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
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
Yes, I am currently serving as the Manager of Wiki Club SATI, where I coordinate activities to introduce students to Wikimedia projects, guide new contributors, and facilitate workshops and edit-a-thons. My role involves mentoring newcomers, building awareness about free knowledge, and ensuring sustainable participation from our college community in the Wikimedia movement. In addition, I am part of the core organizing team of Wiki Loves Science (Wiki Science Competition), which is being organized for the first time in India. For this initiative, I will be handling higher-level outreach, engaging institutions and communities, and ensuring strong participation from diverse groups. Through both these roles, I contribute to leadership, facilitation, and mentoring within the Wikimedia movement at both local and national levels.[4]
Medic Tree Mapping Campaign [5] I served as a facilitator for the Medic Tree Mapping Campaign, which aimed to document and map medicinal tree species on OpenStreetMap, while also connecting this knowledge to Wikimedia projects. As a facilitator, I guided participants in the process of tree identification, data collection, and mapping, while also ensuring they understood how their contributions linked with open knowledge platforms. I conducted orientation sessions, supported contributors with tools and workflows, and helped maintain collaboration throughout the campaign. The ultimate goal was to build an openly accessible dataset of medicinal trees that could support biodiversity research, education, and community awareness. From this experience, I strengthened my facilitation skills, learned how to bridge Wikimedia with OSM, and gained insights into organizing thematic campaigns that combine environmental knowledge with open data.
What skills or knowledge do you hope to gain from this training?
I see this track as an opportunity to grow my potential in expressing impact in ways that truly connect with people. I want to learn not only how to evaluate and measure programs with data, but also how to present those outcomes in a way that grabs attention, tells a story, and inspires action. During Wikimania, I was especially struck by how Rosie used something as simple as distributing shoelaces to symbolize connection and friendship in the WikiWomen community. That experience made me realize how powerful creative storytelling and symbolism can be. Through this training, I hope to gain the skills to combine data with meaningful narratives, so I can better represent and strengthen the initiatives I work on.
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.
One challenge I have faced in evaluating Wikimedia programs is not just about tracking numbers but about truly capturing and sustaining the energy of participants. Many times, I noticed that while attendance may look good on paper, the actual engagement and enthusiasm are lower than expected. I think this happens because we often focus on making our words sound powerful, but the message doesn’t always connect deeply with the audience. As a result, it becomes difficult to translate participation into long-term impact. I want to learn how to use data and storytelling techniques to bridge this gap—so that evaluation is not just about counting people, but about understanding and communicating how projects inspire, energize, and create lasting value.
How do you plan to apply what you learn after the event?
After the event, I plan to apply what I learn by becoming more confident in taking the lead and contributing more effectively to the initiatives I am part of. This training will help me not only support but also guide others, making me more useful in my community work. I see it as a valuable step for my journey with Wiki Club SATI, as well as for the campaigns I am currently involved in and those I will take part in the future. Even though I am still new, I carry a lot of enthusiasm to learn, grow, and spread the impact of Wikimedia programs more widely. I also want to use what I gain here to strengthen collaboration and create spaces where people feel truly connected, not just involved. My goal is to apply storytelling and impact evaluation in a way that motivates participation, sustains energy, and highlights the human side of Wikimedia projects. By doing this, I hope to inspire stronger engagement, amplify campaigns like Wiki Women, and She leads and contribute to building a more inclusive and impactful movement.
(Optional) Are you open to mentorship (either receiving or offering it)?
