ୍ଞାପନ ନ ଥାଏ । ଏଥିରେ ଲେଖାଗୁଡ଼ିକ ଲେଖୁଥିବା ଉଇକିଆଳିଏ ସଭିଏଁ ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀ ଓ ଲେଖାସବୁ ସେମାନଙ୍କ ସ୍ୱତ୍ୱାଧୀକାରରେ ପ୍ରକାଶିତ । ତେବେ ଜ୍ଞାନ ବିତରଣ ଉଦ୍ଦେଶ୍ୟରେ ତିଆରି ହୋଇଥିବାରୁ ଲେଖାସବୁ କପିରାଇଟ ଦେଇ ନ ରୋକିବା ଲାଗି ସେସବୁ କ୍ରିଏଟିଭ କମନ୍ସ ସେଆର-ଏଲାଇକ ଲାଇସେନ୍ସରେ ବିତରିତ । ଫଳରେ ସଭିଏଁ ମାଗଣାରେ ପଢ଼ିପାରିବେ, ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗଗୁଡ଼ିକ ପୁନବ୍ୟବହାର କରିପାରିବେ ଓ ଉଭୟ ଲାଭକାରୀ ଓ ଅଣ ଲାଭକାରୀ କାମରେ ବ୍ୟବହାର କରିପାରିବେ । ଏଥି ସହିତ କୌଣସି ଲେଖାରେ ଭୁଲ ପାଇଲେ ଜଣେ ଲେଖା ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରି ସୁଧାରିପାରିବେ । ଏଥିରେ ଲେଖା ଓ ସମ୍ପାଦନା ପଦ୍ଧତି ଏତେ ଖୋଲା ଯେ ପ୍ରାୟ ସବୁ ଲେଖା ଏକ ନୁହେଁ ଅନେକ ଲୋକଙ୍କ ଦେଇ ଏକାଠି ଲିଖିତ । ତେବେ ଲେଖାର ମାନରେ ସମତା ରଖିବା ନିମନ୍ତେ କେତେଗୁଡ଼ିଏ ନିୟମାବଳୀ ଅକ୍ରିୟ ସଭ୍ୟମାନେ ମିଶି ତିଆରି କରିଛନ୍ତି । ଏଗୁଡ଼ିକ ୨୯୩ଟି ଭାଷାରେ ଉପଲବ୍ଧ ସବୁ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ପାଇଁ ମୋଟାମୋଟି ଏକା ହେଲେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଭିନ୍ନ ଭିନ୍� � ଭାଷାଭାଷୀ ଉଇକିଆଳିଗଣ ନିଜ ଭାଷା ଓ ସମାଜର ଆବଶ୍ୟକତାକୁ ଆଖିରେ ରଖି ସେଗୁଡ଼ିକୁ ସାମାନ୍ୟ ବଦଳାଇଛନ୍ତି । ବିଭିନ୍ନ ବ୍ୟକ୍ତିବିଶେଷଙ୍କ ବାବଦରେ କିମ୍ବା ଘଟଣା ବାବଦରେ ଲିଖିତ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗ ଏକପାଖିଆ ନ ହୋଇ ନିରପେକ୍ଷ ଭାବେ ଲେଖିବା ଏହି ନିୟମାବଳୀ ମଧ୍ୟରୁ ଏକ ମୁଖ୍ୟ ନିୟମ । ସେହି ଭଳି ନିଜ ବ୍ୟକ୍ତିଗତ ମତ ବଦଳରେ କେବଳ ପ୍ରକାଶିତ ତଥ୍ୟ ଲେଖିବା ଆଉ ଏକ ନିୟମ । ସବୁଠାରୁ ମଜାର କଥା ହେଲା ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ କୌଣସି ଦେଶ ବା ସଙ୍ଗଠନ ଅଧୀନରେ ନ ଥାଇ ଏହା ଉପରେ ପ୍ରତ ିଟି ଉଇକିଆଳିଙ୍କ ସମାନ ଅଧିକାର ରହିଛି । ପୁଣି ସେମାନଙ୍କ ଭିତରେ ସେମାନଙ୍କ କାମକୁ ନେଇ ଦାୟିତ୍ୱ ବଣ୍ଟାଯାଇଛି । ବିବାଦ ଉପୁଜିଲେ ବି ସୁଧାରିବାକୁ ରହିଛି କିଛି ସ୍ୱେଚ୍ଛାସେବୀଙ୍କୁ ନେଇ ତିଆରି କମିଟିମାନ ।

ତେବେ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ଥିବା ସବୁଯାକ ଲେଖାକୁ ଆଖିବୁଜି ଗ୍ରହଣ କରାଯାଇପାରିବ ନାହିଁ । କାରଣ ପ୍ୟାରିସ ଉପରେ ଥିବା ଲେଖାଟି ଶହେ କି ହଜାରେ ଲୋକ ମିଶି ଲେଖିଥିବା ବେଳେ ଭୁବନେଶ୍ୱର ଉପରେ ଥିବା ଲେଖାଟି ହାତଗଣତି କେତେ ଜଣ ହୁଏତ ଲେଖିଥିବେ । ଯେଉଁ ଲେଖା ଯେତେ ଅଧିକ ଅଭିଜ୍ଞତା ଥିବା ଲୋକଙ୍କ ଦେଇ ଯେତେ ଘସା ମଜା ହୋଇ ଲେଖାହୋଇଥିବ ସେ ଲେଖା ସେତେ ଉଜ୍ଜଳ ହୋଇ ଚମକୁଥିବ । ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଓ ଓଡ଼ିଶା ସମ୍ବନ୍ଧିତ ଲେଖାସବୁରୁ ଇଂରାଜୀ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆରେ ମଧ୍ୟ ଭଲ ଲେଖା ଖୋଜି ପାଇବା କଷ୍ଟ । ଆଉ ଓଡ଼ିଆରେ ଲେଖୁଥିବା ଉଇକିଆଳିଙ୍କ ସଂଖ୍ୟା ପାଖାପାଖି ୩୦ ଭିତରେ । ସାଢ଼େ ଚାରିକୋଟି ଓଡ଼ିଆଙ୍କ ଭିତରୁ ଯଦି ଏତେ କମ ଲୋକ ଏତେ ବଡ଼ କାମର ବୋଝ ଉଠାଉଥିବେ ତେହେଲେ ସବୁ ଲେଖାର ମାନ ଯେ ଏକା ଭଳି ଓ ସବୁ ଲେଖାରେ ଆବଶ୍ୟକୀୟ ସବୁ ତଥ୍ୟ ମିଳିବ ତା'ର ମାନେ ନାହିଁ । ତେଣୁ କେବେ କେବେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ମେଳା ମଉଛବକୁ ଧରି ଲେଖାଳିଏ ମିଶି ଗୋଟେ ବିଷୟରେ ଅଧିକ ଲେଖା ଲେଖିବା ପାଇଁ ଗଣ-ସମ୍ପାଦନା କରନ୍ତି । ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ ଚଳଣି ଉପରେ ଲିଖିତ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗସବୁ ନବକଳେବର ସମୟରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ଖବରକାଗଜ ଓ ପତ୍ରିକା ଆଦିରୁ ତଥ୍ୟ ସଂଗ୍ରହ କରି ବହୁଭାବେ ଉନ୍ନତ କରାଯାଇଥିଲା । ଏବେ ଏ ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗସବୁ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ବାକି ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗସବୁଠାରୁ ଅଧିକ ତଥ୍ୟରେ ଭରା । ଏଥିରେ ଲେଖିବାକୁ ଆଗ୍ରହୀ ଓଡ଼ିଆମାନେ ଏହି ପୃଷ୍ଠାରେ ଦିଆଯାଇଥିବା ସରଳ ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦେଶ ପଢ଼ି ନିଜେ ମଧ୍ୟ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ସ୍ଥାନ ଓ ଅନ୍ୟାନ୍ୟ ବିଷୟରେ ଲେଖିପାରିବେ ।

ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ହେଉଛି ଏକ ଯାତ୍ରା । ଆଉ ଏ ବାଟ ଅସରନ୍ତି । ଯେତେ ଲେଖିଲେ ବି ସ ରିବନି କିନ୍ତୁ ଏ ଲେଖା ଚାଲିରହିଥିବ । ଆଜି ଓଡ଼ିଆଙ୍କ ଭିତରେ ଅଳପ ଜଣା ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଜଗତର ବାକି ଭାଷାରେ ପ୍ରକାଶିତ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଓ ବାକି ଜ୍ଞାନକୋଷ ସଙ୍ଗେ ସମକକ୍ଷ ହୋଇ ଓଡ଼ିଆଙ୍କ ମଥାକୁ ଟେକି ଧରିବା ପାଇଁ ସପନ ଦେଖିବା ପାଇଁ ଲୋଡ଼ା ଅଧିକରୁ ଅଧିକ ହାତ । ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ଏ ଜୟଯାତ୍ରା ପାଳନ କରିବା ପାଇଁ ଭୁବନେଶ୍ୱରରେ ପାଳିତ ହେଉଛି ଏକ ସାଧାରଣ ସଭା ଓ ସବିଶେଷ ଏହି ପୃଷ୍ଠାରେ ପଢ଼ିପାରିବେ ।

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/your-story-odia-june-3-2016-subhashish-panigrahi-journey-of-odia-wikipedia-in-last-14-years

NGOs tell PM not to succumb to pressure from US on IPR

praskrishna — 2016-06-10T02:23:46Z

The news from PTI was mirrored in the Economic Times on June 7, 2016. CIS was one of the NGOs that have advised the Prime Minister of India on IPR.

A group of NGOs have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to succumb to pressure from the US on the issue of intellectual property regime (IPR). More than 10 eminent NGOs in a statement urged Modi to reconsider the implementation of the National IPR Policy and send the policy back to the drawing board. It urged the Prime Minister to "withstand the pressure from the US government and corporations and to defend the people's interests" and to reject any demand to either initiate negotiation on free trade agreements and/or bilateral investment treaty with the US or joining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The NGOs also urged Modi to ensure transparency and accountability in the engagements with the US on IP issues by tabling a White Paper in Parliament.

"We are concerned that the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy adopted by the Cabinet ignores India's experience of implementing a regime of IP protection that balances the rights of the IP holders and public interest, by proposing an 'IP maximalist' agenda," the NGOs said.

They alleged that the IP maximalist agenda in the policy fully ignores the socio-economic needs of people of India and serves the profit motives of Multi National Corporations (MNCs) that own an overwhelming majority of the world's IP.

"We urge the government to reconsider this anti-people policy," the NGOs said. "We understand the primary intent of the policy is to respond to the aggressive demands of US government, backed by the corporate interests especially the pharmaceutical companies, to amend India's IP laws that include several safeguards to protect the public interest," it said.

"The government of India should remain committed to the welfare of its people's interest and should not succumb to the pressures that it is being subjected to. Above all, the government must fulfill its obligation to protect the rights of the citizens that have been guaranteed by the constitution, in particular, right to health, right to education, and right to food," they said.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/economic-times-june-7-2016-ngos-tell-pm-not-to-succumb-to-pressure-from-us-on-ipr

Online space for Odia

praskrishna — 2016-06-12T15:39:21Z

From a few hundred articles in 2002 to over 10,600 articles on various aspects of Odisha today, Odia Wikipedia has certainly made a mark as far as promotion of the language is concerned. Wikipedia, the volunteer driven web-based multilingual encyclopedia project, is an important reference source on the Internet for all kinds of information.

The article by Diana Sahu was published in New Indian Express on June 10, 2016. Subhashish Panigrahi was quoted.

Recently, Odia Wikipedia (https://or.wikipedia.org) celebrated its 14th anniversary in Bhubaneswar where the focus was on capacity building of Wikipedia contributors, volunteers and enhancing the content.

While the event brought all the active contributors under one roof, it also provided a platform to new users to learn the basics of Wikipedia editing, technical aspects, uploading and adding images to articles and dealing with copyright issues on Wikipedia.

Odia Wikipedia is free for anyone to create articles on notable topics related to Odisha, edit and enhance them. Topics covered so far are varied, from elaborate rituals in Jagannath temple of Puri to medical science.

Sister Projects

Currently, there are two sister projects of Odia Wikipedia - Odia Wikisource (an online library that already has over 300 volumes of text) and Odia Wiktionary, an online dictionary that has over one lakh entries in the language.

With these two projects, the community is bringing a digital revolution in Odia by sharing valuable content online and many language tools. Odia Wikipedia, the flagship project was started as one of the first four Indian language Wikipedias along with Assamese, Malayalam and Punjabi Wikipedia in 2002, a year after the English Wikipedia went live.

The project remained dormant for more than nine years till a group of youths revived it in 2011. Subsequently, the project became popular among Odias and they joined in writing and editing articles on different subject areas in the language.

"Odia Wikipedia is part of the 292 language Wikipedia family and a larger global family of hundreds of other free knowledge projects that are collectively known as Wikimedia projects," said Mrutyunjaya Kar, one of the administrators of the project, during the event.

Tools for Writers

Apart from writing and editing articles, the Wikipedia contributors have created several tools and resource manuals over the years. The script encoding converters that they have built is helping online users to share their Odia writings.

"Before these converters were built, people were stuck with outdated encoding systems like Shreelipi and Akruti," says Subhashish Panigrahi, Wikipedian, and Programme Officer at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru.

New Projects

"The next big goal is to enhance the quality of the existing articles by adding more images, references from external sources and expanding small articles by adding more information," said a contributor, Shitikantha Dash. Dash, who is also an administrator of Odia Wiktionary said, "It is important that more people contribute to the Odia Wiktionary so that words of all genres, especially the technical and burrowed words, make their way into this free multilingual dictionary. A 10-day campaign will be organised soon to celebrate the 11th anniversary of Odia Wiktionary. "This time, our focus will be that every Wikipedia editor adds at least one word to the Odia Wiktionary. We are also using these words to create a spell check facility in Odia Wikipedia that will be freely available for everyone to use," he added.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/new-indian-express-june-10-2016-diana-sahu-online-space-for-odia

Beyond Editor Count: Assessing Quality on Wikipedia

teju — 2016-06-12T16:00:13Z

Since Wikipedia is considered as the go-to source for different kinds of knowledge by anyone starting off in a particular field of study, and since Indian languages (IL) are often the default languages of the classroom in India, strengthening the quality of the material available on IL Wikipedias is certain to have widespread tangible and intangible impact.

While there is a need to improve the editor count on IL Wikipedias, it cannot substitute for efforts aimed at enhancing the quality of Wikipedia contributions. Here is an account of an initiative geared towards enriching the IL digital domain and in particular Wikipedia through partnerships with universities.

In collaboration with CIS-A2K, the Centre for Indian Languages in Higher Education (CILHE) at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, has been conducting workshops with post graduate and undergraduate students in humanities and social sciences on developing digital open knowledge resources using IL Wikipedias.

These workshops, which are conducted by a resource person from CILHE and anchored by faculty members in partner institutions, are aimed at (a) integrating open knowledge resources into classroom teaching, (b) involving students in developing content relevant to their research interests, and (c) developing the skills to produce well-referenced academic writing.

Besides Wikipedia editing, the workshop process involves exercises that allow students to engage closely with major social science concepts and their meanings. The workshops also include collaborative digital annotation exercises.

This effort is the only one of its kind in the country where both students and teachers participate in creating open knowledge resources that are of use to them and the larger academic and non-academic audience.

Achievements thus far

Workshops are conducted bilingually, across several geographies, with English being the common factor. The Indian languages in question are Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Bangla and Kannada.

Here is a brief account of two such partnerships. The first is with Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women’s Studies Centre (KSPWSC) at Pune University, Pune, and the second with the Departments of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature at English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad.

At KSPWSC, around 20 researchers since 2015 have collaboratively annotated 100 key women’s studies texts in Marathi and have written articles on these texts on the Marathi Wikipedia. This is the first part of a larger project called Sau Dhuni Teen (100 x 3), which aims to also cover 100 notable persons and 100 key concepts in women’s studies in addition to the 100 key texts.

This has been a year-long process involving, prior to the workshop,

(a) selection of 100 key texts through a survey of existing women’s studies curricula across the state of Maharashtra in the universities of all 6 major areas of the state;

(b) close reading and analysis of the texts led by faculty.

During the workshop, students learn how to

(a) annotate digitally and for an encyclopedia; how to create concept clusters and clouds of annotation;

(b) overcome translation challenges (English into Marathi, and Marathi into English) through the cultivation of linguistic attentiveness and sensitivity to the cultural contexts involved; and through the use of online and offline dictionaries and other writings on the subjects covered in the 100 key texts. The exposure to the existing literature helps students absorb the necessary vocabulary which is already in use and familiar to readers.

At EFLU, Hyderabad, 25 students speaking a number of Indian languages -Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi - have come together to create articles of relevance to social sciences and humanities teaching and learning. The entries include: the concept of the public sphere, movements for political autonomy, leading Indian scholars, and major contemporary academic and literary works.

Ensuring success and sustainability: Key Factors

Consistent faculty participation coupled with regular meet-ups to develop existing articles and create new ones ensures the success and sustainability of these workshops. Prior to the workshops, the faculty members engage intensively with students in identifying concepts or texts about which writing in Indian languages is limited or inadequate.

Finding a thematic focus has been crucial for retaining interest and participation of the students in different locations, for example - women’s studies in Pune University, rural development at TISS Tuljapur, literary and cultural studies at EFLU.

Measurable outputs for student assessment are important for those faculty seeking to make Wikipedia editing part of internal assessment. These outputs include articles written, information added, references used, and links made, which can be easily computed from the View History pages.

Understanding Quality Enhancement

Participatory knowledge production: The Indian language articles on notable academicians, theorists, phenomena, events, and places written as part of the workshop are accessed, used, and further developed by students as well as Wikipedians other than the original authors.

Changing the pedagogic culture through open access resources: The articles become a strong pedagogic resource in Indian languages which is publicly accessible, generated by users themselves, used to supplement classroom teaching, and open to editing and revision.

Context sensitivity: The success of these workshops may also be assessed in terms of the variety of concept descriptions generated, the relevance of articles to context, and the integration of local experience onto digital knowledge platforms.

In addition to Wikipedia’s criteria for a good article, which include clarity, coherence, focussed development of the article, comprehensive references, use of inter-links and hyperlinks, the Indian language resources developed through our initiative have the significant additional feature of being contextually and culturally sensitive. We believe this is a crucial criterion for Wikipedia to be able to take root in the Indian knowledge domain.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/beyond-editor-count-assessing-quality-on-wikipedia

Wikipedia edit-a-thon at TEDSummit 2016, Banff, Canada

garule — 2016-06-13T06:44:49Z

The TEDSummit 2016, an annual conference of the TED community, is taking place during June 26-30, 2016 at Banff, Canada. Wikimedians Netha Hussain, Ayyappadas along with Abhinav Garule, Programme Associate, CIS-A2K will be conducting a 90-minute long workshop to educate the participants through Wikipedia's guidelines and help them write their first articles.

A list of articles have been suggested in the event page that participants can create. They can also play with a mock article. Please note, this is an invite-only event and only the conference participants that have registered beforehand can attend this edit-a-thon.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/events/wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-tedsummit-2016-banff-canada

शंभर वर्षापूर्वीचे ग्रंथ मराठी विकिपीडियावर

praskrishna — 2016-06-22T14:53:03Z

The article was published in Maharashtra Times on June 15, 2016. Abhinav Garule and Tanveer Hasan have been quoted.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/maharashtra-times-june-15-cis-a2k-signs-mou-with-maharashtra-granthottejak-sanstha

NGOs tell PM not to succumb to pressure from US on IPR

praskrishna — 2016-07-02T05:04:03Z

A group of NGOs have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to succumb to pressure from the US on the issue of intellectual property regime (IPR).

The article was published in the Economic Times on June 7, 2016

More than 10 eminent NGOs in a statement urged Modi to reconsider the implementation of the National IPR Policy and send the policy back to the drawing board.

It urged the Prime Minister to "withstand the pressure from the US government and corporations and to defend the people's interests" and to reject any demand to either initiate negotiation on free trade agreements and/or bilateral investment treaty with the US or joining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The NGOs are Forum Against FTAs, Lawyers Collective, All Indian Drug Action Network, Initiative for Health & Equity in Society, Third World Network, National Working Group on Patent Laws, Gene Campaign, New Trade Union Initiative, Navdanya, Software Freedom Law Centre, and Centre for Internet and Society.

The NGOs also urged Modi to ensure transparency and accountability in the engagements with the US on IP issues by tabling a White Paper in Parliament.

"We are concerned that the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy adopted by the Cabinet ignores India's experience of implementing a regime of IP protection that balances the rights of the IP holders and public interest, by proposing an 'IP maximalist' agenda," the NGOs said.

They alleged that the IP maximalist agenda in the policy fully ignores the socio-economic needs of people of India and serves the profit motives of Multi National Corporations (MNCs) that own an overwhelming majority of the world's IP.

"We urge the government to reconsider this anti-people policy," the NGOs said.

"We understand the primary intent of the policy is to respond to the aggressive demands of US government, backed by the corporate interests especially the pharmaceutical companies, to amend India's IP laws that include several safeguards to protect the public interest," it said.

"The government of India should remain committed to the welfare of its people's interest and should not succumb to the pressures that it is being subjected to. Above all, the government must fulfill its obligation to protect the rights of the citizens that have been guaranteed by the constitution, in particular, right to health, right to education, and right to food," they said.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/ngos-tell-pm-not-to-succumb-to-pressure-from-us-on-ipr

Climate change will be a priority in talks with Modi: U.S.

praskrishna — 2016-07-02T05:08:51Z

Mr. Modi will have a bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama on Tuesday and address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

The article was published in Hindu on June 6, 2016

“Advancing the ambitious climate change and clean energy agenda” and “further enhancing our security and diplomatic cooperation across the Indo-Pacific region,” would be the focus of discussions between India and the U.S during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit this week, a State Department official told The Hindu.

Mr. Modi is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Monday evening on a three-day tour.

Mr. Modi will have a bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama, to be followed by a lunch at the White House on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he will address a joint session of Congress, which will be a demonstration of the bipartisan support that the India-US relationship has acquired.

“Since 2014, there have been six meetings and countless phone calls between President Obama and Prime Minister Modi, and this visit reflects the significance that the two leaders place on our natural alliance,” the official said.

Wooing investors

Mr. Modi will interact with U.S CEOs and investors at the annual meeting of the U.S – India Business Council (USIBC) on Tuesday. USIBC President Mukesh Aghi said the meeting between Mr. Modi and Mr. Obama, “a PM who has not even completed half his term and a President who has only a few months left in office will be to strengthen the foundations of the relationship further and ensure continuity.”

Mr. Modi is visiting the U.S - the fourth time since he took over as PM in 2014 – at Mr Obama’s behest.

Mr. Aghi said the USIBC event would have CEOs of 25 Fortune 500 companies attending it. The event will also honour Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, and Founder and Managing Director of Sun Pharmaceuticals Dilip Shanghvi with the Global Leadership Awards. “The PM’s interactions with U.S business leaders will be aimed to get more investment and technology to India,” Mr. Aghi said.

USIBC is also lobbying with the U.S and Indian governments to restart the negotiations for a bilateral investment treaty (BIT). In a letter to the U.S government last week, Mr. Aghi said: "While both governments took a break from the negotiations on account of revising the model BITs, it is important for us to come back to the negotiating table to develop a way-forward on concluding a high-quality BIT.” USIBC also sought U.S initiative to nominate India for membership of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

IPR, Human Rights

Mr. Modi is facing protests from groups in India on the intellectual property rights policy that his government announced recently. The government has claimed the new policy does not compromise the country’s ability to ensure affordable drugs, but several campaign groups believe the Modi government is coming under U.S pressure on the issue.

Seeking a White Paper in parliament on the government’s engagement with the U.S on IPR issues, 11 civil society groups in India urged Mr. Modi “to withstand the pressure from the US government and corporations and to defend the people’s interests,” during his talks in Washington.

“We understand the primary intent of the (recent) policy is to respond to the aggressive demands of United States government, backed by the corporate interests especially the pharmaceutical companies, to amend India’s IP laws that include several safeguards to protect the public interest. The government of India should remain committed to the welfare of its people’s interest and should not succumb to the pressures that it is being subjected to,” the groups said, demanding to reconsider the “implementation of the National IPR Policy and send the policy back to the drawing board.” The statement was signed by Forum Against FTAs, Lawyers Collective, All Indian Drug Action Network, Initiative for Health & Equity in Society, Third World Network, National Working Group on Patent Laws, Gene Campaign, New Trade Union Initiative, Navdanya, Software Freedom Law Centre and Centre for Internet and Society.

In the U.S Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA) has expressed “grave concerns about the increasing intolerance and violence against India's Christian communities.” Recalling President Obama’s statement in Delhi in January 2015 on religious freedoms, the group said “the concerns he raised in that speech are very important for the future of US-India relationship.” “While President Obama’s comments have raised the level of attention paid to this issue globally, there are several cases of Mr. Modi’s government officials continuing to protect local groups loyal to him from prosecution. The general socio-political environment created by Mr. Modi and his party has only caused greater damage to the Union of India,” John Prabhudoss, FIACONA president said.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/the-hindu-varghese-k-george-june-6-2016-climate-change-will-be-a-priority-in-talks-with-modi-us

NGOs tell Modi not to succumb to US pressure on intellectual property

praskrishna — 2016-07-02T05:14:48Z

A group of NGOs have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to succumb to pressure from the US on the issue of intellectual property regime (IPR).

The article by Rinku Patel was published in India Tribune on June 7, 2016.

The NGOs are Forum Against FTAs, Lawyers Collective, All Indian Drug Action Network, Initiative for Health & Equity in Society, Third World Network, National Working Group on Patent Laws, Gene Campaign, New Trade Union Initiative, Navdanya, Software Freedom Law Centre, and Centre for Internet and Society.

The NGOs also urged Modi to ensure transparency and accountability in the engagements with the US on IP issues by tabling a White Paper in Parliament.

They alleged that the IP maximalist agenda in the policy fully ignores the socio-economic needs of people of India and serves the profit motives of Multi National Corporations

“We understand the primary intent of the policy is to respond to the aggressive demands of US government, backed by the corporate interests especially the pharmaceutical companies, to amend India’s IP laws that include several safeguards to protect the public interest,” it said.

“The government of India should remain committed to the welfare of its people’s interest and should not succumb to the pressures that it is being subjected to. Above all, the government must fulfill its obligation to protect the rights of the citizens that have been guaranteed by the constitution, in particular, right to health, right to education, and right to food,” they said.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/india-tribune-rinku-patel-june-7-2016-ngos-tell-modi-not-to-succumb-to-us-pressure-on-intellectual-property

Sub$-100 Phones: Browser Compatibility Tests

rohini — 2017-02-16T16:47:02Z

This post documents the results of browser compatibility tests conducted on six out of eight specimen mobile phones being studied under the Pervasive Technologies project. These phones are Internet-enabled and cost the equivalent of USD 100 or less in India. Rohini Lakshané and CIS volunteer Dhananjay Balan carried out the tests. Intern Shreshth Wadhwa provided assistance.

Names and descriptions of mobile phones under study: Annexure 1
How the phones under study were chosen: Section 3.2: Criteria for choosing the mobile phones

Research Question:

What technical standards are browsers pre-installed in the eight test phones compatible with?

This question partially answers research question #2 in Methodology: Patent Landscaping in the Indian Mobile Device Market, that is, what patents pertain to [technical] capabilities commonly found in networked mobile devices sold in India for USD 100 or less?

Method:

We conducted tests on all browsers pre-installed, that is, installed by the manufacturer, on six mobile phones to understand their extent of compliance with technical standards for the web. All browsers were tuned to their default settings and no plugins or extensions were installed in them. The tests could not be run on two phones for reasons stated in "Limitations".

For Android v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and higher versions, we set up a local host and automated all the tests by using a script. The local host was set up to expose sample HTTP endpoints. We tested all browsers through this server.

A Shell script was used to acquire screenshots of the results of the tests:
#!/bin/bash

adb shell screencap -p $1
adb pull $1

We collected screenshots of devices with Android versions below v4.0 by capturing the framebuffer since the shell command was introduced in v4.0.

Script: Github - https://gist.github.com/dbalan/e58f51b713bfd6d711fd02061e27ca90 or Download as .zip.

Android version numbers, where applicable, can be found in the “User Agent” row of the test results. We took photos of the screens for the rest of the devices.

Standards and capabilities tested:

Browser Network Support

HTTP/1.1
HTTP/2
SSL

Acid Tests

Acid tests 1, 2, and 3 (http://www.acidtests.org) were run on all phones.

Acid 1 tests for compliance to the CSS 1.0 standard; Acid 2 for HTML 4, CSS 2.1, PNG, and data URLs. Acid 3 for SVG, HTML, SMIL, Unicode, DOM, ECMAScript (Javascript), and CSS 3, among other parameters. Here is the full list of specifications tested by Acid 3: http://www.webstandards.org/action/acid3/x

Image Formats

JPEG
GIF
PNG

Results

View as .ods; View as .xls

Reading the results:

User-agent string

Example 1: Micromax Canvas Engage A091
User-agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 4.4.2; Micromax A091 Build/A091) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/34.0.1847.114 Mobile Safari/537.36

Mozilla/5.0: Mozilla Firefox browser, version number
This is a user-agent token.

Linux: Linux kernel

Android 4.4.2: Operating system, version number

Micromax A091: Device ID

Build/A091: Build number.

This is a customised Android build by Micromax. (Build numbers of stock Android 4.4.2 are KOT49H and KVT49L).

AppleWebKit/537.36: WebKit, version number. WebKit by Apple is a component of a layout engine that renders web pages in browsers. It is based on KHTML.KHTML: HTML layout engine developed by KDE. Licensed LGPL.

like Gecko: A browser that behaves like a Gecko browser

Chrome/34.0.1847.114: Chrome for Android browser, version number

Mobile: Either mobile browser or mobile device, or both

Safari/537.36: Apple Safari browser, version number

Example 2: Opal Cyher-Shot NX900
User-agent: Dorado WAP-Browser/1.0.0/powerplay/2

Dorado WAP-Browser/1.0.0: User agent key, version

This is a WAP browser for mobile phones based on a Java engine.

Observations:

Browsers pre-installed on phones of Indian brands comply with all technical standards and capabilities tested for. All of these phones -- Intex, Lava and Micromax -- also run on the Android operating system. In the case of failed tests, the results are the same or similar for most mobile phones. For example, Opera Mini 7.5 on Intex Aqua N15 and on Micromax Canvas Engage A091 scored 97/100 in the Acid3 test. This is in line with the results released by Acid for Opera Mini 7.5 and also by the Browserscope project for profiling web browsers.

Awang, Yestel and Opal are brands from China or Hong Kong. The only pre-installed browser on Awang A808, an Android v2.3 (Gingerbread) phone, also cleared all tests but one. It scored 95/100 in the acid3 test, which is the case for the Firefox browser on most Gingerbread phones. The browsers on non-Android phones Yestel and Opal failed the tests for Acid1, Acid2, Acid3 and HTTP2, which indicates that while these phones are technically Internet-enabled, their users do not enjoy many of the benefits of the modern web.

Screenshots or photos of results:

View photos and screenshots
The name of the file is in the format: <name of browser>_<name of format/ acid test with number>.<file extension>
In the case of default browsers, <name of browser> appears as “android”.

Limitations:

Eight phones were under study. However, one of the phones (HiBro) did not contain a pre-installed browser. The only way to access the Internet on this phone was through pre-installed apps such as Facebook.

The operating system of Kechaoda K16, which was Java-based, did not yield to the script used for running the tests. It had one pre-installed WAP browser. Both these phones were excluded from the tests.

Screenshots could not be obtained for the results of tests of two phones, Opal Cyher-Shot NX900 and Yestel Q5S+. We took photos of their screens instead.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/sub-100-phones-browser-compatibility-tests

Open source effort gives indigenous language an official typeface

subha — 2016-08-03T02:00:36Z

Santali, an aboriginal South Asian language, has a brand new freely licensed font and set of cross-platform open source input tools on the way.

The article was published by Opensource.com on July 8, 2016.

More than 6.2 million people in four South Asian countries (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan) speak Santali. In India, it is one of the 22 major languages as mentioned in the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution. However, Santali is not the official language in regions where it is largely spoken, nor is it widely taught in schools. A large segment of the native speakers are socially and economically disadvantaged, which doesn't help either.

When it comes to mainstream media and the Internet, use of the native Santali alphabet, Ol Chiki, is limited. Right now there exists no single, fully Unicode-compliant website with Santali content. The Indian government's Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which is set up for the development of many aboriginal groups in the country, does not have its web portal in Santali or any other indigenous language. However, the government announced last year that it would make native Indian language input mandatory in mobile phones.

The need for a typeface, especially in a universal encoding standard like Unicode, became apparent during a three-month digitization project on Odia Wikisource, an Odia-language online library and sister project of Wikipedia. Many of the students who were part of the digitization project were native speakers. The students shared how they couldn't opt for education in their own language, thus affecting their knowledge and understanding of the written language.

The question whether digital activism can help revive indigenous languages was discussed at the 2015 Global Voices Citizen Media Summit in Cebu City, Philippines. After the event, a pilot project was started within the Center for Internet and Society's Access to Knowledge program to create a freely licensed font and input methods so that anyone can easily type in their native language.

The typeface family was designed by type designer Pooja Saxena and went through several rounds of review by language experts. However, the typeface is still one step away from reality. Because of this, two input methods will be made available along with the typeface; Sarjom Baha, a phonetic input method so that every common user can easily type the they pronounce the words, and InScript, a keyboard layout standard for Indian scripts. Even though the original plan was to create a editor community to contribute to the Santali Wikipedia and bring it live from Incubator, outputs will just be distributed for the users to use them.

The input method will also be available on Mediawiki so that the input methods will be available on Wikipedia and all its sister projects. Hopefully in the future, a group of contributors will use the tools, contribute, and bring the Santali Wikipedia live!

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/opensource.com-subhashish-panigrahi-july-8-2016-open-source-effort-gives-indigenous-language-an-official-typeface

Community celebrates birthday of Odia Wikipedia and Odia Wiktionary

subha — 2016-07-09T03:25:02Z

This June, Odia Wikipedia turned 14 and Odia Wiktionary turned 11. Odia Wikimedia community member Chinmayee Mishra, CIS-A2K Programme Associate Sailesh Patnaik and I co-authored this blog in the Wikimedia Blog. The blog chronicles several major activities of the community and features quotes from many old and new community members.

This was published on Wikimedia Blog on June 23, 2016.

With the Odia Wikipedia and its sister projects, a handful of dedicated volunteer editors are taking the Odia language to the world outside. The editor community that has recently celebrated Odia Wikipedia’s 14th anniversary in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India is collectively growing two more projects; Odia Wikisource, an online library that already has over 300 volumes of text, and Odia Wiktionary, an online dictionary that has over 100,000 entries. With these live projects and more projects in the pipeline, this community is bringing a digital revolution in Odia by sharing valuable content online and creating many language tools inside and outside the Wikimedia projects.

The Odia Wikipedia community had gathered in the city for a two-day long event to celebrate the anniversary. These two days were spent in intensive capacity building activities as the community is quite dispersed in many places in Odisha and outside, and are all volunteers. Odia Wikipedia, the flagship project was started as one of the first four Indian language Wikipedias along with Assamese, Malayalam and Punjabi Wikipedia in 2002, a year after the English Wikipedia was made live. The project was quite dormant for more than nine years and got revived by a group of editors in Bangalore during 2011. Then the project became much of a household name when more Odia speakers living in Odisha and outside joined contributed in writing and editing articles of several different subject areas. Odia Wikipedia is part of the 292 language Wikipedia family and a larger global family of hundreds of other free knowledge projects that are collectively known as Wikimedia projects. “Odia Wikipedia is officially available online at https://or.wikipedia.org and is free for anyone to create articles on notable topics, and edit and enhance those articles”, says Mrutyunjaya Kar, one of the administrators of the project. Aliva Sahoo, one of the active editors, shares, “being a student of Odia-language I was seeking information on musical instruments and could not find much. So I started translating from English and now it is one of the longest articles on Odia Wikipedia.” As part of the WikipediansSpeak project, we have tried to capture the voice of the community of Aliva and a few other contributors.

Subhashish Panigrahi (SP): How did the two-day long capacity building activity go? What was the outcome of the different sessions?
Jnanaranjan Sahu: This event was useful in bringing most of the active contributors under one roof as we are working online. This event helped us learn from each other and impart knowledge so that everyone can go back and use them.

SP: What are the problems you faced before coming to this event and how these sessions are going to help you in future?
Abha Pradhan: I was not sure of the copyright part while uploading images on Wikimedia Commons. A lot many pictures got deleted because of my own ignorance. Similarly, I got to learn a lot about linking multiple language entries using Wikidata. These two are my biggest lessons of all that I learned from the sessions taken by other experienced Wikipedians.

SP: What did you learn from these sessions?
Rajalaxmi Mishra: I got to learn about basics of Wikipedia editing, rules and guidelines, several technical aspects like using templates, uploading and adding images to articles and dealing with copyright issues on Wikipedia.

Subas Chandra Rout, one of the long time active Wikimedians has been the single most contributor to grow the medical science-related articles on Odia Wikipedia. Subas is the only Wikimedian who has translated all the medical science-related article from Wikimedia Medical Project run by the Wiki Project Med.

“We have several subject areas covered on Odia Wikipedia – from the elaborate rituals of Jagannatha temple to medical science. Interestingly, almost all the articles on medical science are written by a retired assistant professor Dr. Subas Chandra Rout and needless to say those articles are of really high quality”, explains Pritiranjan Tripathy, an editor who is based in the Indian city of Kolkata.

It was like a “Catch me if you can” challenge when I started to translate medical topics into the Odia language as part of Wiki Project Med on March 5, 2015 with my first article on African trypanosomiasis. There were more than 150 articles in the project. Gradually the number of topics in the project increased and so did my translated article on Odia Wikipedia. After completion of the 345th article (Marfan syndrome, on May 6, 2016), I looked at the Wikipedia project dashboard, and I saw that I was the only person to complete all the articles in the project among all the world’s contributors.

“The next big goal is to enhance the quality of the existing articles by adding more images, references from external sources and expanding small articles by adding more information”, said long-time contributor Shitikantha Dash. Shitikantha, who is also an administrator of Odia Wiktionary, says, “it is important that more people contribute to the Odia Wiktionary so that words of all times and all genres, especially the technical and loan words make their way to this free multilingual dictionary. A 10 day-long campaign is going to be organised to celebrate the 11th anniversary of Odia Wiktionary so that every Wikipedia editor adds at least one word. And we are also using these words to create a spell check that will be freely available for anyone to use”.

The contributor community that is collaboratively building these projects has been also creating many tools and technical resources like editor manuals. The script encoding converters that the community has built is helping a lot of online users to be able to share their writings on blogs and social media. “Before the onset of these converters, a vast majority of the people working in press and media were stuck with outdated encoding systems like Shreelipi and Akruti. Mrutyunjaya Kar, a long time contributor and administrator of two projects; Odia Wikipedia and Wikisource explains, “Odia Wikipedia is available at https://or.wikipedia.org and we encourage more people to join us in this movement.”

“This is a way to bring digital freedom for everyone and share the world’s knowledge in our own language.”

Chinmayee Mishra, Odia Wikimedian
Subhashish Panigrahi, Odia Wikimedian, and Programme Officer, Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K), Centre for Internet and Society
Sailesh Patnaik, Odia Wikimedian, and Programme Associate, Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K), Centre for Internet and Society

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/wikimedia-blog-july-7-2016-community-celebrates-birthday-of-odia-wikipedia-and-odia-wiktionary

୧୧ ବର୍ଷରେ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିଅଭିଧାନ, ଯୋଡ଼ିହୋଇଛି ଲକ୍ଷେରୁ ଅଧିକ ଶବ୍ଦ

praskrishna — 2016-07-09T07:38:46Z

Odia Wikisource turned 11 on June 16. A news article was published about the project and the contributor community in Odia-language daily Prameya on June 17.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/news/prameya-june-17-2016-article-on-odia-wikipedia