CIS-A2K/Reports/Newsletter/August 2023

Access to Knowledge

 August 2023 

Newsletter 

 Volume 08 

Call with Leadership Development Working Group

On August 5th, 2023, CIS-A2K organized an engaging 1.5-hour session focused on the Leadership Development Working Group (LDWG) and its significance in the Wikimedia movement, with approximately 24 participants. Speakers User:Mrb Rafi and Jyotsna (WMF) highlighted the LDWG's initiative, stressing the importance of investing in leadership skills to sustain Wikimedia projects and community growth. Leadership was defined as the ability to guide, inspire, and motivate a group toward a shared vision, adaptable to linguistic and socio-cultural contexts. Additionally, experiences shared by User:Ashwini Murmu (Santali Community), User:Pooja Jadhav (Marathi Community]], and User:Komal Sambhudas (Marathi Community) illustrated leadership challenges and successes in their communities. This event played a crucial role in fostering leadership awareness and development within the Wikimedia movement. The call read more...

Relicensing & digitisation partnerships in Goa

CIS-A2K's relicensing and digitization program is spreading its wings across India, with recent efforts initiated in Goa. On August 16 and 17, 2023, we engaged in fruitful discussions with authors, publishers, and language institutions throughout the region. Three authors and copyright holders learned about relicensing, copyrights, licenses, and digitization through practical examples. Two publishers expressed interest in supporting these efforts. Notably, 13 books by author Gajanan Raikar were released under a free license. We also collaborated with the President of Konkani Bhasha Mandal to plan the digitization and relicensing of Konkani works. Goa University's Marathi department and library are now training students in digitization, with scanning and processing already underway, read more...

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  Students engaged in scanning of relicensed books at Goa University library
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Wikimedia workshop in Goa University

In collaboration with Goa University's Shenoi Goembab School Of Languages and Literature, Marathi Discipline, and University Library, CIS-A2K organized a two-day workshop on August 18-19, 2023. The workshop, themed around creating free knowledge on Wikimedia projects related to Goa's freedom fighters, monuments, and heritage places in honor of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, kicked off with an awareness session on Wikimedia projects, drawing 60 participants from students and faculty. Thirty-two students actively engaged in various aspects of the workshop, including digital knowledge, open resources, Wikimedia project documentation, basic Wikipedia editing, reference verification, copyright, and scanning of historical documents. The initiative also aims to develop a comprehensive database of Goan authors and their works and aligns with the new education policy, fostering knowledge producers among students read more...

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  Students busy in editing at Wikimedia workshop in Goa University
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Wikimedia & digitisation sessions in 150 year old libraries at Kolhapur and Satara

For the past four years, CIS-A2K has been actively involved in digitization efforts in Maharashtra. Recently, A2K were approached by two venerable libraries with over 150 years of history, seeking to understand Wikimedia projects and digitization processes. A2K conducted informative sessions at Karveer Nagar Vachan Mandir in Kolhapur, established in 1851, and the Shrimant Pratapsingh High School library in Satara, also founded in 1851, where the legendary Dr. B. R. Ambedkar once studied. These libraries house precious collections, including manuscripts, rare books from the 18th and 19th centuries, plays, maps, and gazetteers. A2K next step involves workshops on metadata development and book selection, read more...

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  Artistic panel in Shrimant Chhatrapati Pratapsingh Highschool
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  Carved wooden column in Shrimant Chhatrapati Pratapsingh Highschool
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  Karveer Nagar Vachan Mandir library building at Kolhapur

Review visits to Vigyan Ashram and Pune Nagar Vachan Mandir

The A2K Program Manager and Senior Program Officer conducted visits to partner organizations, Pune Nagar Vachan Mandir in Pune, and Vigyan Ashram in Pabal on August 26th and 27th. During these visits, meetings were held with management members, the digitization team, and dedicated Wikimedia volunteers to gain insights into the ongoing processes, the progress of activities, and any existing challenges. Discussions centered on future strategies read more...

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  A2K representatives visit Vigyan Ashram
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  A2K representatives with PNVM digitisation team

Preliminary meeting on Indic Wikisource Hub

The Indic Wikisource Hub (IWSH) is an emerging thematic hub, bringing together various Wikisource communities and affiliates dedicated to advancing Wikisource projects across the Indian subcontinent. Collaborating closely with CIS-A2K, a valued partner organization within the Wikimedia movement, IWSH aims to facilitate the promotion and development of Wikisource projects. To kickstart this endeavor, a preliminary meeting was convened on August 30, 2023, featuring community members representing Gujarati, Tamil, Bangla, and Marathi language Wikisource projects. The discussion encompassed defining the hub's nature, objectives, scope, delineating roles and responsibilities, and read more...