New subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] [Press] The Hindu : "Malayalam Wiki all set to expand database"

8 Apr 2011

*The Hindu : "Malayalam Wiki all set to expand database"*
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/article1611002.e…

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The Malayalam Wiki is on a roll. After winning accolades for its innovative
endeavours, the Malayalam Wiki continues to hog the limelight with its
latest project titled, ‘Malayalam Wikimediayaye Snehikkunnu' (Malayalam
loves Wikimedia).

Inspired by the resounding success of Wiki projects elsewhere—like ‘London
loves Wikimedia'—the new Malayalam Wiki project seeks to expand the
Malayalam Wiki repositories of free-to-access and use knowledge by adding
copyright-free news and feature photographs concerning Malayalam users.
“During the two-week project period between April 2 and April 17, we intend
to sensitise Malayalam Wiki contributors and users to enrich Malayalam Wiki
ventures by contributing free-to-use photographs. Despite boasting over
17,000 articles on a variety of topics, the Malayalam Wiki can't claim to
have many copyright-free pictures. Hence the project,” maintains Shiju Alex,
Malayalam Wiki activist and coordinator.

The timing of the project couldn't have been any better, given the
forthcoming assembly polls. “This is the time you get to photograph the
State's prominent political personalities. We have articles on many of them,
but most of their available photographs are copyrighted,” he says. Four days
into the project, over 400 free-to-use photographs have been generated by
Malayalam Wiki users across the globe and uploaded into
http://commons.wikimedia.org and http://ml.wikipedia.org.

Besides political leaders, the project seeks to obtain copyright-free
photographs of places of historical significance; monuments; institutions of
governance including local bodies; noted personalities in the State's social
and cultural spheres as part of the project. “The two-week project period is
just a token observance. The exercise is sure to stay on further,” says Mr.
Alex. Contributors are encouraged to provide material besides additional
information pertaining to the photographs they upload. They have also been
asked to give, if possible, the geo-coding (on-map location coordinates) of
the photographs. An FAQ on the objectives and mode of implementation of the
project is available on the Malayalam Wiki page announcing it. A help mail,
help(a)mlwiki.in, has also been set up to field queries. Wiki activists Rajesh
Odayanchal and Ajay Kuyiloor have designed a unique logo and advertisement
for the project.
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Regards
Tinu Cherian
http://wikimedia.in/wiki/In_the_news