Wikipedians regularly conduct workshops to coach academics on how to contribute to the online encyclopedia

Wikipedia needs no introduction. Along with Google, it’s arguably the most visited place on cyberspace. It seems to be the first choice for everyone — from schoolchildren to homemakers to academicians — who are looking for some information: be it the weight of a cricket ball or the medicinal uses of bitter-gourd or the balance of payment crisis. The online encyclopedia has created a revolution in database creation, access, utilization and modification.

Launched on January 15, 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, the free resource of information owes its popularity to the radically different manner in which content is created and edited — democratization of encyclopedia, as it were. Any registered user can create an article, while anyone, even anonymously, can edit it. The only exceptions are, according to Wikipedia itself, a few vandalism-prone pages that can be edited only by established users or in extreme cases by administrators.

The very advantage of this highly popular general reference website itself is a challenge, since Wikipedia isn’t structured in a way that only a few chosen experts write on a particular subject. It’s primarily driven by volunteers around the world, which means a sustained effort has to be made by them to create credible content.

Wikipedia has a number of ways by which it addresses this issue. One of them is Wikipedia Academies. Says Tinu Cherian, one of the many active Wikipedians in Bangalore, “These are public outreach events, wherein, through presentations and workshops, experienced Wikipedia authors teach participants on how to contribute to Wikipedia. The audience is familiarized with Wikipedia’s structures and community policies. These are organized by WikiMedia chapters or just Wikipedia volunteers in various countries.”

The first of such meetings was held in June, 2006, in the university library at Gvttingen, Germany. Since then, the concept has caught on around the world. In India, every year, a number of Wikipedia Academies are organized by volunteers. The latest in the series was at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, on March 21, on Malayalam Wikipedia. During the workshop participants were introduced to various Wikipedia activities and how to create content in Malayalam.

INDIAN LANGUAGE WIKIPEDIA

“The workshops held during Wikipedia Academy meetings tend to be language-specific,” says Shiju Alex, one of the Wikipedians in Bangalore. “These are different from the Wiki Meetups which are attended by Wikipedians, irrespective of the language in which he operates.” Among Indian languages, the south Indian ones are more active and popular. The reason could be the greater initiative and involvement taken by the volunteers in south India, says Alex.

Given the multicultural nature of the Indian society, it’s felt that Wikipedia in Indian languages need to be nurtured. Arun Ram, another active Wikipedian in Bangalore, attributes the lack of popularity of Indian language Wikipedia to many factors.

“Awareness is one major factor. A web search will in all probability show up the link of English Wikipedia article than an Indian language one. Another reason could be connectivity or internet availability. There are also factors like most internet users tend to think and type in English rather than in their local language. And, we also see that many people are able to speak and read their native language but they aren’t able to write in it,” says Arun Ram. He felt that there was great need for development of Wikipedia in Indian languages, “mainly because a lot of information on our vast and vibrant culture is in the local language.”

Shiju Alex was hopeful that with time there would be greater awareness on the need to have credible and authentic information that can be accessible to all. And with it, more volunteers would come forward to chronicle the information on Wikipedia, mainly in local Indian languages.

Article by Pradeep Nair , Times of India, 29 March 2010
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