CIS-A2K/Reports/Newsletter/October 2023
Image Description Month in India edit
In October 2023, CIS-A2K conducted the Image Description Month in India, a description-a-thon, in collaboration with Image Description Month. This month-long campaign aimed to enhance the descriptions of visual content, with a special focus on images hosted on Wikimedia Commons. The primary objective of this campaign was to improve the accessibility, discoverability, interconnectivity, and usability of these images across all languages within the Wikimedia projects. To participate in this activity a total of 33 participants signed up to be engaged and contributed in the campaign. The progress was diligently tracked using the outreach dashboard. This initiative has significantly elevated the quality and accessibility of visuals on Wikimedia Commons, making them more valuable and usable for a diverse global audience. The activity was read more....
Note: The report will be updated shortly.
WikiWomen Camp 2023 edit
India recently hosted an exceptional event, the WikiWomen Camp 2023, held from October 20th to 22nd. This gathering brought together an impressive total of 80 participants. The camp's program was thoughtfully designed with a dual focus on Capacity Development and Strategy. These two cohorts ran in parallel, with a primary aim of fostering enduring discussions and nurturing skill development. A2K played its role to handle South Asia region engagement.
WWC 2023 South Asia Orientation Call edit
On October 15th, A2K scheduled an orientation call for the South Asia region in preparation for the WikiWomen Camp (WWC) on October 19th. The purpose of the call was to acquaint the participants with each other and furnish them with comprehensive information, including details about the venue, program, weather, and other travel-related guidance.
South Asia Engagement edit
A2K significantly contributed to South Asia Community engagement by organizing monthly calls for female Wikimedians in the South Asia region. Before the camp, three calls were held as part of the engagement plan, targeting female Wikimedians from South Asia. These calls covered a range of topics, including WWC & Scholarship introduction and demonstration, WWC's two cohorts: Strategy and Capacity Building, and Exploring the Relationship between Leadership and South Asian Women.
Furthermore, a comprehensive debrief session was conducted as an integral part of the camp. During this debrief session, South Asian female Wikimedians raised several important points that need to be addressed. They expressed concerns about their participation, provided valuable suggestions, and expressed a keen interest in further initiatives.
Wikimedia Commons session for Birdsong members edit
CIS-A2K collaboration with Birdsong, an organization based in Sangli, aimed at documenting the unique biodiversity of the Sangli district. The project's first phase commenced with a Wikimedia Commons workshop in January 2022, but due to pandemic-related challenges and post-Covid difficulties, there was a brief hiatus in our activities. One of the remarkable aspects of this project is the documentation of bird calls and songs, a field integral to ornithology. Several members of Birdsong hold a repository of these call recordings, with expert Sharad Apte leading the charge at a national level in India. Sharad has taken the initiative to establish a comprehensive repository of these recordings on Wikimedia Commons. On October 20, 2023, we organized our inaugural workshop to discuss the structure of the documentation on Commons. This event saw active participation from five dedicated members. To ensure the accuracy and consistency of this documentation, we sought specific inputs from Shyamal, a veteran Wikimedian with significant contributions read more...
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Pied bushchat song recorded in November 2015 at Sangli
Image Description Month in India Training Session edit
On October 27, 2023, a training session on structured data was led by Giovanna Fontenelle, with support from Satdeep Gill (WMF). 24 participants attended the session, which was part of the Image Description Month Campaign. Giovanna Fontenelle kicked off the session by introducing the "Image Description Month" campaign, which was initiated in October 2023. This extended campaign focused on image-related tasks and aimed to promote the use of structured data on Wikimedia Commons, setting it apart from our previous one-week campaigns. A total of 24 participants joined the session and learnt about structure Data. The trainer introduced and demonstrate tools to the attendees and read more...