IIITH-OKI/Advance Train The Trainer 2025/Expression of Interest/Submitted/Gauri Guptaa
Basic Information
[edit]Wikimedia Username
[edit]Wikimedia Project(s) you primarily contribute to
[edit]- MediaWiki/Developer Community
- Wikimedia Commons
- Wikipedia (English, Hindi)
Active in Wikimedia since (Year)
[edit]- Active since 2024
Your Affiliate or Community Group (if any):
[edit]- Member, Indic MediaWiki Developer User Group — From March 2025 to Present
- Member, WikiClub Tech — From April 2024 to Present
- Lead Organizer, WikiScience Competition India — From May 2025 to Present
Languages you work with (on-wiki or off-wiki):
[edit]- English
- Hindi
Have you participated in any Train the Trainer or similar Wikimedia training before? If yes, please mention the name of the event along with the year in which you participated
[edit]- No, I have not participated in any previous Train-the-Trainer program.
- However, I am a participant of the **WikiClub Tech Cohort 1 and Developer Skill Development Program (2025)**, which is focused on contributing to the technical areas of MediaWiki.
Are you currently involved in any leadership, facilitation, or mentoring roles within the Wikimedia movement? If yes, briefly describe the imitative and your involvement in it
[edit]- Yes. I am actively engaged in several leadership, facilitation, and mentoring capacities within the Wikimedia movement, where I contribute to building communities, nurturing new contributors, and strengthening Wikimedia’s technical and outreach ecosystem:
- Lead Organizer of the WikiScience Competition India 2025** – I am leading the very first edition of this globally recognized science photography competition in India. This role involves coordinating a diverse team of 15+ core organizers and 20+ volunteers spread across different regions of the country. Through this initiative, I am working to bridge the gap between the Indian scientific community and Wikimedia platforms, encouraging open knowledge contributions in the domain of science, research, and photography.
- Core Organizer within the Indic MediaWiki Developer User Group** – As an active member, I co-organize both technical and outreach-focused events. Notably, I was part of the core organizing team for the **Kochi Hackathon**, conducted in collaboration with **amFOSS**, where we engaged developers, students, and Wikimedia contributors in hands-on MediaWiki development. My responsibilities included event planning, technical task design, facilitation, and ensuring inclusive participation.
- Mentor for WikiClub Tech Cohort 2** – In this role, I guide new contributors in understanding Wikimedia’s technical ecosystem. I have successfully mentored student groups, helping them complete MediaWiki-related tasks and gain confidence as first-time contributors. This mentorship role reflects my commitment to capacity-building and growing the next generation of Wikimedia technical contributors.
- Participant in the Future of Digital Commons Initiative** – I am currently attending and contributing to discussions under this initiative, which explores the intersection of digital commons, AI, and Wikimedia. My current focus has been on learning and researching how Generative Artificial Intelligence can support collaborative knowledge systems while ensuring inclusivity and ethical use within Wikimedia projects.
- Contributor to the South Asia Newsletter** – I serve as a regular contributor by presenting updates and activities of the Indic MediaWiki Developer User Group. Through this, I help amplify technical and outreach developments from India and South Asia to a larger Wikimedia audience, strengthening cross-community learning.
- Core Team Member in Tech-focused Initiatives (IndiaFOSS & Developer Skill-building Programs)** – I am also part of the preparation and organizing teams for major free and open-source technology initiatives such as **IndiaFOSS** and Wikimedia-affiliated developer skill-development programs. My role here involves program design, execution, and community engagement, contributing to building sustainable technical capacity and collaboration within the Wikimedia ecosystem.
Track Preference
[edit]Your preferred track during the workshop
[edit]- Track 1: Evaluation, Impact, and Data Storytelling
- Track 2: Project Design Challenge – From Learning to Action
Which track are you most interested in and why?
[edit]I am most interested in **Track 2: Project Design Challenge – From Learning to Action**, as much of my Wikimedia work centers on designing and implementing projects that mobilize communities and create measurable impact.
To illustrate, as the **Lead Organizer of WikiScience Competition India 2025**—the first-ever edition of this global competition in India I am responsible not only for logistics and outreach but also for shaping the program’s overall structure. This includes building national partnerships, engaging regional communities, and creating replicable workflows for future editions. Designing this initiative from the ground up has required me to balance vision with execution, ensuring meaningful participation across diverse audiences.
Through the **Indic MediaWiki Developer User Group**, I co-organize technical and outreach events such as the Kochi Hackathon (in collaboration with amFOSS), where I helped design hackathon challenges and foster an inclusive, problem-solving environment. In addition, as a **mentor for WikiClub Tech Cohort 2**, I structured mentorship models, guided students in completing MediaWiki-related projects, and ensured outcomes aligned with Wikimedia’s long-term technical and community goals.
These experiences have deepened my belief in the importance of robust project design—setting measurable objectives, anticipating challenges, and creating systems that scale.
At the same time, I have observed a persistent gender gap in leadership across Wikimedia events. In the WikiScience Competition India 2025, I was the only woman serving as a lead organizer across the entire country. Despite inspiring initiatives such as *Women in Red*,*WikiWomen* and **SheLead** female participation in leadership roles remains disproportionately low due to societal and community barriers. I strongly believe that future projects should not only focus on impact and outcomes but also be designed with inclusivity at their core—creating safe, supportive, and empowering spaces where women and underrepresented groups can step into leadership.
By participating in Track 2, I hope to refine my ability to design projects that are both innovative and inclusive, with clear pathways from ideas to actionable impact. The skills and knowledge I gain will directly support my ongoing work in science engagement, technical mentorship, and community-driven Wikimedia initiatives across India and South Asia, while also helping me advocate for and implement frameworks that encourage greater gender equity in leadership.
Tell us about one Wikimedia program, campaign, or initiative you’ve contributed to in a leadership role
[edit]As the **Lead Organizer of the WikiScience Competition India 2025**, I am spearheading the first-ever edition of this global science photography contest in India. This initiative is not only significant for India’s scientific and Wikimedia communities but also aligns with Wikimedia’s mission to make knowledge freely accessible through high-quality, open-licensed content.
In this role, I lead and coordinate a **core team of 15+ members** and collaborate with **20+ volunteers** across different regions of India, ensuring smooth execution at a national scale. My responsibilities include designing the competition framework, establishing guidelines, coordinating outreach, and building partnerships with universities, science clubs, and regional Wikimedia communities. I also serve as the primary liaison with the **international WikiScience community**, ensuring that India’s contributions are aligned with the global vision of the competition.
Through my leadership, we are creating an inclusive platform where scientists, students, and photography enthusiasts can document and share scientific phenomena, laboratories, and fieldwork images under free licenses. This effort not only enriches Wikimedia Commons with high-quality scientific content but also encourages broader participation of Indian contributors in global Wikimedia campaigns.
Alongside managing the competition, I have also set **four major goals** for this initiative: 1. **Encouraging women in science** by creating supportive spaces and visibility for women contributors in the competition. 2. **Bringing more users to Wikimedia Commons**, especially new participants from the science and academic communities. 3. **Expanding scientific visuals** by adding structured, high-quality scientific imagery (such as labs, fieldwork, and natural phenomena) to Commons. 4. **Improving accessibility of contributions**, particularly by introducing **mobile photography workflows**, so that participation is not limited by access to professional equipment.
One of the key challenges has been mobilizing diverse communities across India and encouraging participation from underrepresented groups. To address this, I have focused on mentorship and capacity building—guiding new volunteers, empowering regional coordinators, and ensuring that women and students find an encouraging environment to contribute.
It has strengthened my skills in project management, mentorship, and international collaboration, while also teaching me the importance of designing initiatives that are both scalable and inclusive. I see this initiative as a model for how Wikimedia campaigns can simultaneously achieve local impact and global relevance.
What skills or knowledge do you hope to gain from this training?
[edit]Through this training, I hope to strengthen my skills in **project design, impact evaluation, and sustainable community engagement**. While I have led large-scale initiatives such as WikiScience Competition India 2025 and co-organized technical hackathons with the Indic MediaWiki Developer User Group, I believe structured training will help me design programs that are more **strategic, measurable, and scalable**.
Specifically, I would like to learn:
- How to set **clear evaluation frameworks** that capture both quantitative results (such as participation numbers) and qualitative outcomes (such as skills gained and community growth).
- How to design projects that are **replicable across regions**, ensuring that initiatives started in one community can inspire and guide others.
- Techniques for **inclusive leadership and facilitation**, especially in encouraging participation from women and underrepresented groups—an area I am deeply passionate about.
- Best practices for **data storytelling**, to communicate impact effectively to stakeholders, partners, and the wider Wikimedia movement.
These skills will directly enhance my ongoing work in science engagement, technical mentorship, and regional collaboration. They will also prepare me to take on greater responsibilities within the Wikimedia movement—helping to design initiatives that not only create immediate impact but also build long-term sustainability for communities in India and South Asia.
Based on your selected track, what is one challenge you have encountered in either evaluating Wikimedia programs or designing impactful projects? Please share your experience relevant to your chosen track.
[edit]One key challenge I have encountered while designing Wikimedia projects is **creating structured frameworks that balance inclusivity, scalability, and long-term sustainability**.
One such instance is the WikiScience Competition India 2025, where I had to design the first-ever edition of this international competition in India. While the response was very positive, I faced difficulties in setting clear evaluation methods such as how to measure the quality of community engagement beyond just the number of participants. I also found it challenging to ensure equal participation across diverse regions and to address barriers that often limit women and underrepresented groups from taking part in leadership or contribution roles.
Similarly, in my role as a mentor with WikiClub Tech Cohort 2, I realized that while I was able to guide students in completing technical tasks, building a replicable and structured mentorship model that could scale to larger groups required more thoughtful planning and clarity in design. I also realized the importance to engage participants not only during the program but in the long term, by creating pathways for continuous contribution and leadership within Wikimedia’s technical community.
These experiences highlighted for me the importance of **robust project design and evaluation tools**. I have learned that without a clear framework, it is easy for projects to succeed in the short term but struggle to sustain or replicate in the long term. This is an area where I want to grow by learning how to design projects that not only achieve impact but also build inclusive, repeatable models for future Wikimedia initiatives.
How do you plan to apply what you learn after the event?
[edit]I plan to immediately apply the skills and knowledge gained from this training to strengthen my ongoing work in the Wikimedia movement. As the **Lead Organizer of WikiScience Competition India 2025**, I see this program not just as a one-time competition but as a platform that can be scaled in future editions. The training will help me build stronger project design frameworks, set clearer evaluation metrics, and ensure broader inclusivity especially encouraging more women and underrepresented groups to take on leadership roles in such initiatives.
Beyond WikiScience, I will apply these learnings in my leadership roles with the **Indic MediaWiki Developer User Group**, particularly in organizing hackathons, technical workshops, and mentorship programs. I intend to integrate structured project design practices into future events like IndiaFOSS collaborations and WikiClub Tech mentorship cohorts, so that they can have a lasting and replicable impact across communities.
At a broader level, I plan to share my learnings with peers and collaborators through **community meetups, newsletters, and mentoring spaces**, ensuring that the knowledge multiplies beyond me. My long-term goal is to use these skills to **design impactful Wikimedia initiatives across India and South Asia**, focusing on sustainability, inclusivity, and leadership development so that more contributors, especially women, feel empowered to take leadership roles in our movement. I believe this program will not only strengthen my skills but also allow me to contribute back by nurturing future leaders in the Wikimedia movement.
(Optional) Are you open to mentorship (either receiving or offering it)?
[edit]Yes