Dear All:
We have instituted a monthly call between the India Chapter and the Wikimedia Foundation. Members of the Chapter EC, Hisham and Asaf Bartov (who heads up Global South Relationships at the Foundation) will participate in this call. The objective of the call is to share information and improve collaboration between the Chapter and the Foundation on various Wikimedia projects of relevance to India. We had the first one on Aug 24, 2011, and here's a quick update.
*Chapter Update*
- 30 persons attended the workshop on Copyright and Open Licensing conducted on 30th July 2011 in Bangalore, which was well received. http://wiki.wikimedia.in/Events/Copyright_and_Open_Licensing_SeminarPlan - Plan to conduct 1st WikiAcademy with the Department of Public Libraries, Karnataka for their senior Library professionals on 12 Sep 2011. - Membership currently stands at ~80 - Participation from community on some projects but the response is below expectations. Chapter hopes that the response will improve as more activities are taken up by Chapter in the near future. - AGM will be conducted on September 24 2011. Elections process for EC vacancies has been initiated. - Process for applying for FCRA prior permission has been actioned with necessary steps being taken with local banks, consultants and the WMF. The bank account required for FCRA is ready. The draft of letter from WMF will be finalized in a week by Chapter Accountant and Advisor (another prerequisite) and then FCRA application will be submitted. 3-4 months are required for approval by Home Ministry, Government of India.
*Foundation Update*
- Education Program is doing well from a numbers perspective - with more than 1000 students involved. However, there is a great deal of effort required to continue to support and enable and motivate these students. Additional Campus Ambassadors are being selected from the participating institutions. Hisham requested that everyone reach out and be encouraging to the Campus Ambassadors, students and teachers. - 2 new staff members selected; Nitika has joined & Shiju will be joining by October - Initial conversations were being sought with leading mobile companies to explore Wikipedia on mobile - Independent public trust to be set up hopefully by next week, followed by FCRA prior permission and other approvals required for tax exemption, etc.
*Collaboration on future projects*
Some requests from colleges to participate in campus ambassador like program were received by the chapter and Hisham. Hisham said that till the ongoing program is stable, he will not be able to roll it to other cities. He suggested that colleges can get started by forming student clubs and Foundation staff are providing necessary information and assistance for the same. He also requested Chapter EC to extend their support for the same.
Chapter seeks active involvement in the elections and looks to grow its membership base and expand it's reach in encouraging the use and contributions to the Wikimedia movement in India.
Thank you.
Best,
Gautam
On Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 10:37 AM, Gautam John gautam@prathambooks.orgwrote:
Dear All:
We have instituted a monthly call between the India Chapter and the Wikimedia Foundation. Members of the Chapter EC, Hisham and Asaf Bartov (who heads up Global South Relationships at the Foundation) will participate in this call. The objective of the call is to share information and improve collaboration between the Chapter and the Foundation on various Wikimedia projects of relevance to India. We had the first one on Aug 24, 2011, and here's a quick update.
Thanks for the update, Gautam.
This monthly chapter-Foundation call sounds like a really good idea.
Cheers Bishakha
Hi Gautham,
Expression of interest by colleges is in English or other Indic languages ?
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On 26 August 2011 10:37, Gautam John gautam@prathambooks.org wrote:
Dear All:
We have instituted a monthly call between the India Chapter and the Wikimedia Foundation. Members of the Chapter EC, Hisham and Asaf Bartov (who heads up Global South Relationships at the Foundation) will participate in this call. The objective of the call is to share information and improve collaboration between the Chapter and the Foundation on various Wikimedia projects of relevance to India. We had the first one on Aug 24, 2011, and here's a quick update.
*Chapter Update*
- 30 persons attended the workshop on Copyright and Open Licensing
conducted on 30th July 2011 in Bangalore, which was well received. http://wiki.wikimedia.in/Events/Copyright_and_Open_Licensing_SeminarPlan
- Plan to conduct 1st WikiAcademy with the Department of Public
Libraries, Karnataka for their senior Library professionals on 12 Sep 2011.
- Membership currently stands at ~80
- Participation from community on some projects but the response is
below expectations. Chapter hopes that the response will improve as more activities are taken up by Chapter in the near future.
- AGM will be conducted on September 24 2011. Elections process for
EC vacancies has been initiated.
- Process for applying for FCRA prior permission has been actioned with
necessary steps being taken with local banks, consultants and the WMF. The bank account required for FCRA is ready. The draft of letter from WMF will be finalized in a week by Chapter Accountant and Advisor (another prerequisite) and then FCRA application will be submitted. 3-4 months are required for approval by Home Ministry, Government of India.
*Foundation Update*
- Education Program is doing well from a numbers perspective - with
more than 1000 students involved. However, there is a great deal of effort required to continue to support and enable and motivate these students. Additional Campus Ambassadors are being selected from the participating institutions. Hisham requested that everyone reach out and be encouraging to the Campus Ambassadors, students and teachers.
- 2 new staff members selected; Nitika has joined & Shiju will be
joining by October
- Initial conversations were being sought with leading mobile companies
to explore Wikipedia on mobile
- Independent public trust to be set up hopefully by next week,
followed by FCRA prior permission and other approvals required for tax exemption, etc.
*Collaboration on future projects*
Some requests from colleges to participate in campus ambassador like program were received by the chapter and Hisham. Hisham said that till the ongoing program is stable, he will not be able to roll it to other cities. He suggested that colleges can get started by forming student clubs and Foundation staff are providing necessary information and assistance for the same. He also requested Chapter EC to extend their support for the same.
Chapter seeks active involvement in the elections and looks to grow its membership base and expand it's reach in encouraging the use and contributions to the Wikimedia movement in India.
Thank you.
Best,
Gautam
Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
On 26 August 2011 11:08, Naveen Francis naveenpf@gmail.com wrote:
Expression of interest by colleges is in English or other Indic languages ?
Naveen, thus far English but perhaps Hisham might have had queries for Indic support.
Hi Gautam,
If it is English, WikiProject Education in India will give a try, we are 40 in numbers now .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:INEI
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On 26 August 2011 11:11, Gautam John gautam@prathambooks.org wrote:
On 26 August 2011 11:08, Naveen Francis naveenpf@gmail.com wrote:
Expression of interest by colleges is in English or other Indic languages
?
Naveen, thus far English but perhaps Hisham might have had queries for Indic support.
Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
On 26 August 2011 11:50, Naveen Francis naveenpf@gmail.com wrote:
If it is English, WikiProject Education in India will give a try, we are 40 in numbers now .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:INEI
Oh! Thanks Naveen. We'll definitely keep you guys involved with this.
Thank you.
Best,
Gautam ________ http://blog.prathambooks.org/p/social-media.html
On Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 11:57, Gautam John gautam@prathambooks.org wrote:
On 26 August 2011 11:50, Naveen Francis naveenpf@gmail.com wrote:
If it is English, WikiProject Education in India will give a try, we are
40 in numbers now ..
Oh! Thanks Naveen. We'll definitely keep you guys involved with this.
Err, both of you are totally disconnected.
Naveen, Education program is about interacting with colleges about use of Wikipedia included in teaching learning process, like Campus Ambassador program where people edit as part of curriculum.
Gautam, WP:INEI is a WikiProject aiming improvement of articles in English wikipedia related to education in India and has goals like improving coverage of Indian education related articles.
Ofcourse, if one student who participates from each college on education program writes / improves his/her own college article, WP:INEI can also improve !
Yup Srikanth,
But we can discuss in WP:INEI talk and create new projects for this purpose.
I believe many in WP:INEI or WP:IND will be happy to help this new project.
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On 26 August 2011 12:02, Srikanth Lakshmanan srik.lak@gmail.com wrote:
On Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 11:57, Gautam John gautam@prathambooks.orgwrote:
On 26 August 2011 11:50, Naveen Francis naveenpf@gmail.com wrote:
If it is English, WikiProject Education in India will give a try, we are
40 in numbers now ..
Oh! Thanks Naveen. We'll definitely keep you guys involved with this.
Err, both of you are totally disconnected.
Naveen, Education program is about interacting with colleges about use of Wikipedia included in teaching learning process, like Campus Ambassador program where people edit as part of curriculum.
Gautam, WP:INEI is a WikiProject aiming improvement of articles in English wikipedia related to education in India and has goals like improving coverage of Indian education related articles.
Ofcourse, if one student who participates from each college on education program writes / improves his/her own college article, WP:INEI can also improve !
-- Regards Srikanth.L
Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
Naveen: There's a project page already in place for the Wikipedia India Education Program. It's WP:INDIAEDU
Srikanth : Thanks for clarifying
Hisham Mundol
Wikimedia India Programs skype : hisham.wikimedia gtalk : hmundol@wikimedia.org twitter : @mundol
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
On Aug 26, 2011, at 12:07 PM, Naveen Francis wrote:
Yup Srikanth,
But we can discuss in WP:INEI talk and create new projects for this purpose. I believe many in WP:INEI or WP:IND will be happy to help this new project.
Naveen Francis Signature powered by WiseStamp
On 26 August 2011 12:02, Srikanth Lakshmanan srik.lak@gmail.com wrote: On Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 11:57, Gautam John gautam@prathambooks.org wrote: On 26 August 2011 11:50, Naveen Francis naveenpf@gmail.com wrote:
If it is English, WikiProject Education in India will give a try, we are 40 in numbers now .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:INEI
Oh! Thanks Naveen. We'll definitely keep you guys involved with this.
Err, both of you are totally disconnected.
Naveen, Education program is about interacting with colleges about use of Wikipedia included in teaching learning process, like Campus Ambassador program where people edit as part of curriculum.
Gautam, WP:INEI is a WikiProject aiming improvement of articles in English wikipedia related to education in India and has goals like improving coverage of Indian education related articles.
Ofcourse, if one student who participates from each college on education program writes / improves his/her own college article, WP:INEI can also improve !
-- Regards Srikanth.L
Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
Can community use the same ? Then this will be easy :)
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On 26 August 2011 16:36, Hisham Mundol hmundol@wikimedia.org wrote:
Naveen: There's a project page already in place for the Wikipedia India Education Program. It's WP:INDIAEDU
Srikanth : Thanks for clarifying
*Hisham Mundol* *
Wikimedia http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Home
India Programshttp://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_-_India_Programs
skype : hisham.wikimedia gtalk : hmundol@wikimedia.org ** twitter : @mundol
*Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!*
On Aug 26, 2011, at 12:07 PM, Naveen Francis wrote:
Yup Srikanth,
But we can discuss in WP:INEI talk and create new projects for this purpose. I believe many in WP:INEI or WP:IND will be happy to help this new project.
Naveen Francis Signature powered by http://www.wisestamp.com/email-install?utm_source=extension&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=footer WiseStamphttp://www.wisestamp.com/email-install?utm_source=extension&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=footer
On 26 August 2011 12:02, Srikanth Lakshmanan srik.lak@gmail.com wrote:
On Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 11:57, Gautam John gautam@prathambooks.orgwrote:
On 26 August 2011 11:50, Naveen Francis naveenpf@gmail.com wrote:
If it is English, WikiProject Education in India will give a try, we
are 40 in numbers now ..
Oh! Thanks Naveen. We'll definitely keep you guys involved with this.
Err, both of you are totally disconnected.
Naveen, Education program is about interacting with colleges about use of Wikipedia included in teaching learning process, like Campus Ambassador program where people edit as part of curriculum.
Gautam, WP:INEI is a WikiProject aiming improvement of articles in English wikipedia related to education in India and has goals like improving coverage of Indian education related articles.
Ofcourse, if one student who participates from each college on education program writes / improves his/her own college article, WP:INEI can also improve !
-- Regards Srikanth.L
Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
On Aug 26, 2011, at 4:37 PM, Naveen Francis wrote:
Can community use the same ? Then this will be easy :)
Not sure I understand the question, Naveen. It's an open page for everyone. Students and teachers and Campus Ambassadors use it to plan the program, manage their activities, get help and track progress. Right now, we've put in only the participants from the Pune pilot but eventually, i see this page expanding to include other cities as the program rolls out.
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On 26 August 2011 16:36, Hisham Mundol hmundol@wikimedia.org wrote: Naveen: There's a project page already in place for the Wikipedia India Education Program. It's WP:INDIAEDU
Srikanth : Thanks for clarifying
Hisham Mundol
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On Aug 26, 2011, at 11:11 AM, Gautam John wrote:
On 26 August 2011 11:08, Naveen Francis naveenpf@gmail.com wrote:
Expression of interest by colleges is in English or other Indic languages ?
Naveen, thus far English but perhaps Hisham might have had queries for Indic support.
Not received any so far
Gautam,
Thanks for the update.
Plan to engage with Department of Public Libraries is a valuable step ahead, in my opinion. Shortlisting other departments who's association would help immensely (for instance the department of secondary education) and trying to connect with them would be a plus. Let me know if I could be of any help there, I'd be happy to help.
Membership at 80 looks like a good number achieved considering that Chapter had minimal resources to do a membership drive in that it doesn't have paid employees yet who can run around getting stuff done (or are there any now?). I believe placing a link on http://wikimedia.in/ about the membership would help drive more members. The site notice on the community wiki can also be put to better use.
Good to hear about the progress on FCRA. Going by what I've heard from others, this is going to test your patience.
About the Foundation update,
The number of students involved sounds great and sets up huge expectations about the program. There has been tremendous publicity for the program. Like mentioned on the update, it does require great deal of effort to retain this enthusiasm in the campuses -- however the addition new staff, Shiju and Nikita should boost the efforts. I personally would like to see more people like Srikeit (who's presently helping out with the program) who've contributed immensely on Wikipedia, and have known the community for quite sometime being given opportunities to help steer this program. I met Srikeit during Wikimania and he was mighty excited about his role where he could put to use his long time experience being part of Wikipedia.
I would be extremely keen to know more about the conversations happening between the mobile companies and the Foundation. What is the current picture? As more and more people increasingly access information from mobile here, this is going to be an important channel worth exploring rigorously, and with focus on Indian languages.
And the independent public trust -- I know that I'll be hitting a sensitive topic by even stirring this, but I can't help but wonder how the dual power house model would work. A common Wikipedian from here would have several unanswered questions, and few very simple and obvious questions like whether two different entities are actually required for the same region, or about whom to approach for help in improving projects in the region or for assistance of any kind. It sort of puts up good deal of confusion for the community. Between just the chapter and the foundation's office (transformed into a legal entity of 'trust'), while there's just too many things to be done in this nascent community, isn't co-ordination going to be unnecessary overhead and something that is eating up into each of your's time? How do you plan to address these? And when the chapter was established, it was decided to go for a 'society' model for obvious reasons, and for of how democratic it would be.
There are several more questions that would prop in the minds of Wikipedians who've seen times when there was no chapter, no WMF assistance during the earlier years (2002 - ) to the years now of conspicuously towering interest in the region. There were times when we put our own money to organize Wikipedia related activities, not having anyone here to help. So, this change is welcoming, the kind of interest we're seeing now in India is huge for every Wikipedian from this country. However, there is uncertainty about where this is headed.
Cheers,
On Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 10:37 AM, Gautam John gautam@prathambooks.orgwrote:
Dear All:
We have instituted a monthly call between the India Chapter and the Wikimedia Foundation. Members of the Chapter EC, Hisham and Asaf Bartov (who heads up Global South Relationships at the Foundation) will participate in this call. The objective of the call is to share information and improve collaboration between the Chapter and the Foundation on various Wikimedia projects of relevance to India. We had the first one on Aug 24, 2011, and here's a quick update.
*Chapter Update*
- 30 persons attended the workshop on Copyright and Open Licensing
conducted on 30th July 2011 in Bangalore, which was well received. http://wiki.wikimedia.in/Events/Copyright_and_Open_Licensing_SeminarPlan
- Plan to conduct 1st WikiAcademy with the Department of Public
Libraries, Karnataka for their senior Library professionals on 12 Sep 2011.
- Membership currently stands at ~80
- Participation from community on some projects but the response is
below expectations. Chapter hopes that the response will improve as more activities are taken up by Chapter in the near future.
- AGM will be conducted on September 24 2011. Elections process for
EC vacancies has been initiated.
- Process for applying for FCRA prior permission has been actioned with
necessary steps being taken with local banks, consultants and the WMF. The bank account required for FCRA is ready. The draft of letter from WMF will be finalized in a week by Chapter Accountant and Advisor (another prerequisite) and then FCRA application will be submitted. 3-4 months are required for approval by Home Ministry, Government of India.
*Foundation Update*
- Education Program is doing well from a numbers perspective - with
more than 1000 students involved. However, there is a great deal of effort required to continue to support and enable and motivate these students. Additional Campus Ambassadors are being selected from the participating institutions. Hisham requested that everyone reach out and be encouraging to the Campus Ambassadors, students and teachers.
- 2 new staff members selected; Nitika has joined & Shiju will be
joining by October
- Initial conversations were being sought with leading mobile companies
to explore Wikipedia on mobile
- Independent public trust to be set up hopefully by next week,
followed by FCRA prior permission and other approvals required for tax exemption, etc.
*Collaboration on future projects*
Some requests from colleges to participate in campus ambassador like program were received by the chapter and Hisham. Hisham said that till the ongoing program is stable, he will not be able to roll it to other cities. He suggested that colleges can get started by forming student clubs and Foundation staff are providing necessary information and assistance for the same. He also requested Chapter EC to extend their support for the same.
Chapter seeks active involvement in the elections and looks to grow its membership base and expand it's reach in encouraging the use and contributions to the Wikimedia movement in India.
Thank you.
Best,
Gautam
On 26 August 2011 13:23, Hari Prasad Nadig hpnadig@gmail.com wrote:
connect with them would be a plus. Let me know if I could be of any help there, I'd be happy to help.
Hari - that would be very welcome indeed. Both to connect us with departments that might be interested and at the events themselves. Likewise for people outside of Karnataka too.
Membership at 80 looks like a good number achieved considering that Chapter had minimal resources to do a membership drive in that it doesn't have paid employees yet who can run around getting stuff done (or are there any now?). I believe placing a link on http://wikimedia.in/ about the membership would help drive more members. The site notice on the community wiki can also be put to better use.
Agreed and thank you. Nope, there aren't any paid staff! We really do need to overhaul that landing page and welcome assistance on that too. Similarly, on the Wiki too. We're also hoping that online membership becomes a reality in the next few months too. That said, it would be really helpful if everyone could refer their colleagues and fellow volunteers to become members and if the India Program team can also encourage those it interacts with to become members of the Chapter.
Good to hear about the progress on FCRA. Going by what I've heard from others, this is going to test your patience.
Indeed! But we remain hopeful. :)
About the Foundation update,
I'll leave this to Hisham, Shiju and Nitika.
There are several more questions that would prop in the minds of Wikipedians who've seen times when there was no chapter, no WMF assistance during the earlier years (2002 - ) to the years now of conspicuously towering interest in the region. There were times when we put our own money to organize Wikipedia related activities, not having anyone here to help. So, this change is welcoming, the kind of interest we're seeing now in India is huge for every Wikipedian from this country. However, there is uncertainty about where this is headed.
The movement wouldn't be where it is without the help of everyone who has kept the flame burning all the while. Everyone remains indebted to them.
Thanks!
- Gautam
On Fri, Aug 26, 2011 at 1:34 PM, Gautam John gautam@prathambooks.orgwrote:
On 26 August 2011 13:23, Hari Prasad Nadig hpnadig@gmail.com wrote:
connect with them would be a plus. Let me know if I could be of any help there, I'd be happy to help.
Hari - that would be very welcome indeed. Both to connect us with departments that might be interested and at the events themselves. Likewise for people outside of Karnataka too.
I'll be around for the September 12th event at the Dept. of Public Libraries. How about a meet-up right after the program to take this further?
Agreed and thank you. Nope, there aren't any paid staff! We really do need to overhaul that landing page and welcome assistance on that too.
Send me the access. I'll see what I can help with. You should try Drupal with CiviCRM for the website (or mediawiki itself).
About the Foundation update,
I'll leave this to Hisham, Shiju and Nitika.
Shall look forward to response from Hisham. I hope he's spotted this thread! Hisham?
What is the Chapter's perspective on this though?
The movement wouldn't be where it is without the help of everyone who
has kept the flame burning all the while. Everyone remains indebted to them.
Heartening to hear this. There are a number of Wikipedians from India who've been working on the projects for years now without aspiring for much other than seeing their favorite projects grow, and at times putting in more than just their time for the projects. It would be amazing if some of these long time Wikipedians would come forward and take part in the establishments that are building up and engage themselves in conversations with the decision makers here to get that opportunity.
Cheers,
On 26 August 2011 17:37, Hari Prasad Nadig hpnadig@gmail.com wrote:
I'll be around for the September 12th event at the Dept. of Public Libraries.
That's wonderful, Hari. Look forward to it.
How about a meet-up right after the program to take this further?
Like a public meet-up? Since Arjuna is coordinating this would be best to check with him as well. Arjuna?
Send me the access. I'll see what I can help with. You should try Drupal with CiviCRM for the website (or mediawiki itself).
Send me an email, off-list, please?
About the Foundation update,
I'll leave this to Hisham, Shiju and Nitika.
What is the Chapter's perspective on this though?
Well, the possibility of overlap and the need for coordination is one of the big reasons for the monthly calls - will certainly make things easier for all.
just their time for the projects. It would be amazing if some of these long time Wikipedians would come forward and take part in the establishments that are building up and engage themselves in conversations with the decision makers here to get that opportunity.
Agreed! How can we help make it happen?
Thank you.
Best,
Gautam ________ http://blog.prathambooks.org/p/social-media.html
inline
On Aug 26, 2011, at 1:23 PM, Hari Prasad Nadig wrote:
About the Foundation update,
The number of students involved sounds great and sets up huge expectations about the program. There has been tremendous publicity for the program. Like mentioned on the update, it does require great deal of effort to retain this enthusiasm in the campuses -- however the addition new staff, Shiju and Nikita should boost the efforts. I personally would like to see more people like Srikeit (who's presently helping out with the program) who've contributed immensely on Wikipedia, and have known the community for quite sometime being given opportunities to help steer this program. I met Srikeit during Wikimania and he was mighty excited about his role where he could put to use his long time experience being part of Wikipedia.
Absolutely. The more Nitika and I look at the program, the more we are convinced that full time Fellowships (maybe of a 3 month duration) will be required when we move to other cities. Getting this kind of a program going is back breaking stuff and requires enormous co-ordination and follow-up. Experienced Wikipedians can make enormous contributions.
I would be extremely keen to know more about the conversations happening between the mobile companies and the Foundation. What is the current picture? As more and more people increasingly access information from mobile here, this is going to be an important channel worth exploring rigorously, and with focus on Indian languages.
I'll be keeping the community posted on this, as always.
And the independent public trust -- I know that I'll be hitting a sensitive topic by even stirring this, but I can't help but wonder how the dual power house model would work. A common Wikipedian from here would have several unanswered questions, and few very simple and obvious questions like whether two different entities are actually required for the same region, or about whom to approach for help in improving projects in the region or for assistance of any kind. It sort of puts up good deal of confusion for the community. Between just the chapter and the foundation's office (transformed into a legal entity of 'trust'), while there's just too many things to be done in this nascent community, isn't co-ordination going to be unnecessary overhead and something that is eating up into each of your's time? How do you plan to address these? And when the chapter was established, it was decided to go for a 'society' model for obvious reasons, and for of how democratic it would be.
The potential in India is massive - and so is the effort required to realise this opportunity (as you indicated.) It will require resources and capabilities and the Chapter and Foundation will both contribute. As far as who should be reached for assistance of any kind, do reach out to whoever and however many you want to reach out to. (An email to this mailing list for example is a great way - or feel free to reach out to the Chapter directly or to me directly or both!) Co-ordination between the Chapter and the Foundation is not an overhead; we need to do it and it will be well worth the investment of time and effort.
There are several more questions that would prop in the minds of Wikipedians who've seen times when there was no chapter, no WMF assistance during the earlier years (2002 - ) to the years now of conspicuously towering interest in the region. There were times when we put our own money to organize Wikipedia related activities, not having anyone here to help. So, this change is welcoming, the kind of interest we're seeing now in India is huge for every Wikipedian from this country. However, there is uncertainty about where this is headed.
Loud +1 to Gautam's point on this.
Cheers,
-- Hari Prasad Nadig http://hpnadig.net http://twitter.com/hpnadig http://flickr.com/hpnadig
wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org