Punjabi Wikimedians/Punjabi Wikipedia Birthday Connect 2025
| Punjabi Wikipedia Birthday Connect 2025 | |
|---|---|
| Status |  Done |
| Dates | 7-8 June 2025 |
| Venue | Pineland Resort and Chalets |
| Location(s) | Dharampur, Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh |
| Country | India |
| Participants | 20 |
The Punjabi Wikipedia Birthday Connect celebrated the 23rd anniversary of Punjabi Wikipedia, marking the community's first meetup of Punjabi Wikimedians Annual Plan 2025. This event served as a crucial platform for discussing the annual plan and strategizing for the continued growth and development of the Punjabi Wikipedia community.
Team
[edit]- Kuldeep Singh
- Nitesh Gill
- Satdeep Gill
- Jagdish Kaur (Local Support)
Program
[edit]| Program | Responsibilities | Notetaking |
|---|---|---|
| DAY 1 | ||
| Welcome, Introductions & Program | Nitesh | Taman |
| "Background of Punjabi Wikipedia & Punjabi Wikimedians Data around Article creation | Satdeep, Charan Gill | Taman |
| Quality checking, patrolling | Kuldeep | Taman |
| Annual Plan | Nitesh | Taman |
| Lunch - 1 Hour | ||
| Wikipedia Editing in Pairs: Reading Top articles and fixing mistakes, adding references | Taman | |
| DAY 2 | ||
| 9 AM : Introduction to Punjabi Wikisource and Program | Satdeep + Harpreet | Taman |
| Proofreading+Validation, templates - Selection (Jassu) | Harpreet and Taman | Taman |
| Feedback, new ideas, annual plan sharing | Nitesh and Kuldeep | Taman |
Participants
[edit]- Aman Arora
- Ashwinder Kaur
- Charan Gill
- Gagandeep Kaur
- Gurmel Kaur
- Gurtej Chauhan
- Harpreet Kaur
- Harry
- Jagdish Kaur
- Kuldeep Singh
- Lajju Sharma
- Marde Sehajpreet
- Nitesh Gill
- Prabhjot Kaur Gill
- Satdeep Gill
- Sonia Atwal
- Sonia Jhammat
- Tamanpreet Kaur
- Taranpreet Goswani
- Tulspal
Report
[edit]Day 1
[edit]The Punjabi Wikipedia Birthday Connect kicked off with a warm welcome from Nitesh Gill, who outlined the event's core objectives and agenda. She provided participants with an insightful overview of the two-day structure, highlighting key segments like the introductory session, annual plan discussions, a collaborative pairing activity, and other community engagement opportunities. To streamline future activities, Kuldeep Singh was appointed as the User group’s Coordinator for a one-year term. The main idea behind hiring a coordinator in the Punjabi Wikimedia community was primarily intended to provide dedicated support to the growth and development of Wikimedia projects in the Punjabi language. The coordinator’s role is to actively engage with the community, promote participation and help organize outreach events such as edit-a-thons, workshops and proofread-a-thons that encourage contributions to Punjabi Wikimedia projects. By having a coordinator, the community benefits from better communication and collaboration, both within the local network of contributors and with the broader Wikimedia movement. The coordinator also helps manage specific projects, monitor progress, and ensure that activities are aligned with community goals. Furthermore, the position supports capacity building by mentoring new contributors and helping to develop leadership within the community, ensuring that the momentum continues even after the coordinator’s term ends. This focused approach allows the Punjabi Wikimedia community to grow in a structured and sustainable manner.
Introductory Session
[edit]The event began with an introductory session where each volunteer briefly introduced themselves, shared how they began contributing to Wikimedia projects, and reflected on their experiences so far. This session maintained an informal tone to encourage open and friendly interaction among participants. As an engaging icebreaker, attendees were invited to share their favorite Punjabi word and explain its personal significance. This activity immediately sparked vibrant conversations, showcasing the diverse linguistic and cultural richness within the community. Participants shared a beautiful array of meaningful Punjabi words, including supna (dream), sifat (praise), andaruni shanti (inner peace), shubhchintak (well-wisher), sehaj (equilibrium), and neeyat (intent).
Background and Community History
[edit]Satdeep Gill provided a brief history of Punjabi Wikipedia, noting that the project began around 2002, with active editing starting in 2006. He discovered Punjabi Wikipedia in 2011 and shared insights into the early challenges faced by initial contributors. He also highlighted the contributions of early editors and detailed his own experience attending a pivotal four-day workshop in 2013 alongside Charan Gill, which played a significant role in shaping the Punjabi Wikimedia community. He also discussed the activities of the Punjabi Wikimedian User Group, emphasizing partnerships with Punjabi magazines and a focus on Wikimedia projects related to Punjabi language and culture. Additionally, he spoke about Meta-Wiki documentation and how community members can access information on the annual grant.
Community Insights and Statistics
[edit]Kuldeep then presented compelling key statistics from the past five years, offering a clear overview of Punjabi Wikipedia's readership trends and content performance. This included detailed insights into page views and the most-viewed articles, highlighting popular topics and community engagement. Annual Plan 2025 and Funding
Nitesh then detailed the Annual Plan 2025, a comprehensive strategy she co-developed with Kuldeep, Satdeep and other community members. She explained the strategic shift from offline to online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring her efforts to foster monthly online meetings across diverse Indian communities. The plan, now approved for funding through the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), sets the stage for future initiatives. Kuldeep also shared some of the ideas behind activities and how upcoming months look like. Adding to this, Satdeep Gill highlighted an exciting collaboration with the British Library for the digitization of Punjabi books, a significant step in expanding access to rich cultural and literary content.
Annual Plan 2025 - https://w.wiki/DBe9
This session provided valuable insights into the historical development, current status, and future direction of Punjabi Wikimedia projects, reinforcing the importance of collaboration, training, and quality content creation. Pairing Activity
The session concluded with an engaging Pairing Activity where participants collaboratively selected and reviewed Wikipedia articles from a pre-curated list. This hands-on exercise focused on identifying and rectifying inaccuracies, fostering peer learning and immediate quality improvement. Charan Gill, an experienced Wikimedian, provided invaluable mentorship, actively supporting participants and sharing best practices for content enhancement. Nitesh further empowered attendees by explaining fundamental Wikipedia editing techniques, including article linking, core editing rules, and how to effectively move or redirect article titles.
Day 2
[edit]Day two, beginning at 9:20 AM on June 8, 2025, shifted focus to Punjabi Wikisource. Satdeep Gill, shared his journey, recalling his introduction to Wikisource around 2015. He proudly recounted his participation in the first Wikisource conference and his significant role in uploading the very first book to Punjabi Wikisource, Sheikh Chilli di Katha. He captivated the audience with a storytelling session derived from the book's content, before proceeding to introduce the fundamental steps for editing on Punjabi Wikisource.
Following this, Tamanpreet Kaur provided a practical and insightful introduction to the crucial Index page and pagelist feature on Wikisource. Using the book Basic Sikhya Ki Hai as a live demonstration, she skillfully created its pagelist. She then meticulously explained the meaning behind the different color indicators (yellow, green, and pink) used during proofreading and showcased valuable tools like 'Random Page,' 'Random Index,' and 'Random Author' for content exploration. Harpreet then guided participants through the essential process of proofreading on Wikisource. Her demonstration, using the book Anandpuri di Kahani, clearly illustrated the use of the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool. She also introduced various crucial formatting templates, including gap, left, right, block center, and poem, equipping attendees with practical skills. Nitesh then underscored the critical importance of validating books on Wikisource, ensuring quality and accuracy. Satdeep subsequently introduced editors to the transclusion process, a key step in making content accessible. To solidify their learning, participants then engaged in a hands-on collaborative proofreading activity. Paired in groups of two, they were assigned a book to practice the newly learned steps, fostering teamwork and practical application.
Participant Feedback
[edit]Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees expressing appreciation for the informative sessions. Constructive suggestions included requests for more hands-on activities and follow-up workshops to further enhance learning and engagement, indicating a strong desire for continued community growth and skill development.