Wikimedians of the Uzbek Language User Group/Reports/2023

This is the annual report for the Wikimedians of the Uzbek language User Group for 2023. During 2023, the group members were primarily busy implementing the second phase of the WikiStipendiya edit-a-thon, a multi-year and multi-faceted project being implemented in partnership with the Youth Affairs Agency of Uzbekistan.

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Activities

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Wiki Loves Earth

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A photo of Ugam-Chatkal National Park by Marat Nadjibaev made it to the top twenty best images of the year

From 15 May 2023 to 15 June 2023, members of the user group implemented the Wiki Loves Earth 2023 in Uzbekistan. This was the first iteration of the Wiki Loves Earth photo contest in Uzbekistan.

WikiStipendiya II

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The second phase of WikiStipendiya was organized as a series of edit-a-thons running from 1 June 2023 to 30 November 2023. The edit-a-thons were thematic, with each month dedicated to a specific region of Uzbekistan. Participants who created quality content received individual prizes. In September 2023, a weeklong wikicamp was organized for close to 150 participants.

Several new sub-projects were introduced during the second phase. WikiTours involved traveling to 12 out of the 14 administrative divisions of Uzbekistan to spread the word about the project and the Wikimedia Movement as well as photographing settlements and cultural heritage monuments and uploading them to Wikimedia Commons. Another side project launched during the second phase was WikiQuiz, a series of group quiz games with trivia questions taken from Wikipedia articles. On 16 December 2023, an awards ceremony was held in Tashkent, during which it was announced that WikiStipendiya would continue in 2024.

Wiki Loves Monuments

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A photo of Registan Square in Samarkand by Kraftabbas has been marked as a quality image

From 1 October 2023 to 21 October 2023, user group members implemented Wiki Loves Monuments 2023 in Uzbekistan. This was also a first for the community, as Uzbekistan had not previously participated in the Wiki Loves Monuments photo contest.

Outreach

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Throughout 2023, members of the user group continued their effort to recruit new contributors, including through regular updates on the Uzbek Wikipedia's Telegram, YouTube, X (Twitter) and Facebook pages. Additionally, throughout the year user group members answered thousands of questions of new and experienced users and provided general support to them in the Telegram group of the Uzbek Wikipedia.

Reports in local media

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In 2023, the following articles about the activities of the user group were published in local and foreign media outlets:

Membership and future

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In 2023, the number of members increased by 40 per cent and exceeded 70. Looking into the year 2024 and beyond, the Wikimedians of the Uzbek language User Group is looking to collaborate with more communities, particularly in the Central Asian region.