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Assamese Wikimedia Community/Events/Celebrate Women: Digitization and Assamese Wikisource Workshop, 2025

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চেলিব্ৰেট ৱুমেন অঙ্কীয়কৰণ আৰু অসমীয়া ৱিকিউৎস কৰ্মশালা, ২০২৫
Celebrate Women: Digitization and Assamese Wikisource Workshop, 2025
Begins8 March, morning - 9:30 am
Ends8 March, evening - 5:00 pm
Location(s)Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, a residential workshop titled “Celebrate Women: Digitization and Assamese Wikisource Workshop, 2025” was held on 8 March 2025. The event was organized by Assamese Wikimedian Pranjyoti Nath, in collaboration with Professor Sanjib Pol Deka—Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar awardee and faculty member of the Department of Assamese, Tezpur University. The workshop focused on the digitization of printed books and the editing of content on Assamese Wikisource. Participants received hands-on training in online text editing, proofreading, and the effective use of various Wikisource tools.

This initiative also aimed to support and amplify the goals of the Wikimedia “Celebrate Women” campaign, placing particular emphasis on encouraging women’s participation and leadership within Wikimedia projects, especially in the Assamese Wikimedia community. By fostering digital literacy and practical editing skills, the workshop made a meaningful contribution to the expansion of free knowledge ecosystems and advanced ongoing efforts in the cultural documentation and preservation of the Assamese language.

This was a self-funded initiative by Pranjyoti Nath

Project Page : On Assamese Wikisource

🏢 Event Details

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  • Date: 8 March 2025
  • Time: 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM
  • Venue: Department of Assamese, Tezpur University, Assam
  • Organizer: Pranjyoti Nath, Assamese Wikimedia Community
  • Faculty Coordinator: Prof. Sanjib Pol Deka, Assamese Department, Tezpur University

🎯 Objectives

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  • To participate in and promote the “Celebrate Women” campaign.
  • To encourage more women contributors in Wikimedia.
  • To create awareness about digitization of books and manuscripts.
  • To promote knowledge about the Assamese Wikisource platform.
  • To explore future collaborations with libraries and archives.

👩‍🏫 Speakers and Trainers

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  • Dr. Juri Dutta – Professor, Department of Assamese, Tezpur University (Inaugural address)
  • Prof. Chandan Kumar Sharma – Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tezpur University (Topic:The Importance of Wikimedia in Today's Digital World)
  • Rumi Bora – Assamese Wikimedian (Topic:A few words on Celebrate Women Campaign)
  • Mrinal Talukdar – Senior Journalist, Pratidin Time (Speaker on “Digitizing Assam”, Digital archive of Nanda Talukdar Foundation)
  • Prof Sanjib Pol Deka – Assamese Department, Tezpur University (Topic: Assamese women writers of the colonial period)
  • Subodh Kulkarni – Former Senior Program Officer – CIS-A2K (GLAM and Digitization Expert)
  • Pranjyoti Nath – Assamese Wikisource Trainer

🕒 Session Schedule

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  • 09:30–10:30 AM: Inauguration Session
  • 10:30–11:00 AM: Introduction to the “Celebrate Women” campaign
  • 11:00–12:00 PM: Talk on Colonial-Era : Assamese Women Writers
  • 12:00–12:30 PM: Presentation on “Digitizing Assam”
  • 12:30–01:00 PM: GLAM and Digitization (CIS-A2K)
  • 01:00–02:00 PM: Lunch break
  • 02:00–04:30 PM: Hands-on workshop – Account creation, editing, GLAM overview

👥 Participation

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The event was attended by 50 participants, including students, researchers, faculty members, and guest speakers. Participants were introduced to the basics of Wikisource editing and digitization practices. During the training session, 21 students of Assamese department took part in proofreading a book in Assamese."

✨ Highlights

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  • Gender-sensitive theme celebrating women contributors.
  • Practical training on digitization and Wikisource editing.
  • Encouraged long-term involvement in GLAM and Wikimedia projects.
  • Strengthened the local Wikimedia community in Assam.
[edit]
  • Dr Juri Dutta, Head of the Department of Assamese
    Dr Juri Dutta, Head of the Department of Assamese
  • Some of the participants posed with the workshop banner during the “Celebrate Women: Digitization and Assamese Wikisource Workshop, 2025”, capturing a memorable moment of collaboration and learning.
    Some of the participants posed with the workshop banner during the “Celebrate Women: Digitization and Assamese Wikisource Workshop, 2025”, capturing a memorable moment of collaboration and learning.
  • Participants with invited speakers Mrinal Talukdar, Rumi Bora, and Pranjyoti Nath during the workshop.
    Participants with invited speakers Mrinal Talukdar, Rumi Bora, and Pranjyoti Nath during the workshop.
  • A group of participants during the workshop
    A group of participants during the workshop
  • Prof. Chandan Kumar Sharma, Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tezpur University, delivering the welcome speech.
    Prof. Chandan Kumar Sharma, Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tezpur University, delivering the welcome speech.
  • Mrinal Talukdar, senior journalist and special guest at the workshop.
    Mrinal Talukdar, senior journalist and special guest at the workshop.
  • Assamese Wikimedian Rumi Borah addressing the audience during the workshop.
    Assamese Wikimedian Rumi Borah addressing the audience during the workshop.
  • Organizer Pranjyoti with the honorable Guest speakers on the pre event day
    Organizer Pranjyoti with the honorable Guest speakers on the pre event day
  • Subodh Kulkarni, former Senior Program Officer at CIS-A2K, delivered a session on the importance of digitization and its role in preserving cultural and literary heritage through a Google meet.
    Subodh Kulkarni, former Senior Program Officer at CIS-A2K, delivered a session on the importance of digitization and its role in preserving cultural and literary heritage through a Google meet.
  • Professor Sanjib Pol Deka delivering his speech during the workshop.
    Professor Sanjib Pol Deka delivering his speech during the workshop.

Report

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On the occasion of International Women’s Day, a workshop titled “Celebrate Women: Digitization and Assamese Wikisource Workshop, 2025” was organized on 8 March 2025 by the Assamese Wikimedia community, with the active support of the Department of Assamese, Tezpur University. The workshop was held as part of the broader Wikimedia "Celebrate Women" campaign, aimed at expanding awareness and participation.

The opening session was inaugurated by Dr. Juri Dutta, Head of the Department of Assamese, and Professor Chandan Kumar Sharma, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tezpur University.

Invited guest speaker Mrinal Talukdar—a senior journalist at Pratidin Time and founder of the Nanda Talukdar Foundation—delivered a special talk on his project, “Digitizing Assam”, and shared his vision for the preservation of Assam’s oral and cultural heritage.

Wikimedian Rumi Bora introduced the “Celebrate Women” campaign and spoke about the contributions of Assamese women volunteers in Wikimedia. This was followed by a virtual session by Subodh Kulkarni, former Senior Program Officer at CIS-A2K, who spoke on the importance of digitization and collaboration in knowledge preservation.

The main coordinator of the event, Professor Sanjib Pol Deka of the Department of Assamese and recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, also addressed the participants with a lecture on Assamese women writers of the colonial period, highlighting their contributions to Assamese literature and history.

The opening session witnessed the participation of approximately 50 attendees, including students, faculty members, and invited guests.

Training Session

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In the post-lunch session (from 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM), Assamese Wikimedian Pranjyoti Nath conducted a hands-on workshop with 22 student participants, providing training on:

  • Creating new Wikimedia accounts
  • Editing and proofreading on Assamese Wikisource
  • An overview of various Wikimedia sister projects

Shubhra Devi, Assistant Librarian from the Department of Cultural Studies and Tezpur University Library, was also present and extended her support to the initiative.

📸 Photos from the workshop are available here: 🔗 Wikimedia Commons – Celebrate Women: Digitization and Assamese Wikisource Workshop, 2025

Contact Person : Pranjyoti Nath

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