For those who don't know Shyamal , an active Wikipedian from India, read on
:
( Fwding this mail with the permission of AshLin)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ashwin Baindur
Date: Wed, Jun 22, 2011 at 5:15 PM
Subject: [WikiConference-India 2011] First speaker lined up!
To: For organising national WikiConferences in India <
wikiconference-india(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Short on the heels of our first tentative sponsor is our tentative first
speaker. On the talk page of the schedule on Meta:, I had suggested that we
could schedule a talk on ''Indian Biodiversity in Wikipedia - Issues,
challenges & the way ahead'' by Shyamal.
He has agreed to my proposal.
The Indian biodiversity scene has a number of people who work on Wikipedia
but rarely venture out in Outreach and as such remain completely unknown to
the general Wikipedia community. Shyamal is such a guy. So I will introduce
you to him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Shyamal
An editor since 26 November 2002, Shyamal has an edit count of over 36,000
edits on English Wikipedia, is an administrator on English Wikipedia and is
quite simply India's most prolific contributor on Nature and Wild life.
Respected amongst the ornithological community in India, where he wrote a
seminal paper in 2007 on "Whither Indian Ornithology" in a peer-reviewed
journal, Indian Birds,
http://www.indianbirds.in/pdfs/Opinion%20Taking%20Indian%20ornithology%20in…
...he has contributed over 5200 images to Commons, many of them carefully
retrieved from nineteenth century books and cleaned up and loaded as well as
svg images painstakingly crafted
http://toolserver.org/~daniel/WikiSense/Gallery.php?wikifam=commons.wikimed…
He has theorised about the role of Open Science in India, and commented on
influential papers on Wikipedia in Science.
http://thebutterflydiaries.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/open-science/
Shyamal has also loaded hundreds of documents into www.archive.org where
they are now available to posterity.
When he reads this, Shyamal will once again accuse me of being a hagiograph.
Well, as a fauji, I like to call a spade a spade. Just thought, you'd like
to know.
The Indian community has many unsung WikiHeroes, one of whom is Shyamal.
Warm regards,
Ashwin Baindur
------------------------------------------------------
**Cross posted on various Indian Mailing Lists**
As per Community consensus, the annual national conference of Wikipedians in India will be titled WikiConference India.
We now need a special Logo for the event.
This logo will be used not only this year, but annually for the national conference. Community members are requested to come up with designs and post them on the talk page of the event on meta latest by 1PM, Monday 27 June 2011. Thereafter we will have a 48 hour window for the other community members to vote for the design they like.
**Kindly note, we expect the designers to assign unconditionally all rights to the logo design to Wikimedia Chapter (India) under whose jurisdiction this conference comes without any remuneration or other considerations. You will be recognised as the designer of the logo.**
Weblink for the Event Talk Page on Meta: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:WikiConference_India_2011#Logo
Looking forward to seeing some brilliant designs.
Kind Regards,
User:AroundTheGlobe
cross-posting pan India (apologies if you have got this through other mailing lists.)
Hisham Mundol
Wikimedia India Programs
skype : hisham.wikimedia
gtalk : hmundol(a)wikimedia.org
twitter : @mundol
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Hisham Mundol <hmundol(a)wikimedia.org>
> Date: June 21, 2011 5:00:50 PM GMT+05:30
> To: India Mailing list for Wikimedians in Pune <wikimedia-in-pun(a)lists.wikimedia.org>, Wikimedia India Community list <wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Cc: Wikipedia Ambassadors India <wikipedia-ambassadors-india(a)googlegroups.com>
> Subject: Update on Wikipedia India Education Program: Report & Project Page
>
> Hi Folks
>
> Here's a report on the Wikipedia India Education Program: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_-_India_Programs/India_…
>
> In (very) short summary, it's been an action packed 4-5 weeks, the team has done a huge amount of groundwork - and there appears to be significant potential. Do go through the report for further details.
>
> ...I've tried to make the report as interesting to read as possible - and focus on the learnings and implications for a national roll-out (instead of making it a random list summarising various activities.)
>
> Do let me have your views on the mailing lists or the Talk Page.
>
> (A project page has also been set up at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pune but I hasten to add that it is in early stages of construction. ...but do keep visiting it. Finger crossed, it's going to get very busy, very soon!)
>
> I'd like to thank everyone from the community who have helped out so amazingly!
>
> Best
>
> Hisham Mundol
>
> Wikimedia India Programs
> skype : hisham.wikimedia
> gtalk : hmundol(a)wikimedia.org
> twitter : @mundol
>
[[This is a lengthy mail and is cross-posted on all mailing lists. Kindly
bear]]
Dear Wikimedians,
We interact with the government on multiple occasions. The problems are all
too familiar - complex systems, official apathy, corruption - just to name a
few.
Some trivia and stats to qualify these claims:
* Entrepreneurs identified increasing the speed and ease of issuing permits;
lowering taxes; and reducing the time it takes to start a business as key
issues. (Note - All issues relate to government interactions; Source -
Legatum Institute)
* In Mumbai, there are 37 procedural hoops to jump through to gain approval
to build a warehouse. (Source : World Bank)
* On the Corruption Perception Index (2010), India ranks 87th of 178
countries
* Indians are highest ranked in volume of search for terms such as
government rules, passport and registration (Source - Google Trends)
Here's where WikifyIndia - a wiki of government procedures - kicks in.
If Wikipedia is the Thinkers Encyclopedia, WikifyIndia is the Doer's
Encyclopedia
We (the founders) are ardent believers of the Wikipedia model and want to
apply it to government procedures. Our belief is that ordinary citizens
suffer for two reasons – the process is complex and accurate information is
unavailable. WikifyIndia addresses the latter. Agents distort information to
suit themselves. Officials are rarely friendly. The best solution has always
been to ask someone who has ‘been through the grind’. WikifyIndia does it on
a national level.
The scope of the Project is wide ranging. From getting into the armed forces
to filing a Right To Information request, from complaining about a broken
traffic signal to opening a restaurant, from changing your name to adopting
a child, from applying for euthanasia to marrying in court, from getting a
gun permit to filing your taxes, from getting a permit to climb peaks to
getting a gas connection, it will all be there.
www.wikifyindia.com
Every article is expected to have a short intro, requirements/eligibility,
procedure, list of documents, timings, fees, application form, sample
certificate among other details. Unlike Wikipedia, WikifyIndia is also a
forum. There is merit in aggregating experiences (for ex. visa experiences
can be quite varied).
Current approaches on the internet are inadequate. Information is retrieved
from Q&A forums, blog posts, agent or government sites. It is incomplete and
outdated. Wikipedia has proved that a bottom approach is far more suitable
in some areas than any top down approach (where a group is formally trying
to organise information). Even if someone did a good job, they wouldn't be
able to distribute it for free.
WikifyIndia complements Wikipedia. The article on Civil Marriage in
Wikipedia is written differently from the same article on WikifyIndia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_marriagehttp://www.wikifyindia.com/wiki/Civil_Marriage
When WikifyIndia has adequate accurate content, it will reduce what
economists call 'transaction costs'. Any tool to improve productivity of
citizens, entrepreneurs and organisations will be directly contributing to
the Indian economy. To the best of our knowledge, there is no other site
with a similar approach in any other country. We urge you to jump in and
make a difference.
WikifyIndia is a non-profit initiative free of advertising and is being run
by a small fund created by the Founders.
We (the founders) have cribbed about a @#$% and rotten system for far too
long. WikifyIndia is our way of doing something about it. We ask for your
complete support in adding content, sharing experiences, creating templates
and technical support. The goal is for every government procedure to be
available in every Indian language with complete and accurate guidelines. If
a farmer's wife in Manipur wants to get employed under Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme, she should have all the information and forms on the site
in her language.
Thank you for your time and patience,
Anish and Sohel [User:Sbohra]
Hi Folks,
This is again a good news to inform you that 34th Bangalore Wiki Meetup is
just over!
Bangalore Wiki Community's 34th Meetup was attended by 16 enthusiast
attendees.
The meetup went through 2 talks by Tory Read and Achal Prabhala and post
talk discussions and networking.
*Tory Read’s Talk:*
*[ Tory, being a photographer, artist and journalist in profession works
basically in arts, humanity, behavioral approach of humans to a new
technology and strategic thinking. ]
*In her visit to India she has been visiting places, meeting people who are
taking part in the WMF initiatives and documenting them in the form of
Images/Audio/Video files. For her, photography is a tool to understand how
organizations like Wikimedia work. She explained the focus of her ongoing
project which is based on making Wikipedia more supportive, how well they
could help people, the good and bad points in its organization system,
strategic thinking of Wikipedia in India, both in English and regional
languages. She has interviewed people of varied personal and professional
backgrounds and recorded almost 25 videos which she’d be uploading to
commons. She has met Bishakha Datta in Mumbai, visited Pune Pilot Program
campus, taken part in interacting with 22 campus ambassadors, attended
Kannur Malayalam Wiki Meetup along with Bishakha and Hisham, trvelled
Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and interviewed several Malayalam Wikipedians,
from a very-young-Wikipedian to a Heart-Stroke-Patient-Wikipedian. Tory
would be documenting the history of Wikipedia along with the work pattern,
strategic plans, cons and pros of new initiatives based on the behavioral
function.
*Achal Prabhala’s talk:**
[Achal is an Indian researcher, activist and writer based in Bangalore,
Karnataka. He works on intellectual property rights in relation to medicine
and knowledge. He also serves on the board of the Centre for Internet and
Society<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_for_Internet_and_Society_%28India%29><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achal_Prabhala#cite_note-1>and
on the Advisory board of the Wikimedia
Foundation.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achal_Prabhala#cite_note-2>
]*
Achal, being a part of a long term project on Oral citation has interviewed
many people in India (mostly in Kerala and Maharashtra), attended public
gathering, folk dances, observed process of traditional liquor skills of
local folks in South Africa, interviewed them and recorded their words and
action. His work also pervaded to understand how newspapers in a long span
of their lives never worked as authentic source of information, media,
entertainment industry has popularized languages like Hindi, but the same
language has still not reached more scholarly published articles. During a
long presentation Achal showed the extensive approach and need of Oral
citation in documenting the history of mankind in a more generic way.
Post talks there was few discussions. Arjuna Rao Chavala explained the
Bangalore Community Engagement with Wikimedia Chapter and its role as an
independent body. The main topics discussed are:
- Membership (*Membership needs, benefits, role as a Chapter member*)
- Projects 2011-2012
- Representation of Bangalore in the city SIG
Post discussion Membership forms were distributed. The forms are also
avaibale online at
http://wiki.wikimedia.in/File:WikimediaChapterMembershipFormIndividual.pdf
Wikipedians also discussed about taking initiatives to start on campus Wiki
Workshops in Engineering and Communication/Media Studies Institutes which
will bring out students for taking part in Wikimedia initiatives.
Post discussion Wikipedians socialized and had photoshoots. Photos and
videos can be found at
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Bangalore_Meetup_June2011
Thanks
*
ସୁଭପାSubhashishPanigrahi
ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ
_______________________________________________
Wikipedia Odia (Oriya) mailing list
wikipedia-or(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikipedia-orfacebook.com/OdiaWiki
Tweet @OdiaWiki
*
Hey!
I didn't find the online form for wikimedia membership. Can someone point me
to the link to the same?
Thanks!
--
Sohan Maheshwar
Software Engineer.
Tarams Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Tarams <http://www.tarams.com/>
http://blog.tarams.com/
Ph : + 91 80 26587057
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LinkedIn
------------
Mailing,
I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.
- Gokuldas Mitian
Gokuldas Mitian Bangalore
Independent Financial Services Professional
Bengaluru Area, India
Confirm that you know Gokuldas Mitian Bangalore
https://www.linkedin.com/e/tmkbii-got7zvje-1e/isd/3184680497/56d78JW0/
--
(c) 2011, LinkedIn Corporation
Hi Wikipedians of Bangalore,
It is my pleasure to introduce *Tory
Read *to the 34th Wiki Meetup Bangalore.
*Tory Read is a writer and social historian with an MA in Journalism and a
BA in Comparative Literature from Stanford University. For 25 years, she
has documented stories, results and lessons learned for innovative
community projects. She has done this extensively in the US, Asia and the
Pacific, in a variety of subjects, including environment conservation,
education, economic development, juvenile justice, affordable housing, and
community media. Her specialty is to tell the story from multiple points of
view of the people on the ground doing the work.*
*
Currently,she is a consultant to Wikimedia Foundation. The Foundation asked
her to write a story about the growth of Wikipedia in India, including
the Foundation's unfolding role, and to capture lessons learned so far.
The piece will serve to inform people inside and outside of India about
what is happening on the ground, and the lessons learned section will
inform the Foundation's future work in India as well as its future work in
other areas of the global south. *
Tory is equally excited to meet the "much hyped" Bangalore meetups and
Wikipedians in Bangalore. I am sure that she is particularly interested in
learning the experiences from the Wikipedians of Bangalore. :)
Btw we are also working on some planned talks and discussions for the
upcoming meetup on Sunday and will be announced shortly.
Do sign up and hope to see you all there on Sunday.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:MBL34
*Date :* 12 June 2011, 3PM Sunday
*Venue :*
The Centre for Internet and Society
No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross,
4th Main
Domlur 2nd Stage
Opposite to Domlur Club
Bangalore 560 071
Karnataka
Regards
Tinu Cherian