Punjabi Wikimedians/Annual Report/2024
Punjabi Wikimedians: Monthly Community Meetings
[edit]Virtual Meetings
[edit]From January, the Punjabi Wikimedians' online monthly meetings focused on strengthening community engagement, improving content quality, and aligning with global Wikimedia initiatives. The group set strategic goals early in the year, reviewed past achievements, and planned for key campaigns like Feminism & Folklore and local campaign ideas on Wikipedia and Wikisource. Special attention was given to enhancing the quality of Punjabi Wikipedia and Wikisource, addressing the gender gap, and increasing participation through training, edit-a-thons, and partnerships with educational institutions (SEABA School).
The community also discussed movement strategy updates, including the Movement Charter, and encouraged involvement in global events like Wikimania. Capacity building remained a core theme, with sessions focused on skill development in translation, Wikidata, and policy awareness. By August, a mid-year review helped assess progress, refine strategies, and prepare for the upcoming activities and WikiConference India 2025 planning.
In-person Meetings
[edit]Throughout 2024, Punjabi Wikimedians organised several in-person community meet-ups to celebrate milestones, strengthen collaboration, and build momentum around key Wikimedia projects. The Monthly Community Meeting in March served as an opportunity for local contributors to reconnect, share project updates, and discuss plans face-to-face. The Punjabi Wikipedia Birthday Meetup celebrated years of collective knowledge-sharing, honouring long-time contributors and encouraging new editors to get involved.
Other in-person events marked global Wikimedia milestones with a local touch. The Wikidata Birthday Meetup and Wikisource Birthday Meetup focused on increasing awareness and contributions to structured data and free Punjabi literature. The Wikipedia Asian Month Meetup brought together editors to reflect on regional collaborations and content related to Asia, inspiring participants to bridge content gaps through cross-community efforts. These meetups helped foster stronger relationships, inspire collaboration, and create a sense of belonging among Punjabi Wikimedians. Celebration of the 22nd Anniversary of Punjabi Wikipedia
To celebrate the 22nd anniversary of Punjabi Wikipedia, a community meetup was held on 2nd June. The event welcomed mostly new participants eager to explore the Wikimedia Movement. The gathering featured introductions, an open group conversation to build comfort, a Q&A session for addressing doubts, and a discussion on an upcoming edit-a-thon focused on elections and governance topics. The meetup fostered learning, collaboration, and deeper community engagement.
To get more details about in-person meetings, you can see here.
Edit-a-thons
[edit]Women-Focused One Day Edit-a-thon 2024
[edit]On March 17, 2024, a Women-Focused One Day Edit-a-thon 2024 was organised in Patiala as part of Women's Month celebrations. The event welcomed both new and experienced participants, with a notable presence of women editors. It began with an introductory session to build familiarity among attendees, followed by a brief on the purpose of the event and its connection to Women's Month. Information about relevant initiatives like the She Leads program was also shared to inspire participation because this activity was a part of the She Leads Program, one of A2K's programs.
Participants were guided on how to create and improve Wikipedia articles related to women, with experienced users tasked with creating two new articles each, while newcomers were encouraged to create one new article and expand another. Mentorship was a key component, with experienced editors supporting new participants throughout the editing process. In total, 18 participants contributed to the edit-a-thon, resulting in the creation of 23 new articles and improvements to 2 existing articles.
Indian General Election 2024 Editathon
[edit]This editathon was held from June 8 to June 25, 2024, with the aim of improving content related to the 2024 Indian General Elections. Six Punjabi Wikimedians participated in the event, resulting in the creation of 16 new articles and the improvement of 4 existing articles on Punjabi Wikipedia.
Wikidata Twelfth Birthday Datathon
[edit]To celebrate the twelfth birthday of Wikidata, a five-week-long Datathon was organized to enhance India-related data on Wikidata. The campaign was coordinated by five different Indian Wikimedia communities, each leading for one week. The Punjabi Wikimedians led the third week (October 27 – November 2, 2024), focusing on the theme Politics of India. Eight Punjabi Wikimedians contributed during this 5 week-long activity.
Wikipedia Asian Month 2024
[edit]Wikipedia Asian Month is an annual editathon focused on creating content related to the Asian continent. In 2024, the event ran from November 21 to December 21. A total of 13 Punjabi Wikimedians actively participated and collectively created 442 new articles during the campaign.
Punjabi Wikimedians Conference 2024
[edit]The Punjabi Wikimedians Conference 2024 focused on community training, discussion, and enrichment. It brought together two main groups: long-time Punjabi Wikimedians and school students/staff new to the movement. To accommodate both, the schedule was divided. Students participated in introductory sessions like "What is Wikipedia?", classroom use of Wikipedia, a photo walk, Wikimedia Commons editing, and basic knowledge of wiki projects. These activities aimed to raise awareness without overwhelming them. We found students particularly engaged in capturing and uploading photos of their local surroundings to Wikimedia Commons. School staff were also introduced to linking media with Wikipedia articles, enabling them to guide students in the future. For experienced editors, there were sessions like Wikisource training and a community meetup to discuss ongoing issues. The event marked a crucial step in rekindling our Education Program with SEABA School, where past collaborations had paused. The school administration was highly supportive and committed to future offline/online follow-ups. Pre- and post-conference updates were shared via South Asia Open Community Calls. We’re also open to helping other communities organise similar events.
- Number of participants: 97
- Number of editors: 70
- Number of organizers: 8
The conference report link is here.
Punjabi Wikimedians Annual Plan 2025
[edit]The Punjabi Wikimedians Annual Grant – 2025 is an annual plan for the year 2025, designed to support the growth and sustainability of the Punjabi Wikimedia community. This plan focuses on organizing workshops, campaigns, and editathons that will not only strengthen community capacity but also increase awareness and volunteer contributions across Punjabi Wikimedia projects such as Punjabi Wikipedia, Punjabi Wikisource, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata.
With this grant, we aim to build on our ongoing efforts to enhance content, bring in new editors, and foster a more active and skilled contributor base. Our activities will emphasize community engagement, skill development, and outreach—ensuring that free knowledge in the Punjabi language continues to grow and reach wider audiences. The project also seeks to align with the broader goals of the Wikimedia movement, especially in promoting knowledge equity and community resilience.
Grant link: Punjabi Wikimedians Annual Grant - 2025
Wikisource Birthday Meetup 2024 and Wikisource Campaign
[edit]The Punjabi Wikimedians User Group organised a special one-day in-person event to celebrate the 21st birthday of Wikisource. Scheduled for 24 November 2024 in Patiala, Punjab, this meetup brought together community members to focus specifically on Punjabi Wikisource activities. The event aimed to encourage more contributions to Wikisource, improve the quality of existing edits, and discuss strategies to strengthen ongoing efforts. Additionally, the meetup served as a platform to explore new ways of engaging contributors and building future collaborations or partnerships within and beyond the community.
The Punjabi Wikisource campaign is being conducted in two focused phases to improve the quality and accessibility of Punjabi-language texts. During this campaign, community members are actively engaged in proofreading and validating Punjabi textbooks and other literary works on Wikisource. The first phase of the campaign has been successfully completed, resulting in the validation of several important texts and increased community involvement. The second phase is currently ongoing, with editors continuing to work on new titles and finalising previously started ones. The campaign is not only enhancing the content available on Punjabi Wikisource but also encouraging new contributors to participate in the proofreading and validation process. Training sessions and regular online meetups have been organised to support contributors and ensure consistency in quality. This initiative plays a crucial role in preserving Punjabi literature and making it freely accessible to readers and researchers worldwide.
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