Punjabi Wikisource Training 2025

Punjabi Wikisource Training 2025
Punjabi Wikisource Training 2025
Status	Done
Dates	30-31 August 2025
Venue	Hotel Edisson
Location(s)	Patiala, Punjab
Country	India
Participants	22

Punjabi Wikimedians are organizing an Punjabi Wikisource Training on 30–31 August 2025 in Patiala, Punjab. This training is designed to provide participants with deeper, hands-on experience on Punjabi Wikisource, focusing on advanced skills, best practices, and collaborative workflows. Along with technical learning, the event will also serve as a platform to connect with fellow Wikimedians, exchange ideas, and strengthen our collective understanding of the Wikimedia movement’s mission of free knowledge and open access.

Background

As part of the Punjabi Wikimedians Annual Plan 2025, we proposed a series of training sessions focusing on different Wikimedia projects. This will be the first training session under that plan. Over the past few months, we have also seen several newcomers actively contributing and engaging on Punjabi Wikisource and other Wikimedia projects. To support their growth and ensure long-term participation, it became crucial to provide a structured, hands-on training opportunity where they can learn advanced skills and build confidence in contributing effectively.

Details

Dates: 30 and 31 August 2025
City: Patiala, Punjab
Venue: Hotel Edisson

Team

Program

Program	Speakers	Time
Day - 1
Breakfast		9:00 - 10:00
Participant's Introduction	Kuldeep + Nitesh	10:00 - 11:00
Wikisource introduction	Satdeep + Charan	11:00 - 11:30
Layout of Wikisource website	Kuldeep	11:30 - 12:00
Proofreading process and practice and ongoing proofradathon	Jassu Gill	12:00 - 1:00
Lunch		1:00 - 2:00
Templates + proofreading	Kuldeep	02:00 - 3:30
Brainstroming activity	Satdeep/Nitesh	3:30 - 4:30
Tibet community presentation	Tenzin + Choedup	04:30 - 05:30
Dinner
Day - 2
Breakfast		9:00 - 10:00
Transclusion	Tamanpreet Kaur	10:00 - 11:00
Wikisource reader app	Kuldeep	11:00 - 12:00
Wikidata integration	Satdeep	12:00 - 1:00
Lunch		1:00 - 2:00
Closing and Thank you	Nitesh	1:00 - 2:00

Participants

Report

Day 1

Welcome and Ice breaker

The first day of the Wikisource Workshop began with a warm welcome and introduction by Nitesh Gill, marking the commencement of the first Wikisource event of the year. The session opened with an engaging icebreaker, where participants shared the meaning of their names, introduced themselves, and discussed the challenges they have faced since joining the community. These included limited technical knowledge, the need for personal laptops, and a shortage of volunteers to help organize events. Two users from the Tibetan community, who attended their first in-person wiki event, emphasized their collective goal of preserving cultural heritage and knowledge through digital platforms and expressed a strong interest in initiating a Tibetan Wikisource project. Punjabi Wikimedians are enthusiastic about providing technical assistance and necessary support to Tibetan Wikimedians in their efforts to establish and develop the Tibetan Wikisource.

Introduction and Journey so far

Satdeep Gill provided a comprehensive overview of Wikisource's journey, noting its inception in 2003 and the launch of Punjabi Wikisource in 2017. Charan Gill shared his personal experiences with Punjabi Wikisource, highlighting how it has contributed to his skill development and helped him connect with the broader Wikimedia community. He focused on the importance of preserving literature and culture. He also spoke about Punjab's rich linguistic diversity, recognizing it as a multilingual state, and acknowledged the valuable contributions of Balram Ji to the Urdu Wikisource as a user and to the Punjabi Wikisource as an author.

Wikisource Sidebar options

Kuldeep then guided participants through the structure of Punjabi Wikisource, explaining key features such as the main page, sidebar, community portal, recent changes, index pages, random pages, random authors, random indexes, help page, and the purge option. He also explained how statistics are tracked and emphasized the importance of using original sources to ensure the authenticity of digitized books.

Proofreading Process on Wikisource and Ongoing Proofradathon

Nitesh Gill provided an overview of the Book editing campaign, a community-driven initiative that focuses on proofreading and validating selected books within a defined timeframe, typically three months. Gill Jassu elaborated on the campaign's journey since its inception in November 2024. In the first phase, 18 participants contributed actively. The second phase began on April 1, during which 10 books were proofread and 7 were validated within a month, with 4–5 new participants joining the effort. Gill Jassu also demonstrated the proofreading process, explaining the use of OCR, proofreading tools, and validation features. She highlighted the campaign’s growth, noting that while only 4–5 participants were active at the start, the number has now increased to 17–18 editors. Each participant was encouraged to proofread 1–2 pages of a book as part of their practical engagement. Third Phase of the Book editing campaign has recently commenced, and editors are showing great enthusiasm in contributing to this initiative. The momentum built during the earlier phases continues, reflecting the community’s growing commitment to preserving knowledge through Wikisource.

Important Templates

Kuldeep provided a live demonstration on using various templates, including poem, reference, multicolumn, center, break, NOP, and Overfloat. This was followed by an interactive Q&A session where Tamanpreet asked about the NOP template, Pawan Tibba asked about endnotes, Sonia raised doubts about template usage, Arsh sought clarification on formatting, and Tenzin asked how to modify layouts after transclusion.

Empowering Buddhist Communities with Open Data & Wikimedia

Tenzin, a contributor working on Tibetan language content, shared his inspiring journey. He explained how a colleague’s meeting with Nitesh Gill led to the initiation of work in the Tibetan language and expressed his aspiration to develop a dedicated Tibetan Wikisource platform. Tenzin also provided an introduction to the Tibetan language and script, accompanied by a presentation featuring original Tibetan manuscripts.

He (Tenzin) spoke about OpenPecha, an initiative dedicated to serving a global audience through the digital preservation of cultural heritage, with a focus on platforms like Wikimedia Commons and Wikisource. The initiative also includes an AI-powered Wikipedia expansion aimed at research, education, and supporting underrepresented languages. In a discussion moderated by Nitesh, Tenzin shared that they face similar challenges, including copyright issues. In response to Balram’s question about preserving original Sanskrit religious texts, Tenzin noted that a significant manuscript is currently being preserved at a deemed university in Sarnath. He also affirmed interest in preserving important literary and socio-political works, emphasizing that Tibetan is a living language actively spoken by many people in a particular region.

The day concluded with Nitesh Gill expressing her gratitude to all participants for their active and enthusiastic involvement in the workshop’s first day.

Day 2

Recap and Agenda

The second day of the workshop began with Nitesh providing a foundational overview of the day's agenda. She introduced key concepts such as transclusion and gave a brief orientation on the Wikisource Reader App, highlighting its role in enhancing accessibility and user engagement.

Transclusion

Tamanpreet delivered an insightful presentation on the transclusion process, demonstrating it through a book and actively engaging with participants by addressing their questions. Her session highlighted the importance of transclusion in creating structured content on Wikisource and sparked interest among editors, with five participants expressing a desire to learn and contribute further in this area.

Wikisource Reader App

Following this, Kuldeep introduced the Wikisource mobile application, offering insights into its development process. He emphasized how the app facilitates convenient access to books, allowing users to read and download texts directly to their devices. The session sparked active engagement, with several editors raising questions about app functionality and features, which Kuldeep addressed in detail.

Wikidata Integration

Satdeep Gill delivered a comprehensive introduction to Wikidata, illustrating how it connects with both Wikipedia and Wikisource. He demonstrated the use of the Wikidata Query Service and explained how contributors can create and link two essential data items: the Work Item and the Edition Item—a core requirement under the WikiProject Books framework. His hands-on demonstration helped editors understand how structured data supports the integrity and discoverability of content across Wikimedia platforms.

The session also included an open discussion segment, where editors shared insights and asked questions related to Wikidata integration and technical aspects of Wikisource. The topic of annotation was also briefly introduced, and its importance in enhancing textual clarity and historical context for readers.

Nitesh Gill Honored at 2025 Wikimedian Awards

Nitesh Gill, a dedicated Wikipedia contributor from Punjab, received an honorary mention at the 2025 Wikimedian of the Year Awards, presented by Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales during Wikimania in Nairobi, Kenya. The recognition highlights her significant contributions to the Punjabi Wikipedia and her continued efforts to improve female representation across Wikimedia projects.

Her commitment to the Wikimedia movement particularly in promoting regional language content and advocating for gender diversity has earned widespread appreciation. In recognition of this achievement, the Punjabi community celebrated her honor and expressed pride in her accomplishments.

Closing

To close the session, Charan Gill offered words of encouragement to the participants, inspiring them to continue contributing actively to Wikisource and other Wikimedia projects. He stressed the long-term impact of their efforts in preserving knowledge and making literature more accessible to the wider public.

Media

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Wikisource Training 2025, Patiala
Punjabi Wikisource Training