There is a Wikipedia specific session at stall #196 (Akruti stall) on Sunday Feb 6 at 2 p.m. All the volunteers who expressed interest - please make yourself available for the session which might run into the evening.
The organizers were not able to allocate a separate stall for Wikipedia as there was just too much demand from the publishers. However, we spent an entire day with at the venue before the day of the event until late night working with the organizers in an attempt to get a stall for Wikipedia. There were publishers who had brought their books all the way from places like Mangalore, Bidar that didn't get stalls either!
We're hence sharing a stall with a publisher friend, Guruprasad D N of Akruti books who's been gracious to allow us to use the space. Pamphlets about Kannada Wikipedia have been distributed for last two days from the Akruti stall.
The National college ground has been way too crowded last couple of days that it is difficult to even get to stand anywhere. Tomorrow would be the most crowded of all the three days.
On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 9:17 PM, Sri harsha reach.sriharsha@gmail.comwrote:
Guys,
I am available on on Saturday and Sunday. I cannot make it Friday. Are we meeting before the event to discuss things? One clarification needed in previous mail some discussion going on about the job description and programming knowledge can you guys provide more details about it?
2011/1/25 Arun Ramarathnam arunram25@gmail.com
Ralph,
This is indeed a great opportunity to create greater awareness about the Kannada wikipedia. We need a lot more contributors to Kannada wikipedia. Exhibitions are hectic but p;pose the best outreach opportunity.
I though of sharing some learnings from the recent exhibit stall we had
at
the World Sanskrit Book fair for you and the other volunteers to
consider:
- These exhibitions tend to draw lot of crowds and can be very
exhausting.
- There needs to be 4 volunteers at a given time in the stall.
- Volunteers need to be in shifts of 2 hours to be effective and
retain
energy reserves.
- Most of the questions in event like these are general awareness,
what
they can do as readers, how they need to do if they need to contribute
(whom
to contact). Discussions will not be very technical. (except in the
cases of
very few visitors)
- Having pamphlets is a a great help with the links to wikimedia.in,
kannada wikipedia and other projects, India meetup page. We struggled writing the links through the 2 days as we did not have any pamphlets.
- We now have the banners from the W10 event in Bangalore. These will
be of great use.
- Take the wikireader, it generates a lot of interest. It is now with
HPN.
- Suggest 3-4 laptops with a data card each. This is better than
using
a single projector. We did not use a projector. One to one discussions
are
most effective.
- Take a a few notebooks to write down contacts of people who want
help
to become contributors.
- You will also run into people who would want to give away content
they have created to wikipedia. This is as always a great
opportunity.
- From our past experience, the volunteers knowing wikipedia (even
using is good). Key messages to communicate can be shared with the
team. The
general public is not very well informed on specifics of wikipedia
except
being aware. Many may not know about it in Indian languages.
- The volunteers need the ability to communicate and relate to the
varied audience and backgrounds. This is the most important skill than
even
being insightful.
- Have at least one senior wikipedian in the stall to answer the
difficult or detailed questions.
- Overlap some volunteers across days to carry the learning and
experience of earlier days across subsequent days.
- Expect people to ask questions about Kanaja and other similar
projects. They may also have stalls.
Best wishes for the event.
regards Arun
Bangalore, India www.twitter.com/arunram
On Tue, Jan 25, 2011 at 9:52 AM, Ralph <work.well.done.in@gmail.com wrote:
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article1096315.ece
In order to move forward, may I suggest the following:
Job description of volunteer: other prerequisites - please list
Speak Kannada Yes (mandatory)/No (not required)
Programming knowledge Yes (mandatory)/No (not required)
List of names/email of volunteers who will be present at the Kannada
Wikipedia booth on a. 4 Fri b. 5 Sat c. 6 Sun
- Location map of venue/hall/room - exact details to prevent frantic
searching for the right place.
Bus from Shivajinagar/Majestic/...
Coordinator name & mobile 9.........
Please bring (your own) snack/lunch, booth will be working without a
break! Cannot afford to lose a single visitor.
- Script: What should/should not be said. It may be impossible to meet
before the event for the orientation but a virtual classroom will
address
that need.
http://www.wiziq.com/online-class/453323-let-s-learn-to-use-wiziq-virtual-cl...
Await your comments. Thanks. Ralph
wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org