CIS-A2K/Reports/Newsletter/November 2024

In the Limelight: Tulu Wikisource

30 October 2024 marked a significant landmark for the Tulu community with the launch of Tulu Wikisource, a platform dedicated to preserving and sharing its literary heritage. Tulu is a Dravidian language spoken by approximately 2.5 million people and is predominantly found along the coastal region of Karnataka, India. The Tulu language’s journey in the Wikimedia movement began in 2016 with the launch of Tulu Wikipedia. Since then, a group of volunteers also started working on the Wiktionary incubator and the Tulu Wiktionary is also live now. This achievement reflects years of dedication from Tulu speakers committed to making their language accessible in the digital age.

The journey towards Tulu Wikisource started in September 2023 when the Karavali Wikimedians User Group, led by organizer Kavitha G. Kana in collaboration with CIS-A2K, held a two-day workshop focused on relicensing and digitization. A series of online training sessions were organized to lay the groundwork for Tulu Wikisource. Each session was designed to build essential skills and knowledge among participants, enabling them to contribute effectively.

Following the first training session, several volunteers, including Babitha Shetty, Vinoda mamatharai, Kavitha G. Kana and ~aanzx made significant contributions to the Tulu Wikisource project. In August, Shreelatha.Halemane stood out with an impressive 654 edits within the month, and her contributions have continued consistently since then. Many other dedicated editors actively contributed to multilingual Wikisource.

Through this initiative, the Tulu language’s rich literary heritage will be preserved and disseminated in the digital realm, inviting new volunteers and ensuring free access to everyone.

Dispatches from A2K

We are excited to announce that CIS-A2K’s General Support Fund application has been approved by the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), enabling us to further our mission of promoting open knowledge across Indic language communities. This funding will support our comprehensive work plan for 2025, which focuses on three core objectives.

First, we will continue to enhance our successful initiatives like Community Collaborations, Leadership Development, Skill Building and Gender Gap Bridging. These projects have already made a significant impact, and with continuous learning and improvement, we aim to strengthen them further.

Second, we are committed to exploring emerging priorities within the Indic Wikimedia community. Notably, we will focus on developing technology tailored for Indic language communities and expanding our Living GLAM initiative. These areas present exciting opportunities that require dedicated efforts and resources to ensure lasting impact.

Lastly, we are dedicated to contributing to the open knowledge movement in India by building a stronger network that connects communities and builds collaborations. By prioritizing research and strategic networking, we aim to deepen our understanding of the needs and aspirations of various communities. This approach will enable us to forge meaningful partnerships that amplify our efforts and contribute to a sustainable future for open knowledge in India.

We are grateful to the Review Committee for dedicating their time and effort to engaging in dialogue with us, understanding our context, providing feedback, and extending their support. We look forward to your continued support as we embark on this journey together!

- User:Pavan (CIS-A2K), Program Manager

Monthly Recap

Learning hours Call

The CIS-A2K Learning Hours is a new initiative designed to enhance the skills of Indic Wikimedia community members by introducing essential tools that are useful in contributing to their projects and gathering insights about their communities. Seeded at Train the Trainer 2024, this program involves monthly calls dedicated to teaching simple tools each month which will help you in creating more impact to your project. The first learning hour call happened on 28 November 2024 from 19:00 to 20:00 hrs IST. TABernacle and QuickStatements were the tools discussed in this call. User:Jnanaranjan Sahu, from our TTT 2024 co-host community, was invited to moderate the call as part of our ongoing efforts to collaborate with them during the follow-up phase. The next learning hour will be a continued session on QuickStatements as requested by the participants. Stay tuned for more details!

Dandari-Gussadi Festival Documentation, Commons Education Project: Adilabad

The Gussadi Festival documentation project, part of the Commons Education Program in Adilabad, aimed to create a comprehensive visual record of this vibrant tribal festival that occurs during the Diwali season. Historically, the festival lacked representation on Wikimedia platforms, with only limited information available in Telugu and no images on English Wikipedia.

The initiative led by Mahesh Kashyap and User:I.Mahesh, involved a photography walk and workshop from October 13 to November 13, 2024, where budding photographers from a college in Hyderabad collaborated with established photographers to capture the essence of the festival. The program included training sessions focused on street photography techniques and quality image standards, led by experienced photographers like Mahesh Kashyap and iMahesh. The expected outcomes included the documentation of the Gussadi festival, the introduction of new contributors to Wikimedia Commons, and enhanced skills for participants in capturing high-quality images. Following the event, there are plans for ongoing engagement through future workshops and exhibitions to promote cultural documentation within the community.

Go through Commons Education Project:Adilabad for more information about the project, lessons shared by the team, and links to the project files.

Executive Directors meeting at Oslo:

Tanveer Hasan, Executive Director of CIS participated in the Executive Directors Meeting held in Oslo. This meeting was conducted to discuss various activities conducted across Wikimedia Affiliates and strategize regarding the upcoming activities and initiatives.

A snapshot from the gracious Gussadi dance performance

Coming Soon - Upcoming Activities

Indic Wikimedia Hackathon 2024

CIS-A2K is collaborating with the Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group for The Indic Wikimedia Hackathon 2024 to be held from 20 to 22 December. The Indic Wikimedia Hackathon Bhubaneswar 2024, an event organized by the Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group (aka, Indic-TechCom) in collaboration with the Odia Wikimedians User Group, will serve as a collaborative space for developers, designers, content editors, and other stakeholders within the Wikimedia community to work on technical solutions aimed at enhancing the user experience of Wikimedia projects. The hackathon will adopt a revised program format that curates tasks designed to collectively contribute to the development of tools or workflows, thereby facilitating measurable progress.

In addition to supporting logistics, CIS-A2K will facilitate a special program during the hackathon to reflect on insights gained from a pilot project led by the Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group, Technical Consultations 2024. This initiative focused on understanding community needs and identifying technical challenges faced by contributors specific to language community projects. These insights will help prioritize initiatives for the Global Majority Wikimedia Technology strategy. These reflections aim to ensure identifying the need for development of tools for the Global Majority and workflows that resonate with the diverse needs of Indic Wikimedia communities.

Santali Food Festival

The Santali Food Festival to be held on 8th and 9th December 2024 will be an enriching cultural event that will celebrate the diverse culinary heritage of the Santali community. This festival will showcase traditional dishes and cooking techniques, providing attendees with a unique opportunity to experience the flavours and aromas of Santali cuisine. Set to take place in a vibrant atmosphere, the festival will feature various stalls offering authentic dishes such as pakhala (fermented rice), sakhua (smoked fish), and a variety of vegetable preparations that highlight local ingredients and seasonal produce.

In addition to food tasting, the festival will include cooking demonstrations by skilled Santali chefs who will share their knowledge of traditional recipes and cooking methods. Participants will engage in hands-on workshops, learning about the significance of certain dishes within Santali culture and their preparation techniques. The event aims not only to promote Santali culinary traditions but also to foster community engagement and awareness of indigenous food practices. We look forward to sharing more details of this in our next newsletter.

Learning Hours

The next learning hour, scheduled for 23 December 2024, will be a continued session on QuickStatements as requested by the participants. Find more details here.