Community Resources and Partnerships/India Rapid Project/Heritage for All – Leveraging tools of Wikimedia Foundation for Documenting UNESCO Cultural Sites Ahmedabad and Vadnagar
Applicant
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Khushi Shah 280
- Organization
N/A
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
N/A
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
N/A
Project
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Heritage for All – Leveraging tools of Wikimedia Foundation for Documenting UNESCO Cultural Sites Ahmedabad and Vadnagar
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2025-10-01 - 2025-12-12
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
India
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Wiki Loves Monuments
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
The primary change we aim to bring is to digitally democratize the knowledge and narratives of heritage by making them accessible through open platforms like Wikimedia. While Gujarat is rich in tangible and intangible cultural heritage, there is a significant gap in structured, multilingual, and open-access documentation, especially for underrepresented towns like Vadnagar and even for globally recognized sites like the historic city of Ahmedabad.
Additionally, we aim to promote awareness about Wikimedia as an open-source ecosystem and how its diverse tools can be effectively utilized by professionals—researchers, architects, engineers, urban planners, and heritage conservationists—to document, interpret, and disseminate cultural data.
Many heritage sites in Gujarat currently have limited or no representation on open knowledge platforms such as Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons. This gap is compounded by a general lack of awareness among heritage professionals and students about how Wikimedia tools can support their research and documentation efforts. Additionally, there is a significant shortage of content in Gujarati and other regional languages, which restricts access and engagement for local communities. Existing documentation initiatives, while well-intentioned, often remain fragmented and disconnected, lacking the use of structured, interoperable platforms like Wikidata that enable spatial, semantic, and multilingual linkages.
Ahmedabad, recognised as India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City, and Vadnagar, a culturally rich town currently on the UNESCO tentative list, remain largely undocumented on major open-source platforms. Despite their global significance, both cities lack comprehensive representation on Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons. This absence limits their visibility, academic engagement, and public access to reliable, multilingual heritage information. Bridging this gap is essential to ensure that these historically vital sites are digitally preserved and accessible to both local communities and global audiences.
Some of our main approaches for addressing these challenges are:
'1. 'Hands-on Workshops & Training Campaigns: We aim to demonstrate how tools such as Wikidata + SPARQL queries, WikiShootMe, and Wikilanguages can be used for deeper research—such as understanding the spatial distribution of heritage assets or identifying gaps in documentation. This can help heritage professionals conduct more structured, data-driven analysis while promoting multilingual contributions. Through three workshops (Oct–Dec), we will introduce Wikimedia tools and documentation techniques to students, professionals, and local communities.
'· 'October:
A workshop during the UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Campaign in Vadnagar (a tentative World Heritage Site) will involve national and international participants in contributing to Wikimedia Commons, Wikisource, and Wikipedia articles. In addition to basic contributions, participants will be introduced to Wikidata and SPARQL-based WikiQuery tools to understand how structured data can be used for visual analysis and spatial interpretation of heritage sites.
'· 'November:
During World Heritage Week, a 7-day heritage awareness campaign in Ahmedabad will engage local communities, students, and volunteers in digitizing and uploading photographs, oral histories, and heritage information. This phase will focus more on grassroots documentation and local-language contributions, especially to Gujarati Wikipedia and Wikisource.
'· 'December:
The third workshop in Ahmedabad will focus on empowering young professionals and students to expand and enhance Wikimedia content related to the historic city. Participants will go deeper into Wikidata editing, data modeling, and using WikiQuery tools to visualize heritage-related data—paving the way for more structured, research-friendly, and multilingual documentation approaches.
These approaches build on the success of previous UNESCO WHV campaigns, Wikimedia training, and local heritage walks, where hands-on involvement has proven to build lasting interest and skill. We are blending open knowledge practices with heritage education, which has been shown to foster stronger local ownership and advocacy for cultural preservation.
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
'October 2025: UNESCO WHV Campaign – Vadnagar'Focus: Architectural documentation, multimedia contributions, and multilingual heritage narratives
· Heritage Walk & Photographic Documentation: Conduct guided heritage walks in Vadnagar, engaging participants in capturing high-resolution images of monuments, streetscapes, and public spaces. These will be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons with appropriate metadata, helping to visually map Vadnagar’s historic core.
· Architectural Documentation Workshops: Participants will learn to map, measure, and draw key heritage structures using open-source tools. The resulting documentation—such as sketches, building descriptions, and measured drawings—will be shared via Wikisource and Wikimedia Commons to preserve technical knowledge and improve digital accessibility.
· Wikidata Training & Structured Documentation: A dedicated session will introduce participants to using Wikidata as a structured documentation tool. Each built structure documented will be tagged with rich metadata, including:
o Type of building (e.g., temple, haveli, stepwell)
o Architectural condition (e.g., intact, partially ruined, restored)
o Materials and building techniques
o Color palettes and stylistic features
o Year or period of construction
o Associated historical figures or local legends
These entries will help establish a structured digital inventory of Vadnagar’s heritage, enabling cross-referencing and data visualization.
· Wikidata Query Tool Demonstration: Participants will learn how to use the Wikidata Query Service to generate visual outputs such as maps, timelines, or graphs. For example, a visual showing all structures tagged as “stepwells” in Gujarat or a timeline of buildings constructed in the Solanki era. This promotes deeper analytical engagement with heritage data and supports academic and community-driven storytelling.
November 2025: World Heritage Week – Ahmedabad
Focus:Community participation and digitization of the UNESCO World Heritage City
Seven-Day Campaign - "My Heritage, My Story": A local storytelling and documentation drive inviting residents to contribute photographs, memories, and historical narratives of neighborhoods and family traditions.
Edit-a-thon for Students: A one day focused session in collaboration with schools and universities to write and improve Wikipedia articles in English and Gujarati.
Wikimedia Commons Contribution Drive: Organizing community walks in the pols (historic neighborhoods) to photograph and upload vernacular architecture, crafts, and urban details.
Indigenous Language Uploads: Translations of existing articles into Gujarati and potential inclusion of oral poetry, idioms, or song lyrics on Wikisource.
December 2025: Youth & Professional Engagement – Ahmedabad
Focus:Skill-building, cross-platform Wikimedia contribution, and sustainability
Advanced Contributor Workshop: Training youth, architecture students, and heritage professionals in Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, and Wikipedia policies and tools.
Involve the museum ‘Conflictorium’ and ‘M G library’ to archive in digitising public domain texts, inscriptions, and visual content for Wikimedia repositories.
Microtask Projects: Assigning small research and upload tasks (e.g., one article, one image series) to encourage continuity in contributions.
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc.
Khushi Shah (Khushi Shah 280) - Project Lead, Outreach & Program Coordination, worked as Wiki World Heritage coordinator for Wiki World Heritage. Responsibilities: Overall project management, coordination with partners, workshop facilitation, content quality review, and reporting,
Shachi Sheth - Documentation Lead, Workshop Mentor, Responsibilities: Designing and overseeing architectural documentation workshops, curating Commons media uploads, and supporting article creation with verified content. Status: Consultant
Kristy Ross - Wikimedia Community Advisor, Active Wikimedian with experience in Wiki Training in Wikipedia, Wiki media Commons and Wiki Shoot me. Responsibilities: Technical support for uploading to Wikimedia Commons; training new contributors; content moderation. Wikimedia Username: Drkirstyross. Status: Volunteer Contributor. Affiliations: Involved with public engagement professional at the University of Strathclyde, St Andrews
Vijay Barot (to be confirmed) - Wikimedia Community Advisor, Active Wikimedian from Gujarat with experience in Gujarati Wikipedia, Wikidata, and GLAM projects. Responsibilities: Technical support for uploading to Wikimedia Commons; training new contributors; content moderation. Wikimedia Username:Vijay Barot - [1] . Status: Volunteer Contributor Affiliations: Involved with Gujarati Wikimedia and local community initiatives
![[1]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vijay_Barot_at_Wikisource_Conference_2025_in_Denpasar,_Bali,_Indonesia.jpg){kind=link}
'
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
Our target participants include young professionals, students (especially from architecture, history, journalism, and cultural studies backgrounds), local community members (including artisans, storytellers, and residents of heritage neighborhoods), and new or emerging Wikimedia contributors from across Gujarat.
We aim to engage participants from heritage-rich areas like Ahmedabad and Vadnagar, particularly those who hold traditional knowledge or are interested in heritage documentation but lack access to digital tools and platforms.
Before the activities, we will conduct outreach through local institutions, universities, social media, and partner networks. Pre-event orientation sessions will be organized to introduce Wikimedia platforms and prepare participants.
During the activities, we will run hands-on workshops, guided heritage walks, and training sessions focused on Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia, Wikisource, and Wikidata. Group activities, peer learning, and bilingual facilitation (English and Gujarati) will ensure inclusivity and engagement.
Follow-Up with Participants after Activities:
After the activities, we will implement a structured follow-up process to sustain participant engagement and foster long-term involvement. This will include collecting feedback through surveys or interviews to gain insights into their experiences, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate that their contributions and perspectives are valued. This input will be crucial in refining and enhancing future initiatives.
- 9.1. If your project includes in-person activities, are there any international participants travelling to India for them? (required)
- Yes
- 9.1.1. List all countries of participation. (required)
Yet to be confirmed.
- 9.2. Will the project be transferring funds to any international participants? (required)
- No
- 9.2.1. List all international participants receiving funding and their countries. (required)
N/A
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
- No
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
N/A
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
The idea for this project was discussed in detail through a Google Meetconversation with Kristy Ross and Praveen Das,Lead Partnerships Manager – South Asia at the Wikimedia Foundation. During thismeeting, we explored the relevance of the project in the context of openknowledge, heritage documentation, and community engagement in Gujarat. Theirinsights helped shape the structure of the workshops and the integration ofWikimedia platforms such as Commons, Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikisource.
Additionally, we are in the process of initiating an on-wiki communitydiscussion to gather broader feedback from Wikimedia contributors, especiallywithin the Gujarati Wikimedia community. This will include sharing the projectproposal on Meta-Wiki and relevant Village Pump pages.
We will continue to consult and collaborate with Wikimedia Indiacontributors, Gujarati Wikipedia editors, and past WHV participants such as Vijay Barot as theproject develops.
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Other Important Topics (topics considered to be of impact or important in the specific context)
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Culture, heritage or GLAM
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Linguistic / Language
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Innovate in Free Knowledge
Metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
This proposal builds on our previous experience conducting a one-day Wikimedia training session in Ahmedabad in 2023 as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Volunteers program titled “Ahmedabad: Through the Lens of Heritage.” That program introduced Wikimedia tools to participants and served as a successful pilot, revealing strong interest but also the need for deeper, more structured involvement. With this proposal, we seek to expand that foundation into a more robust, long-term format through thematic workshops, documentation campaigns, and continuous mentoring. This will not only strengthen our local Wikimedia community but also contribute to the global movement by adding underrepresented heritage content from India.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 85 | 15 for the UNESCO WHV Camp in October
40 for the November heritage week 20 for the December training program |
| Number of editors | 60 | 15 for the UNESCO WHV Camp in October
20 for the November heritage week 20 for the December training program |
| Number of organizers | 7 |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 30 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 150 |
| Wikidata | 80 |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | 15 |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | 15 |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
N/A
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
No
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Wikipedia | 40 |
| 150 | Wikimedia Commons | 200 |
| 80 | Wikidata | 100 |
| 15 | Wikisource | 20 |
| 15 | Translatewiki | 20 |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
To measure our metrics, we will use a combination of tools recommended by the Wikimedia Foundation. The number of participants and editors will be tracked using sign-in sheets, Google Forms, and the Outreach Dashboard. Organisers will be recorded through internal team logs. New content contributions will be measured across Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata using the Outreach Dashboard, Commons Campaign tools, and SPARQL queries. We will collect optional demographic data through pre-event forms to assess participant diversity. Social media reach will be monitored using platform analytics like Instagram and Facebook insights. We will seek support from Wikimedia staff if additional guidance is needed.
Budget
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
- 22. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in Indian Rupees. (required)
429850 INR
- 22.1. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD. (required)
5000 USD
- By submitting this proposal request you agree with the Institutional Partner Privacy Policy, Application Privacy Statements, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
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