CIS-A2K/Events/Tewiki Pandaga-2024/TeWiki Review Report 2024

This is a review report of the Telugu community's 20-year journey, highlighting their achievements, challenges, and how they overcame issues collectively as a community. The report was finalized in January 2024, prior to the Telugu Community Conference held on the 26th, 27th, and 28th of January. CIS-A2K collaborated closely with the Telugu community, providing support wherever needed. This report is a result of a collaborative effort, reflecting the community's desire for CIS-A2K to review and document their 20-year journey.

Background/History

Telugu Wikipedia started in December 2003, led by Venna Nagarjuna. He was the key person who had enough knowledge of converting text written in Indic scripts between open-source and proprietary formats. introduced the initiative to people and started its journey to develop the content in Telugu language. Some of the initial editors or Telugu Wikimedians came to know about Telugu Wikipedia after editing English Wikipedia. After four years, a group of bloggers came together and founded E-Telugu, a digital platform to promote Telugu language, where the group of bloggers started writing and promoting Telugu language, technology, Telugu Wikipedia via blogs. Later transitioned to online meetings, therefore, they also started to do in-person gatherings for further strategic discussions on addressing technical and language-related issues such as lack of fonts in computers and discussions on displaying in Telugu on computers and typing in Telugu were crucial. The central and focused theme revolved around making Telugu accessible on the internet to disseminate information in the form of blogs about Telugu language and Wikipedia’s role in promoting the language. Parallely, E-Telugu Wikipedia garnered attention at book fairs in Hyderabad and Vijayawada, a group of e-Telugu bloggers secured a stall in book fairs and local-language media, generating interest among the general public. The focused primary awareness topic was Wikipedia. However, despite these efforts, there were challenges in content management. To disseminate valuable insights and provide content and encourage people to join the free-knowledge movement to do some work for their language through Wikipedia. To continue the awareness campaign, Telugu language users also worked on a booklet comprising 60-70 pages that was printed and distributed during book fairs. This content not only contributed to the enhancement of Wikipedia but was also incorporated into other books related to Telugu on the internet. The inception of E-Telugu was a collaborative group idea where different group members played different roles. With or through E-Telugu, fruitful collaborations began to emerge. The community actively initiated partnerships and engaged in collaborative efforts to enhance the presence and impact of Telugu content on digital platforms.

The digital platforms also conveys information regarding how much growth and development is happening in Telugu Language and Firefox's involvement in Telugu language development. And also explored the use of Google's language tools, Telugu typing without the need for Inscript typing. Furthermore, the availability of an official keyboard layout for Telugu typing has now made it feasible to type in full Telugu on mobile phones too. Telugu Wikimedians also took an initiative called Wiki-Academies which were established in 2009 to raise awareness in engineering and MCA colleges located in small towns. After the Wiki-Academies initiatives in 2010, "Tewiki Vartha," an e-magazine, was introduced in the form of Wiki News to share behind-the-scenes stories of Telugu Wikipedia pages and editors. Subsequently, on-ground activities were initiated within the Telugu community. Since 2013 Telugu Community has started taking more initiatives to engage themselves with the Telugu Wikimedia Projects.

During this 20-year-long journey, volunteers put their possible efforts according to their energy.

Content Creation

Telugu language contributors initiated their efforts on Telugu Wikipedia, undertaking various strategies for Telugu campaigns or projects such as planning and executing campaigns involving adding stubs for districts, mandals, and villages with the assistance of a bot, and these stubs were later expanded into comprehensive articles. Their contributions extended to other Wikimedia projects, including Wiktionary, where many Wikikedians played a leading role. Users further expanded their editing activities on Wikidata, Wikisource, and Wikimedia Commons. The community members have recently begun contributing voices to LinguaLibre in Telugu, an initiative led by Telugu female Wikimedians.

Telugu Wikipedia

• Total articles: 89,899
• Total registered users: 125,607
• Active users: 164
• Total uploaded images: 14,393
• Total admins: 12

Annually, a substantial influx of users engages with Telugu Wikipedia, driven by strategic community initiatives like book fairs and Wiki-Academia projects. The decision of numerous students to register on Telugu Wikipedia is often influenced by information disseminated by advocates of the Telugu language or Wikimedians.

Over the period from 2003 to 2023, a noteworthy number of users registered on the platform. Nevertheless, the continuity of user activity on Telugu Wikipedia has been limited, with only a few users consistently contributing. In the year of 2003, the count of registered users was 8131.

Telugu Wiktionary

Total entries: 1,06,518

Wikisource

• Main Telugu lesson pages: 18,792
• Downloadable books: 76
• Downloadable working books: 38
• Total books: 703

Lingua Libre

Telugu Wikimedians have actively utilized the Lingua Libre tool to record thousands of words in the Telugu language. The majority of these recordings feature female voices, encompassing Telugu alphabets, individual words, and concise Telugu phrases. To facilitate accessibility, various categories have been established on Wikimedia Commons, allowing users to explore and access the extensive repository of recorded words.

The primary category is labelled as a Category which is directly related to the recorded Telugu words or voices:Telugu pronunciation. This main Category is containing: 393 files and 4 subcategories Main sub-category contains: 90,059 audios

Initiatives/Projects

The Telugu Community strategically utilizes local Wikipedia pages as a dynamic platform for documenting its vibrant array of events. For broader outreach and impactful on-ground initiatives, the community adeptly leverages Meta-Wiki, effectively proposing and submitting grants to facilitate these events. In its nascent stages, a visionary Telugu Wikipedia contributor spearheaded the introduction of on-Wiki discussions, and comprehensive documentation on Meta, instilling a strong foundation of values, and pioneering the development and adherence to community policies. This proactive approach has significantly enriched the community's collaborative landscape.

In 2009, Telugu users participated in the "Tell us about Telugu Wikipedia" initiative, named "Tell us about your Wikipedia". This effort was launched because Wikipedians from different languages often had limited knowledge about each other's language editions. To facilitate this initiative, a Meta page was created to gather reports and impressions that may not be directly suitable for inclusion in a Wikipedia article.

The community initiated its inaugural in-person event to mark the 10th Anniversary of Telugu Wikipedia, in 2013-2014, securing a Rapid Grant for the celebration and expansion of community outreach. The event drew the participation of 60 Telugu Wikimedians from diverse backgrounds, featuring a thoughtfully crafted program tailored to address the community's needs. After 10 years of its inception into the movement, Telugu Wikipedia had a total of 54,000 articles ranking it to be one among the top 3 Indian-language Wikipedias. Tewiki10 celebrations aimed to honour contributors and foster collaboration for future projects.

In 2013, CIS-A2K collaborated with Telugu Wikimedians by supporting their projects through its 2015-16 Annual Work Plan. This collaboration was focused on building and shaping efforts to plan and implement collaborative projects on Telugu Wikipedia and Wikisource, with a notable achievement of creating an inclusive space with substantial growth in the number of new editors on these platforms. The partnership with the Telugu Wikimedia community has been an invaluable learning experience for the CIS-A2K program. This work plan encompasses 18 programs distributed across 6 verticals and made long-term collaboration. The insights gained from this collaboration are actively sought to be applied and replicated in other language domains.

Since 2019, the Telugu community has actively taken part in Wikipedia Asian Month Campaign, which started in 2015, contributing content in the Telugu language focused on various aspects of Asia and was one of the participating communities.

Telugu Wikipedia Mahilavaranam was a dedicated initiative to bridge the gender gap not only in participation within the Telugu Wikipedia community events but also in contribution to the Telugu Wikipedia project. This initiative strives to foster inclusivity, encourage active engagement, and create a supportive environment for female contributors. Additionally, it focuses on empowering women to contribute their knowledge to the Telugu Wikipedia platform, thereby enriching the diversity of content available. As a part of this initiative, Telugu Wikipedia Mahilavaranam hosted workshops in Hyderabad to train women contributors for Telugu Wikipedia. The workshops, held in various locations across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh from February to April 2018, aimed at boosting women's involvement in the movement. The focus was to address the gender gap in shared knowledge spaces by retaining participants and fostering collaboration among them.

CIS-A2K has consistently provided ongoing support to the Telugu Community by facilitating the hiring of an advisor, Pranyaraj, who supported and guided the community's initiatives. The advisor engaged with the community, offering valuable insights, and strategic guidance, and contributing to the overall growth and development of Telugu Wikipedia. This collaborative effort aimed to enhance the community's effectiveness and outreach. Throughout the advisory tenure, regular reporting and communication channels were established, ensuring a seamless flow of information between the advisor and CIS-A2K.

In June 2023, the Telugu community put a proposal to register itself as a Wikimedia User Group. In 2024, the community has decided to organize a community conference to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Wikipedia.

Communication and Social Media channels

The Telugu Wikipedia community initiated digital communication through online forums. creating a virtual space for collaborative interaction. Simultaneously, efforts were directed towards promoting Wikipedia on social media platforms, particularly on Facebook. Primarily, to promote the Telugu language and Telugu Wikipedia, users wrote many blogs on different topics and different platforms such as E-Telugu. The community's progression saw the adoption of Talkpages for discussions, and by 2007, inter-community dialogues found a structured platform on the Telugu Wikipedia Village pump.

Recognizing the need for broader documentation and a centralized repository, the Telugu community expanded its reach to Meta-Wiki. This strategic move enabled the community to document events, formulate overarching policies, and actively engage with the wider Wikimedia ecosystem. The utilization of Meta-Wiki not only facilitated transparent communication but also paved the way for enhanced collaboration and knowledge sharing, playing a pivotal role in the evolutionary journey of Telugu Wikipedia.

Challenges and Issues in the Telugu Wikipedia Community

Stagnant User Base and Lack of Engagement Strategy

• The primary challenge revolves around the stagnant user base, with the platform struggling to attract new users.
• Over the past two decades, more than 1 lakh users registered, but most have limited engagement, indicating a lack of strategy and support for registered users.
• Addressing this issue requires the development of effective engagement strategies and guidelines to foster sustained participation and support for newcomers.

Limited Involvement of Veteran Wikimedians

• The lack of active involvement from experienced Wikimedians hinders effective guidance for newcomers.
• There is a shortage of human resources available to provide guidance and support to newcomers in creating or improving content.

Inadequate Project Design and Follow-Up Activities

• Challenges arise in local community initiatives, particularly after approaching educational or other institutions.
• The community struggles to design projects or activities effectively, including follow-up plans that cater to the target audience and Wikimedia projects.

Gender Gap in Participation

• The Telugu community acknowledges a significant gender gap, a common issue within the broader Wikimedia movement.
• Events like Telugu Wikipedia Mahilavaranam have highlighted the gender imbalance, revealing that only a small percentage of Very Active Wikipedians and editors are women.
• This gender disparity is a major concern for community health, necessitating focused efforts to encourage greater female participation.

Underutilization of Local Policies

• Despite the existence of a comprehensive article quality policy developed by the Telugu Community, there is a common challenge of its underutilization.
• The policy, established several years ago, has not been actively employed for creating new articles or enhancing existing ones, indicating a gap between policy formulation and practical implementation within the Telugu Wikimedians community.

Recommendations

The Telugu Wikipedia community has undertaken commendable initiatives to foster the development of the Telugu language. The community's dedication is evident in its language promotion strategies and innovative approaches to disseminating free knowledge, particularly within educational institutions. Notable initiatives include the generation of articles through bots, the creation of start-class articles through targeted campaigns, and the impactful Telugu Wikipedia Mahilavaram project.

To further enhance community engagement and inclusivity, concerted efforts should be made to actively involve women in Wikimedia and leadership roles. Creating sustainable initiatives and providing support for women contributors will contribute significantly to addressing the existing gender gap.

Active leadership remains paramount for the community's growth. Exploring collaborations with other Indian communities can broaden the impact of ideas and initiatives. Openness to collaboration is essential for fostering a vibrant and interconnected Wikimedia ecosystem. The community's focus should extend to the formulation, implementation, and updating of critical policies, including those related to article quality and research article writing. This collaborative effort will ensure a more robust foundation for Wiki projects. Now is the opportune moment for the community to unite, work together, and develop local policies that align with the evolving needs of the community. This collaborative effort will contribute to the sustained growth and development of Telugu Wikipedia.

Continuing collaborations with institutes, coupled with updated approaches and strategies, will facilitate the recruitment of new members. Encouraging individuals with fresh ideas and energy to join the community will inject vitality and diversity into its initiatives.