Event:Wikipedia 25/India/Wikipedia 25th Birthday Celebration at Thrissur
Wikipedia 25th Birthday Celebration – Thrissur
[edit]About the Event
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As part of the global celebrations marking 25 years of Wikipedia, the Wikimedia community in Thrissur is organizing a one-day birthday celebration to reflect on Wikipedia’s journey, celebrate community contributions, and strengthen local participation in the free knowledge movement. The event is celebrated along with the 64th Kerala School Kalolsavam, the state Kerala art festival which is being organised at Thrissur this year.
This event brings together Wikimedians, open knowledge enthusiasts, students, educators, and the general public to celebrate Wikipedia’s impact in India and explore ways to contribute meaningfully to its future.
Event 1: Introduction to Wikipedia and Wikipedia 25 Celebration at Schoolwiki hall
[edit]- 📍 Location: Government Model Girls School,Thrissur
- 🗓️ Date: 15th Jan 2025
- ⏱ Time: Morning 10am-11am
Event 2: Wikipedia 25 Celebration at Govt Model Girls School
[edit]- 📍 Location: Government Model Girls School,Thrissur, near by Thekkinkadu Maidan
- 🗓️ Date: 2025 Jan 15th
- ⏱ Time: 4:30pm-6pm
Objectives
[edit]- Celebrate 25 years of Wikipedia and its role in democratizing knowledge
- Highlight contributions from Indian and Malayalam Wikipedia communities
- Introduce new contributors to Wikipedia and sister Wikimedia projects
- Encourage local participation in editing, content creation, and open data
- Foster collaboration among volunteers, institutions, and open communities
Target Audience
[edit]- Active and aspiring Wikimedians
- Students and educators
- Open data and open knowledge enthusiasts
- Members of local tech, culture, and academic communities
- Anyone interested in contributing to Wikipedia
Organizers
[edit]The event is coordinated by Wikimedians of Kerala User Group, along with Sahya Digital Conservation Foundation, Free Software User Group - Thrissur, Swathanthra Malayalam Computing and Wikimedia Community.
Participation
[edit]Participation is open to all. Register for the event to get more information about the events via email.
Contact
[edit]For queries, suggestions, or collaborations contact us at message
wikimediakerala.in
Report
[edit]On 15 January 2026, the Wikimedia community organized a Wikipedia 25th Birthday Celebration to commemorate 25 years of Wikipedia, marking a quarter-century of collaborative, free and open knowledge. The celebrations were conducted as two connected events at Thrissur, alongside the Kerala School Kalolsavam with the objective of introducing Wikipedia to students, celebrating the Wikimedia movement, and encouraging wider community participation.
The first event was held at the Schoolwiki Hall, where an introductory session on Wikipedia was conducted for students and participants. The session focused on the history, vision, and working principles of Wikipedia, highlighting its role in providing free knowledge to people across the world. Speakers explained how Wikipedia is created and maintained by volunteers and how students and educators can actively contribute to Wikipedia and its sister projects. As part of the Wikipedia 25 celebrations, participants were also introduced to the global journey of Wikipedia over the last 25 years and the growing contributions from Indian language communities, including Malayalam Wikipedia.
The second event took place in the evening at the Government Model Girls School, near Thekkinkadu Maidan and served as the main celebratory gathering. Community members Wikimedians, students and visitors came together to celebrate Wikipedia's 25th anniversary in a festive and collaborative atmosphere. The celebration was marked by a cake-cutting ceremony by K. Rajan, Hon’ble Minister for Revenue, Government of Kerala, whose presence added significance to the occasion. The celebration included reflections on the impact of Wikipedia in education and society, discussions on the importance of free and open knowledge, and informal interactions among participants. The event also acknowledged the efforts of volunteers who contribute their time and skills to building and sustaining Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. The community members distributed the flyers and cake to everyone who gathered the celebration. By situating the celebration within the vibrant cultural setting of the School Kalolsavam, the event attracted broader public attention and helped connect cultural participation with digital knowledge sharing.
As part of the celebrations, documentation of the Kerala School Kalolsavam was also carried out by Wikimedians and volunteers. Photographs, event details, and contextual information related to the Kalolsavam were documented for use on Schoolwiki [1][2] and other Wikimedia projects, contributing to the preservation and wider dissemination of Kerala’s cultural heritage through open platforms. This documentation activity highlighted the practical role of Wikimedia projects in archiving living culture and making it freely accessible to a global audience. More than 2K media files has been uploaded to Wikimedia commons.
References
[edit]- ↑ "School Kalolsavam: Student works now live forever online". The Times of India. 2026-01-18. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
- ↑ "Thrissur edition - Jan 21, 2026". Deshabhimani. Retrieved 2026-01-21.
External Links
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