Community Resources and Partnerships/India Rapid Project/Wikipedia 25 Birthday Celebration (Dev Jadiya)
Applicant
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
Dev Jadiya
- 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.
Wikipedia 25 Birthday Celebration (Dev Jadiya)
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2026-01-15 - 2026-01-30
- 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)
Wikipedia Birthday or Anniversary
- 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)
This project is designed to celebrate Wikipedia’s 25th birthday through a small scale, community focused, in person gathering led by an individual Wikimedia contributor. The aim is to create a welcoming and accessible space where existing Wikimedians and new participants can come together to reflect on Wikipedia’s impact, understand how the movement works, and feel encouraged to participate.
A key challenge in many local contexts is that people use Wikipedia daily but do not see it as a community they can join. For new contributors, the movement often feels large, technical, and distant. This birthday celebration uses a global milestone as a low barrier entry point to introduce people to Wikimedia in a friendly, informal way.
The approach focuses on a single coordinated celebration with approximately 30 to 35 participants. Activities will combine celebration, learning, and documentation. The event will include a brief introduction to Wikipedia and the Wikimedia movement, a birthday cake celebration, a group discussion on why Wikipedia matters after 25 years, and structured documentation through photographs uploaded to Wikimedia Commons.
This project prioritizes community building, contributor appreciation, and gentle outreach rather than competition or content drives.
- 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.
The project will be implemented through a focused set of in person and documentation based activities designed to combine celebration, learning, and community visibility in a simple and effective manner.
1. Planning and coordination: Before the event, We will coordinate logistics for in person celebration, including venue confirmation, basic materials, and participant outreach through personal networks and existing Wikimedia contacts. A simple Meta Wiki event page will be created to document the activity and ensure transparency.
2. Wikipedia 25 birthday celebration event: A half day in person gathering will be organized with approximately 30 to 35 participants. The event will include a short introduction to Wikipedia’s history, values, and the Wikimedia movement, followed by an open discussion on why Wikipedia remains relevant after 25 years. A birthday cake cutting ceremony will be held as a symbolic and community building activity to mark the milestone.
This format is intentionally informal and welcoming, as it lowers barriers for first time participants and encourages conversation rather than instruction heavy sessions.
3. Community interaction and onboarding orientation: During the event, participants will be introduced to how individuals can participate in Wikimedia projects, including editing, documentation, and community engagement. This will be positioned as an orientation and awareness activity rather than a contribution drive, allowing participants to explore interest at their own pace.
4. Documentation and Commons contributions: The event will be documented through photographs and short video clips. A minimum of 40 to 50 images will be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under the relevant Wikipedia 25 category. This activity ensures that the celebration contributes visible and reusable media to the Wikimedia ecosystem.
5. Post event reporting and knowledge sharing: After the event, a short public summary will be shared on Meta Wiki or Diff outlining the activity, participation, and reflections. All links to uploaded media and the event page will be included for grant reporting and community visibility.
Related context and experience: The activities build on my prior experience as an active Wikimedia contributor, with public global contributions available at: [1]
The learning and engagement approach is aligned with the principles of Wiki Open Learning, an open initiative focused on awareness, onboarding, and capacity building within wikimedia: [2]
Detailed activity updates and documentation will be shared after the event through these public platforms.
- 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.
This project is implemented by a small, volunteer led team to ensure simplicity, accountability, and effective coordination for a single in person event.
Dev Jadiya (User:Dev_Jadiya) Role: Project Lead and Organizer - I am responsible for the overall planning and execution of the project. My role includes event coordination, participant outreach, budget management, documentation, Wikimedia Commons uploads, and final grant reporting. I am an active Wikimedia contributor, and my public contributions can be viewed on Meta Wiki. I will ensure that all activities follow Wikimedia policies, the Universal Code of Conduct, and Rapid Fund requirements.
Sarthak Khare (User:Status_401) Role: Co Organizer and Contributor Support - Sarthak will support on ground coordination during the event, assist participants with basic Wikimedia account related questions, and help with event documentation such as photographs and media organization for Commons uploads. He is an aspiring technical contributor to the Wikimedia movement with experience in software development and open source projects, and will contribute in a supporting and facilitative role during the celebration.
- 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)
This project is for two main audiences:
Primary audience: Existing Wikimedia contributors and volunteers from the local community. The event will serve as a moment of appreciation and reflection, strengthening their connection to the Wikimedia movement while celebrating Wikipedia’s 25th anniversary.
Secondary audience: New and prospective contributors, including students and early career individuals who regularly use Wikipedia but are not yet active participants. The event is designed as a friendly, low barrier introduction to the Wikimedia ecosystem, encouraging curiosity and future participation.
Participants will be reached through Wikimedia user talk pages, email communication, and messaging platforms such as Telegram. Engagement during the event will focus on informal discussion and orientation, followed by sharing documentation and participation resources after the event to support continued involvement in Wikimedia projects.
- 9.1. If your project includes in-person activities, are there any international participants travelling to India for them? (required)
- No
- 9.1.1. List all countries of participation. (required)
- 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 emerged while attending a Wikipedia 25 anniversary planning workshop organized by the Wikimedia community and Wikimedia Foundation facilitators. During the session, participants were encouraged to organize local celebrations, collaborate with other contributors, apply for Rapid Funds, and use the anniversary as an opportunity for outreach and onboarding.
Based on this guidance, I developed the idea for a small, individual-led celebration focused on community participation and documentation. The proposal follows the recommendations shared during the workshop, particularly around keeping activities simple, inclusive, and aligned with the global Wikipedia 25 campaign.
Project details will be shared publicly on Meta Wiki after submission, and interested community members will be informed through on-wiki communication and direct outreach. This will allow for feedback, transparency, and alignment with other Wikipedia 25 activities taking place during the same period.
- 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)
Open Technology
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Gender Identity
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Invest in Skills and Leadership Development
Metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
Through this project, we aim to learn how small, community-focused celebrations tied to a global Wikimedia milestone can strengthen participation, belonging, and future engagement within the movement.
The key learning questions for this project include:
- How effective are Wikipedia anniversary celebrations in fostering a sense of appreciation and belonging among existing Wikimedia contributors?
- In what ways does a celebration-led, non-technical event format help reduce entry barriers for new participants who primarily engage with Wikipedia as readers?
- What types of informal interactions and orientations during a short in-person event are most effective in encouraging continued interest in Wikimedia projects after the event?
- How does documenting local celebrations through media uploads to Wikimedia Commons contribute to visibility, shared learning, and collective memory across the movement?
We will use participant feedback, attendance data, and post-event documentation to reflect on these questions. The learnings from this project will help inform how similar small-scale, community-driven celebrations can be designed and supported during future Wikimedia campaigns and milestones.
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 35 | We plan to engage approximately 35 participants through the Wikipedia 25 birthday celebration and related community activities. |
| Number of editors | 15 | This involves mentors and contributors. |
| Number of organizers | 2 | The activities are planned to be coordinated by two volunteer organizers supporting event facilitation and documentation. |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | |
| Wikimedia Commons | 50 |
| Wikidata | |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
The planned Wikipedia 25 birthday celebration will focus on documentation of the event, with selected photographs intended to be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons and a short post-event summary shared on a Wikimedia platform.
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
No
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 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)
We plan to use Wikimedia tools and basic documentation methods to track project metrics. The Event Registration Tool and Meta Wiki event page will be used to document the activity and estimate participant attendance. The Wikimedia Outreach Dashboard will be used, where applicable, to track account creation and initial edits by participants.
Wikimedia Commons will be used to upload and measure media contributions from the event using the Upload Wizard and relevant categories. Post-event learning and reporting will be shared through Meta Wiki, Diff, Mailing Lists and other Wikimedia communication channels. Informal participant feedback will be gathered through follow-up communication.
Budget
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Hl3-KxdSVqLiEGGpBkuFJl281FYwwq1AbX9m4mxgPfo/edit?gid=0#gid=0
- 22. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in Indian Rupees. (required)
56800 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)
624.77 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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