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WikiConference India 2023: Initial conversations

Introduction

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In 2020, some of our fellow Wikimedians took initiative for the next WCI 2020 but due to the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, it couldn't be conducted. Before this discussion, two national-level conferences in India have been organized to date — the first one in Mumbai in 2011, and the second one at Chandigarh in 2016. Both the conferences had been effective in bringing diverse Indian communities together for a collective effort. The cross-community connections made during these conferences led to many collaborations across the communities. Those played a pivotal role to build strength in Indian Wikimedia communities. In 2021, CIS-A2K conducted an online national-level meeting to engage Indic communities or Wikimedians.

The Community Resources team at the Wikimedia Foundation published Global Event Strategy which stressed more regular regional conferences. Such conferences are being organized in other parts of the world such as WikiIndaba, CEE Meeting, North America, Iberocoop, Francophone convention, Wikiarabia, ESEAP etc. In 2021, As a community, it is crucial to have a national inter-community gathering annually or at least bi-annually. However, we only had a single conference in the past six years.

We are re-starting this discussion and planning to organize a conference in February-March of 2023. The venue has not been decided yet. This is our need to work on movement strategy collectively and try to focus on the essential sides of what are our community's needs.

The proposed 2023 conference can and will bring our energies, ideas, learnings, and hopes together. It will help us in our journey towards better collaborations, and diverse efforts and reinforce our identity as the Indian Wikimedia community. This conference will enable us to have better knowledge about current capacities, and the gaps and also to build leadership. Exploring opportunities, bringing out leadership, empowering communities, and providing a strategic understanding are some of which this conference can bring out. Apart from all these, providing a national-level platform for Indian Wikimedians to connect, re-connect, and establish their collaboration itself can be a very important purpose on its own. Besides, we can invite our SAARC region Wikimedians to make it more effective, so, we all can share our learnings, projects, ideas, challenges, solutions and so on.

We are at that stage where we are open to discussing this notion of the conference. We are inviting our Wikimedia family to come ahead and please write your questions, doubts, opinions, and suggestions on the talk page and if you are ready to support the idea please support it below in the endorsement section. We will be happy to be in line with whatever the community consensus is.

Note: Please fill out the form here which includes the Community Engagement survey and the interest in joining the organizing committee.

Regards Nitesh Gill (talk) 12:50, 21 August 2022 (UTC), Nivas10798 (talk) 19:39, 21 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

  Like Neechalkaran (talk) 15:15, 21 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Endorsements

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  1.   Strong support It's high time that the Indian and the other South Asian communities come together in-person after a long break of over 6 years since the last WikiConference India in 2016, and think about the future of the Wikimedia movement in the region. I would be more than happy to collaborate with the organizing committee and share experiences from the 2016 conference. --Satdeep Gill (talk) 06:27, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  2.   Strong support Thanks to the organizers for coming forward to organize the next regional gathering in India. Having a national WikiConference will be helpful for Wikimedians to form cross-community collaborations and also think about strategy as a region. KCVelaga (talk) 07:32, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  3.   Strong supportI hope this conference will be a great opportunity for the Indian Wikimedia community has which has grown up and makes some major positive changes in the Wikimedia projects during the last years: Kasyap (talk) 08:51, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  4.   Strong support - I feel that WikiConference India is a great place to learn, grow and giving back to our Wiki community and this conference can be supportive for Wikimedians to form cross-community collaborations. --Jagseer S Sidhu (talk) 09:36, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  5.   Strong support - WikiConference India would be a great opportunity for Wikimedians to come together and strategize towards the betterment of a specific regions that might not be that prominent at a global level. Sohom Datta (talk) 10:36, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  6.   Strong support - I highly support for WikiConference India, As this would create powerful impact between communities to come together, learn from each other experience's and support each other with the Wikimedia Moment. Gopavasanth (talk) 10:45, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  7.   Strong support - The WikiConference India would be a great place to learn and contribute to the Wikimedia community. This might encourage more people in this region to contribute and collaborate to build something extraordinary. It might give exposure to people and tilt them towards open source. Karanjain71 (talk) 10:45, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  8.   Strong support It has been 6 years since the last WikiConference India happened. It is a great opportunity to us for meet with community members on the large scale. Strong support from my side.--Jayprakash >>> Talk 12:25, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  9.   Strong support The Wiki community in India has grown and this would be a great opportunity to discuss future possibilities with existing & potential stakeholders.--Medhavigandhi (talk) 16:55, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  10.   Strong support This would be a huge aid to the development and better future of Indic Wikimedia communities. ─ The Aafī (talk) 17:14, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  11.   Strong support - Satpal Dandiwal (talk) 06:06, 23 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  12.   Strong supportGurtej Chauhan (talk)
  13.   Strong support Well, I feel WikiConference India will help to pull new people towards the open source contribution and learn,share knowledge among different communities. Ramu ummadishetty (talk) 09:51, 23 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  14.   Strong support - Simranjeet Sidhu (talk) 00:20, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  15.   Strong support - WikiConference India would be a great opportunity for Wiki communities to come together. It will refresh all the wikimedians across the country. --கி.மூர்த்தி (talk) 07:15, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  16.   Strong support --TVA ARUN (talk) 07:48, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  17.   Strong support--Arularasan. G (talk) 10:33, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  18.   Strong support-WCI2023 will build a collaboration between the communities, Best Wishes. Pankaj Deo (Talk) 11:00, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  19.   Strong support It will be good for all communities because yet we have TTT event where new editors meet with other communities but we have not a platform where experienced editors meet and plan with other communities. Wikiconference India definitely provide such a occasion where we can plan long term projects where two or more communities with involve with in. It should be plan based on yearly or half year base where we could review and renew our tasks taken before. --Mulkh Singh (talk) 17:05, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  20.   Strong support Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar will be good venue for this. But only if February mid, otherwise this place is very hot. NehalDaveND (talk) 00:27, 25 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  21.   Strong support - WikiConference India 2023 would be a great opportunity for SAARC Wiki communities to come together, learn best practices and share their own experiences. --Janak Bhatta (talk) 05:05, 25 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  22.   Strong support Although not an Indian Wikipedian, but a Greek one (although interested in India and Indic wikis), I think that WikiConference of India is a good place for Indian communities to coordinate their work. I would suggest to the Indic communities, during the conference, to consider plans on how to expand the outreach of Wikipedia in rural communities, promoting the expansion and creation of the new articles about India and the world, and promote the local Wikipedias through media and other platforms (for example, a tribute on Malayalam Wikipedia from Mathrubhumi worked well in 2007, and raised the number of contributors). Covid was a major blow for the Indic wikis as I can see from the statistics of Wikiscan. With the overwhelming majority of the people in India (except a few areas, mostly Goa, Punjab, Eastern states, Dilli) being unable to speak English, it is extremely important to form a plan that will make Indic Wikipedias rich in content and quality in order to make knowledge available to all, not significantly skewed in favor of the wealthier countries, if you take a look in the statistics. NikosLikomitros (talk) 12:28, 25 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  23.   Strong support -- ਵਿਕੀਪੀਡੀਆ ਗਿਆਨ ਦਾ ਸਾਧਨ ਹੋਣ ਦੇ ਨਾਂ 'ਤੇ ਇਸ ਉਪਰ ਉਪਲਬਧ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਮਾਣਿਕ ਬਣਾਇਆ ਜਾਣਾ ਲਾਜ਼ਮੀ ਹੈ। 2016 ਵਿੱਚ ਵਿਕੀ ਕਾਨਫਰੰਸ ਇੰਡੀਆ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਇਸ ਕਾਨਫਰੰਸ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਵਿਅਕਤੀਗਤ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਆਪਸ ਵਿਚ ਇਕੱਠੇ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਆਪਣੀਆਂ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤੀਆਂ, ਸਮੱਸਿਆਵਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸਾਂਝਾ ਕਰਨਾ ਇੱਕ ਵੱਡੀ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤੀ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਬਾਕੀ ਭਾਈਚਾਰਿਆਂ ਨਾਲ ਮਿਲ ਕੇ ਸਥਾਨਕ ਵਿਕੀਪੀਡੀਆ ਨੂੰ ਵਿਕੀਮੀਡੀਆ ਰਾਹੀਂ ਉਤਸ਼ਾਹਿਤ ਕਰਨ, ਨਵੇਂ ਭਾਗੀਦਾਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਜੋੜਨਾ, ਨਵੇਂ ਲੇਖਾਂ ਦੇ ਵਿਸਥਾਰ ਅਤੇ ਸਿਰਜਣਾ ਵਿਚ ਵਾਧਾ ਕਰਨ ਵਿਚ ਇਹ ਕਾਨਫਰੰਸ ਬਹੁਤ ਸਹਿਯੋਗੀ ਹੋਵੇਗੀ। ਇਸ ਕਾਨਫਰੰਸ ਸਦਕਾ ਅਸੀਂ ਦੂਜੇ ਭਾਈਚਾਰਿਕ ਸੰਪਾਦਕਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਮਿਲ ਕੇ ਮਸਲੇ ਹੱਲ ਕਰਨ ਦੇ ਨਵੇਂ ਨਵੇਂ ਸਾਧਨਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਜਾਣੂ ਹੋ ਸਕਦੇ ਹਾਂ। Gill jassu (talk) 17:10, 25 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  24.   Strong support--Rajdeep ghuman (talk) 16:29, 26 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  25.   Strong support--Svpnikhil (talk) 09:44, 27 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  26.   Strong supportNawaraj Ghimire (talk) 09:01, 28 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  27.   Strong support : I think as earlier decided venue is Hyderabad or It should be happen in south India. Info-farmer (talk) 12:58, 28 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  28.   Strong support - This would be a great opportunity for the different communities to meet and share the experiences to move forward after the Covid pandemic. --Sivakosaran (talk) 14:39, 28 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  29.   Strong support -J. Ansari Talk 16:37, 28 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  30.   Strong support - Chinmayee Mishra (talk) 17:35, 28 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  31.   Strong support - Much needed for Indian Wiki community -- Suyash Dwivedi (talk) 16:03, 30 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  32.   Strong support - --Tiven2240 (talk) 12:31, 31 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  33.   Strong support R Ashwani Banjan Murmu (talk) 06:27, 1 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  34.   Strong support ᱵᱤᱨᱢᱚᱞ (talk) 06:35, 2 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  35.   Strong support Tamanpreet Kaur (talk) 07:30, 20 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  36.   Strong support Jagvir Kaur (talk) 05:07, 20 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  37.   Strong support--Manisha yadav12 (talk)
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