Submissions/Targeted Community Inclusion through 21st February Wiki-Gathering

This is an Open submission for Wikimania 2017 that has not yet been reviewed by a member of the Programme Committee.

Submission no. 7004 Subject - L3

Title of the submission: Targeted Community Inclusion through 21st February Wiki-Gathering

Type of submission (lecture, panel, tutorial/workshop, roundtable discussion, lightning talk, poster, birds of a feather discussion): Lightning Talk

Author of the submission: Tanweer Morshed (Tanweer Morshed)

Language of presentation: English

E-mail address: wiki.tanweergmail.com

Username: Tanweer Morshed

Country of origin: Bangladesh

Affiliation, if any (organisation, company etc.): Wikimedia Bangladesh

Personal homepage or blog

Abstract (up to 300 words to describe your proposal)

In 2008, several Wikipedians in Dhaka made a sudden decision, to stand at the annual book fair in Dhaka (Ekusheu Book Fair), with a banner that urges the people coming in the fair to contribute to the Bangla Wikipedia. Initiated with a humble commencement, this practice is still alive and it takes place every year on the 21st February. 21st Fabruary is the International Mother Language Day and the initiative urges people to enrich the largest encyclopedia in their language. Over the years, many prominent and prolific Wiki(p/m)edians originated through this gathering. They were simply wondered by the urge and then gave a try what this even mean. Later some of them turned into prolific Wikipedians as well as active leaders in the community. The book fair attracts mainly book-lovers, readers as well as writers. These types of people have a good tendency to being active reader or contributor of the Wikipedia or Wikimedia projects.

What will attendees take away from this session?

The annual program, that has turned into a practice in the Bangladeshi Wikimedia community, might give an idea on how to grow a community by including like-minded people. Spontaneous community building could be a great way in community building process. Attendees will learn from this initiative on community building practices as well as organizing community-driven programs. They will also get insight from this annual practice on how people react to Wikimedia projects. This might help designing better programs and outreach activities, especially for the new and emerging affiliates.

Theme of presentation

WikiCulture & Community

For workshops and discussions, what level is the intended audience?

Length of session (if other than 25 minutes, specify how long): 5 minutes

Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?: Yes, hopefully.

Slides or further information (optional): Yes.

Special requests: No

Is this Submission a Draft or Final?

This is a Completed submission for Wikimania 2017 ready to be reviewed by a member of the Programme Committee.

Interested attendees

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