Centre for Internet and Society

Mini Train-the-trainer and Mediawiki Training for Marathi Wikimedians in Pune

garule — 2016-05-28T02:45:22Z

During May 28-29 in Pune, a two-day long train-the-trainer programme and a Mediawiki training are being organised for the contributors of the Marathi-language Wikimedia projects like Marathi Wikipedia and Marathi Wikisource.

Agenda (for Mediawiki training):

Bug triage
Bots
Mediawiki extensions and scripts
Wikidata

Depending on the community needs, we will balance the depth of each topic.

Agenda (for Train-the-Trainer training):

Discussion with the community to come up with ideas on topics such as planning, organising and reporting outreach
Public speaking
Advanced editing skills
New grants structure.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/events/mini-train-the-trainer-and-mediawiki-training-for-wikimedians-in-pune

Mini Train the Trainer 2018

subodh — 2018-03-17T08:51:26Z

A mini train the trainer 2018 (Mini TTT 2018) program was organized by CIS-A2K at Jnana Prabodhini & Bhave High School, Sadashiv Peth, Pune on 24 and 25 February 2018. Total 19 active editors from Marathi community participated. Experienced editors from community were also involved in the program.

The objective of the workshop was to develop personality and leadership skills, boost the outreach activities, build cohesiveness and strong relations within the editors, assess the needs of the community and projects, and evolve progress plan.

The participants profiles and the expected outcomes were decided on the nature of persons. They were divided into following categories and inputs were designed accordingly -

TTT Alumni - 4 people in the group. Interest areas are - History, Culture, Indology, Literature, Gender, Sociology, Health, Arts & Culture, Rural development issues, Wikisource, Sports, People.

They are expected to work as mentors for new editors; Wikipedia pillars; Copyright issues; Should be able to do analysis and evolve improvement measures; Integration of Wikimedia Projects; Work for new developments in Wiki projects; Global engagement programs

Facilitators at Institutional & organisational Partners - 12 people in the group. From - Dayanand College, Solapur ; Soni College, Solapur ; T.C.College, Baramati; BAM University, Aurangabad; Vigyan Ashram, Pabal; Jeevan Jyoti Women Emp. Centre, Velhe; Jnana Prabodhini Women Emp.Department ; Jnana Prabodhini Research Centre, Pune ; Wikisource Internship Program at Garware college, Pune

They are expected to learn advance skills, tools & gadgets for good editing; Wikipedia pillars; Copyright issues; To conduct workshops for student community; Design internships and academic assignments for WEP; To develop thematic groups; Quality improvement; Tracking process and progress using outreach dashboard

Independent new active editors - 4 people in the group. Interest areas are - Language, Biographies,Science, Technology, Development issues, Drama, Films, Music, Finance, Commerce, Tourism, Commons

They are Working on category-wise content generation; Wikipedia pillars; Copyright issues; Building communities of interest; reference tools

Topics covered

Advanced tools and gadgets
Quality issues in Wikipedia
Event planning and reporting
Commons - Copyright, categories
Wikidata
Wikisource - Copyright, OTRS, OCR
Outreach dashboard
Global campaigns

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/mini-train-the-trainer-2018

Marathi Wikisource & Digitisation Workshop

subodh — 2017-03-05T02:34:58Z

A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was organized by the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS-A2K) team on February 17 and 18, 2017. Maharashtra Granthottejak Sanstha, Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited and Jnana Prabhodini were the co-organizers. The discussions were held at Jnana Prabodhini, Sadashiv Peth, Pune on February 17 and C Trade Tower, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune on February 18, 2017.

Objectives of the Workshop

To build awareness about the strengths of Marathi Wikisource as a knowledge reference resource
To connect active community in Marathi language area
Networking with organisations with manuscripts,old reference books and gazetteers
To develop liaison with libraries,museums,research institutes,social institutions and knowledge enterprises
To develop methodology for listing,selection and prioritisation of material
To acquire skills for digitisation, running OCR tools,uploading on archives and Wikisource

Madhav Gadgil speaking

Background

Maharashtra Granthottejak Sanstha (MGS),a pioneering organisation working for the preservation of Maharashtra’s linguistic and cultural heritage. It was founded in Pune, India in 1894. Being an important archive for the preservation of many hundreds of years old manuscripts and historical artifacts from the Peshwa era, the institution is open to public for study and research. In a noble initiative to celebrate 121st anniversary of MGS, Pune the board members have decided to re-license 1000 books to free license and to donate them to CIS-A2K in order to be digitised and uploaded on Marathi Wikisource project. These books are the single largest content donation made by an organisation in the history of Marathi Wikimedia projects. These books when digitised and uploaded will prove to valuable resources both for researchers and general readers. MKCL (Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited), a reputed organisation is extending manpower support for the scanning of the books. Till date 2700 books are digitised and 900 books are uploaded on Internet Archive. Further process of uploading on Wikisource is to be started. With this view, it was decided to organise this workshop and include other libraries also, who wish to take up such project.

Organizations

35 Representatives from following libraries and museums in Maharashtra attended session at Jnana Prabodhini.

The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute,Pune
Pradnya Pathashala Mandal,Wai
Deccan College,Pune
Maharashtra Granthottejak Sanstha (MGS),Pune
Jnana Prabodhini,Pune
Karveer Nagar Wachan Mandir,Kolhapur
Shri Samarth Vagdevata Mandir,Dhule
Pune Nagar Vachan Mandir,Pune
Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal,Pune
Lokmanya Tilak Smarak Wachan Mandir, Chiplun
Vedshastra Vidya Sanwardhan Mandal,Karad
Rajwade Sanshodhan Mandal, Dhule
Sangli Nagar Wachanalay, Sangli
Vigyan Ashram,Pabal
Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth,Pune

For more info see the originally published piece on Wikimedia Blog

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikisource-digitisation-workshop

Marathi Wikipedia Workshop in Sangli, Maharashtra

Subodh Kulkarni — 2017-08-16T08:40:58Z

A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently held in Sangli, Maharashtra

An introductory Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently held at CSIBER Trust's V.P. Institute of Management Studies and Research, Sangli, Maharashtra. The workshop aimed to introduce Wikipedia and its sister projects to the participants.

In an effort to implement innovative projects for the students, in March 2017, the institution decided to integrate Wikimedia Projects and academic assignments for capacity building of students and faculty. The implementation started with the Wikipedia edit-a-thon on Environment Management at CSIBER Institute in Kolhapur on 30th March. The Institute in Sangli has also adopted the concept for this academic year. This workshop was organised for faculty and selected students who were taught basic editing skills on Wikipedia, searching for the concerned articles, categorisation and translation from other language wikis. Another focus of the workshop was to integrate academic assignments with Wikimedia projects.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-in-sangli-maharashtra

Marathi Wikipedia workshop for Sandarbh Science magazine writers

manasarao — 2017-12-19T15:53:30Z

A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently conducted for the writers at Sandarbh Science magazine.

On 18 November, a introductory Wikimedia workshop was conducted for the writers at Sandarbh Science magazine.

Sandarbh Society is a registered society and public trust established with the main objective of publication on science and education. They also conduct lectures, demonstrations, workshops and other such activities in addition to networking of school teachers interested in bringing in innovative approaches in education.

The workshop was aimed at introducing Wikimedia projects and creating/editing Wikipedia articles to the writers. Participants were completely unaware about Marathi Wikipedia and editing. They were trained in basic editing skills and search for the concerned articles, categorisation and translation from other language wikipedias. Participants worked on articles and made edits. Images were also added to Commons and into articles. 59 articles were edited. 11 participants took part in the event.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-for-sandarbh-science-magazine-writers

Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at Solapur University

Subodh Kulkarni — 2017-10-24T14:09:24Z

15 September

A Marathi Wikipedia Workshop was held at the Department of Mass Communications at Solapur University. The workshop aimed to introduce Wikimedia and its sister projects to the students. The workshop comprised 25 participants with 10 female attendees.

Sharing their thoughts after the event, the participants were enthuse. Says Priyanka Lagshetti, "I never imagined that I can contribute to Wikipedia. I worked on various media related articles." Another participant, Ambadas Bhasake added, "This workshop showed us a innovative way to use internet productively and constructively"

While 19 new editors joined Wikipedia, participants worked on 60 articles and made around 90 edits. 15 images were added to Commons and into articles.

The meta page of the event can be found here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-at-solapur-university

Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Aurangabad

Subodh Kulkarni — 2017-10-24T13:18:41Z

A Marathi Wikipedia Workshop was recently held at the MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication on 11 August 2017.

A Marathi Wikipedia workshop was recently conducted at the MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication at Aurangabad. The workshop aimed to introduced Marathi Wikipedia to the students of the college and equip them with the process of editing the same. The workshop was attended by 10 female participants and 15 male participants.

"It was happiest moment for me, when I created new article on Pashmi, [a] species of dog. I added [an] image also." says Shivani Joshi a participant at the workshop. While 21 new editors were introduced to Wikipedia, 60 articles were improved and 15 images added. Another participant, Randhir Patil who added content on water-related articles says, "This content can be used as training material by field workers.

The meta page of the event can be found here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-at-mgm-trusts-college-of-journalism-and-mass-communication-aurangabad

Marathi Wikipedia Workshop & 1lib1ref session at Goa University

subodh — 2019-03-01T00:35:44Z

Marathi language department of Goa University has initiated the process to document the culture of Goa on Marathi Wikipedia and Commons.

As this was the first exposure to Wikimedia projects, a two day extensive training workshop was planned. In the same event, a three hour session in library as part of 1lib1ref session was also conducted. CIS-A2K has partnered Goa University for conducting the event which attracted a footfall of 36 participants.

Primary objectives

The following objectives were broadly covered in the sessions held at Goa University campus on 31 January and 1 February 2019:

Awareness about digital knowledge in Marathi, Open knowledge resources and Wikimedia projects.
Explain participants the history of Wiki movement and the pillars of Wikipedia.
Train the participants in basic editing skills in Wikipedia.
Explore the ways to find reliable and verifiable references.
Present the article structure, manual of style, and categorization.
Explain copyright, Commons guidelines and uploading images on Wikipedia.
Discuss follow-up plan and integration with academic activities.
Add reliable references as part of 1lib1ref session in library.

The Workshop

The practice of Marathi typing in Unicode was carried out through preparing articles as Word document. The students selected the articles on history of Goa, writers and artists of Goa, tourism in Goa and villages in Goa. Participants learnt basic editing skills, adding references and uploading on Commons. They worked first in sandboxes on their new articles. The content addition is in progress. The verified content would be moved to main namespace under the guidance of experienced editors.

The concept of 1lib1ref campaign was shared with Chief Librarian of Goa University. The response was very positive. As a result, in the last two sessions of the workshop on 1 February, the participants added references to the articles. The session was conducted in the library. The library staff and faculty facilitated the process.

Follow-up

The editors are preparing the articles in sandboxes and offline also. It is proposed to conduct another iteration to verify and publish this content in main namespace. The students are also taking the images of issues related to Goan culture. The exclusive session on Commons is also proposed. The librarian has suggested making separate rack of reference books related to Goa culture and heritage for utility. This idea will be explored in the next 1lib1ref iteration in May-June 2019.

For more info see the Meta report

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-workshop-1lib1ref-session-at-goa-university

Marathi Wikipedia Symposium at Gokhale Institute Of Politics & Economics

Subodh Kulkarni — 2017-06-07T08:45:18Z

A strategic symposium on Marathi Wikipedia and its sister projects was conducted on 29 April, 2017

The Marathi Wikipedia community held a symposium at the Gokhale Instititute of Politics and Economics on 29 April, 2017. This was an attempt to bring together various stakeholders for developing a strategic plan for Marathi language wiki projects such as Wikipedia, and especially Marathi Wikisource and Wiktionary. Over 70 persons were involved in the strategic planning efforts to take Wikisource and Wiktionary to existing Marathi Wikipedians and the general public at large. Eminent ecologist, Prof. Madhav Gadgil served as a resource persons for this event.

Gokhale Institute Of Politics & Economics and Rawat's Nature Academy took lead in organising this symposium. CIS-A2K facilitated the process. A total of 50 eminent personalities from various fields such as literature, linguistics, journalism, science forums, publishers, librarians, State Language & Culture Department honchos, active citizen forums working on different issues etc. took active part in the proceedings. They aim to act as anchors in future. According to the needs of Wikimedia projects, 12 Action Groups have been formed. Planning further sessions for May and June has begun over a common email thread.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/marathi-wikipedia-symposium-at-gokhale-institute-of-politics-economics

Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon on Environment Management

subodh — 2017-04-10T16:58:31Z

A Wikipedia edit-a-thon was organized by CSIBER College and the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) in Kolhapur on March 30, 2017. Subodh Kulkarni was a trainer. The edit-a-thon was attended by 32 students.

Project Scope

The goal of Wikipedia Workshop is to build resources in the field of Environmental Science & Management on Marathi Wikipedia and equip its participants with the process of contributing to Wikipedia, and to introduce it as a concept to them. Another focus of the workshop will be on ‘Women & Environment’ and village articles.

To introduce Wikipedia as an encyclopedia for research and a concept to new editors.
To Promote Marathi Wikipedia Community & promote the use of regional languages in Wikipedia.
To have an open interaction within the editors, existing as well as new.
To spread the awareness of Wikipedia as a powerful tool.
To develop articles on environment related issues & villages

Output

The edit-a-thon was aimed at creating/editing wikipedia pages of women activists and environmental issues in India. Extensive discussion on the issues was conducted to develop the theme and basic concepts. Participants were completely unaware about Marathi Wikipedia and editing. They were trained in basic editing skills and search for the concerned articles, categorisation and translation from other language wikipedias.

More info on Wikimedia Blog

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-on-environment-management

Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon in Kolhapur

subodh — 2016-12-16T23:34:10Z

On behalf of CIS-A2K team Subodh Kulkarni conducted a Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Shivaji University in Kolhapur on 15 December 2016. The goal of the Wikipedia edit-a-thon was to build resources in the field of Political Science on Marathi Wikipedia and equip its participants with the process of contributing to Wikipedia, and to introduce it as a concept to them.

The workshop was conducted at the Political Science Department of Shivaji University for post graduate and research students and professors. The Head of the Political Science Department, Dr. Prakash Pawar actively took part in all the process. In all 22 new editors began their contribution on Wikipedia. The effort is the first step towards building long term institutional partnership with Shivaji University where many courses are run in Marathi language.

The Department of Mass Communication and the Department of Environment and Science have also evinced interest for conducting edit-a-thons for their students.

Overall the primary goals of the project include:

To introduce Wikipedia as an encyclopedia for research and a concept to new editors.
To Promote Marathi Wikipedia Community & promote the use of regional languages in Wikipedia.
To have an open interaction within the editors, existing as well as new.
To spread the awareness of Wikipedia as a powerful tool.

For more info, read the meta page

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-in-kolhapur

Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Shivaji University, Kolhapur

Subodh Kulkarni — 2017-04-16T13:47:44Z

A Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was held at Shivaji University, Kolhapur on 19 January, 2017

A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was conducted by CIS-A2K in collaboration with Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha at Shivaji Univeristy, Kolhapur on 19 January, 2017. This was similar in nature to the Wikipedia edit-a-thon conducted at Willingdon College in Sangli. The aim of the edit-a-thon was to introduce Wikipedia to the research and post-graduate students of the University.

The three-hour-long edit-a-thon conducted at the University's Marathi Language Computer Lab also focused on building resources in the field of linguistics on Marathi Wikipedia. In addition to equipping the participants with editing and categorisation skills, the workshop encouraged them to contribute to linguistics-related articles and biography articles of Marathi authors and litterateurs. With 50 participants overall, the event increased the reach of Marathi Wikipedia, introducing it to those previously unaware of its existence.

The link to event page on meta can be found here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-shivaji-university-kolhapur

Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Savitribai Phule Mahila Ekatma Samaj Mandal, Aurangabad

Subodh Kulkarni — 2017-04-19T11:44:41Z

A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was conducted at Savitribai Phule Mahila Ekatma Samaj Mandal in Aurangabad

Savitribai Phule Mahila Ekatma Samaj Mandal, a social work organisation working with underprivileged sections of society in Aurangabad partnered with CIS-A2K to conduct a Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon on 13 April, 2017. The aim of the workshop was to introduce Wikipedia to the participants and enable them to contribute to Wiki projects. The theme of the edit-a-thon was to build resources on topics related to rural development and women's empowerment. The four hour edit-a-thon was attended by 30 participants who made a total of 300 edits. 15 new articles were created and 60 images were uploaded to Commons.

The link to the event page on meta can be found here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-savitribai-phule-mahila-ekatma-samaj-mandal-aurangabad

Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Sangli, Maharashtra

Subodh Kulkarni — 2017-04-16T13:22:39Z

A Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was conducted at Willingdon College, Sangli on 18 January, 2017

A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was conducted in collaboration with Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha at Willingdon College on 18 January, 2017. The goal of the workshop was to begin the building of resources in the field of linguistics on Marathi Wikipedia. To begin with, the edit-a-thon introduced the participants to editing Wikipedia and contributing to Wiki projects. With about 50 participants(of which around 6 were female), the three-hour-long edit-a-thon involved the post-graduate and research students of the Willingdon College.

The edit-a-thon conducted at the Marathi Language Computer Lab of the College also focused on creating/editing Wikipedia pages related to Marathi literature and language. Extensive discussion on these issues was also conducted to develop the concept and theme of the edit-a-thon. While participants were taught basic Wikipedia editing, they were also trained in searching for relevant articles, categorisation and translation from other language Wikipedias.

The workshop received local media coverage by Sakal, a Marathi daily. You can read the article here.

Link to event page on meta can be found here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-sangli-maharashtra

Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu College, Kolhapur

Subodh Kulkarni — 2017-04-16T14:15:43Z

A Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon was conducted at Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu College, Kolhapur on 23 January, 2017.

A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was conducted at Shivaji's University's affiliate Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu College in Kolhapur on 23 January, 2017. The edit-a-thon aimed to introduce Wikipedia to the students of the College and teach them basic editing skills. The students were trained in categorisation and translation from other language Wikipedias. In addition, the students were taught smart editing on their mobile phones using the Wikipedia app.

The theme of the edit-a-thon was to build resources on Marathi Wikipedia in the field of commerce, so as to keep it relevant to the students who study related subjects at the college. The three-hour-long edit-a-thon conducted at the Computer Lab of the college, involved 50 participants, a mix of male and female students.

The link to the event page on meta can be found here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/marathi-wikipedia-edit-a-thon-at-rajarshi-chhatrapati-shahu-college-kolhapur