[[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outdated.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]
**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
>
Hi,
Lets have a Wikipedia meetup, this sunday from 4 to 5 pm at Lamakaan,
Banjara hills.
The main agenda will be to have membership for Wikimedia India chapter and a
brief discussion on workshops to be taken up in near future.
Those of you who want to take up the membership, please carry the membership
amount of Rs.100/-
--
Rahimanuddin Shaik
నాని
॥రామానుజార్య దివ్యాజ్ఞాం వర్ధతామభివర్ధతాం॥
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Arjuna Rao Chavala <arjunaraoc(a)googlemail.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 9:58 AM
Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] Invitation to join Chapter as Member by 23 June
2011 to participate in EC elections during AGM
To: "Discussion list on Indian language projects of Wikimedia." <
wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Hi Wikimedians,
The Chapter has a statutory requirement that we have our first Annual
General Body meeting before the end of September 2011. We plan on
holding this, in Bangalore, on 24 Sep 2011. (Note: We had earlier
mentioned the date as 17 Sep 2011 but this was changed based on
unforeseen changes in the schedules of EC members and to give more
time for members to join in.)
Filling vacancies in the EC will be one major item on the agenda of
AGM. That said, only people who have become members at least three
months prior to the date of the AGM are eligible to stand and to vote.
Please remember that there is allowance for those members not in
Bangalore to vote as well. What we will do in the next 2 weeks is to
begin a draft nomination process and send it for your feedback and
inputs.
Hence we urge you to join Wikimedia Chapter by 23 June 2011, if you
have not yet applied for membership. Please spread this message with
your fellow wikimedians and encourage them to apply for membership
immediately. The Individual membership
form<http://wiki.wikimedia.in/File:WikimediaChapterMembershipFormIndividual.pdf>
along
with either Cheque/DD payable at par at Bangalore should be received
by 23 June 2011 at Chapter's office.
If you are using online transfer, please send a scanned copy of your
membership form before 23 June 2011 to membership(a)wikimedia.in along
with your online payment details and ensure that your physical
membership form reaches chapter
office before 30 June 2011.
We are really looking forward to an active and strong interest in the
Chapter from the Community.
Sincerely,
Arjuna Rao Chavala
President, Wikimedia Chapter
_______________________________________________
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Wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
--
Rahimanuddin Shaik
నాని
॥రామానుజార్య దివ్యాజ్ఞాం వర్ధతామభివర్ధతాం॥