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WikiConference India | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Venue | Hyderabad |
Location(s) | Hyderabad, India (28–30 April 2023) |
Inaugurated | 2011 |
Most recent | 2023 |
Filing status | Non-profit |
Website | Wiki Conference India 2023 |
WikiConference India is a national Wikipedia conference organised in India. The first WikiConference India conference was held in November 2011, in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was organised by the Mumbai Wikipedia community in partnership with Wikimedia India Chapter [1][2] with the support of the Wikimedia Foundation.[3] The conference is positioned as the annual national flagship event for Wikimedia in India and is open to participation from citizens of all nations. The focus is on matters concerning India on Wikipedia projects and other sister projects in English and other Indian folk languages.[2][4][5] WikiConference India 2023 took place in Hyderabad from 28 to 30 April 2023.[6]
WikiConference India aims to provide a common platform for all Indian Wikimedians to interact, share ideas and collaborate. The conference ran from the 18 to 20 November 2011 and was held in Mumbai University in South Mumbai with the largest talks being held in the university's historic convocation hall.[1][7][8]
The conference was inaugurated by a keynote addresses by Jimmy Wales.[1][9] Arnab Goswami spoke on "Neutrality", he was an invited guest speaker.[10] Barry Newstead spoke on the last day.
Tracks showcased in the Conference included topics such as Wikipedia Impact, Gender Gap,[11] Indic Language wiki track, MediaWiki Translation Sprint, Institutions and Wikipedia, Fair use Workshop, etc.[12] It also included Editathon and WikiAcademy sessions.[2] Various sessions on topics such as:[2]
Concurrent with the conference was a Hackathon, hosted by the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MACCIA) Kala Ghoda, South Mumbai.[2] Other activities included a City Tour and a Heritage Walk. Wikimedians and non Wikimedians from all over India and from other countries, Wikimedia Foundation staff and co-founder[13] A hundred applicants got scholarships based on their experience and contribution to Wikipedia and other projects.[14] More than 700 people attended the conference.[7] Microsoft Research, Omidyar Network, Kalnirnay, Yebhi.com, were the sponsors;[2][15] while eRegNow.com, Avignyata Inc., Kores India Ltd., Text100, Digital Signage Networks (DSN) and Panache were the partners.[15] There was a demonstration outside the conference by protesters against the map used by Wikipedia to show the borders of India.[7]
The second WikiConference India was held in Mohali, a city of Punjab State near Chandigarh. The venue of the Conference was CGC Landhran. Katherine Maher, Executive Director of WMF, and Nataliia Tymkiv, Board Member of WMF, attended this conference.[16]
WCI 2023 was a national-level conference that provided a common platform for Wikimedians and stakeholders interested in Indic-language Wikimedia projects and other aspects of the movement in India and a few South Asian regions. This was a space to meet, connect, share stories, learnings, best practices, and challenges, and discuss the future strategy of our region. The conference took place in Hyderabad from 28 to 30 April 2023.