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Wikimedians of the Uzbek Language User Group/Reports/2022

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This is the annual report for the Wikimedians of the Uzbek language User Group for 2022, which was a watershed year not only for the user group, but for the entire Uzbek language community.

Events

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In 2022, Uzbek Wikipedia grew exponentially, with the number of articles exceeding 200,000 and the number of active editors quadrupling. This is primarily due to the WikiStipendiya edit-a-thon, a massive project launched to improve the coverage of the Uzbek Wikipedia. It was organized by the Youth Affairs the Republic of Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan in close partnership with the Wikimedians of the Uzbek Language User Group.

Maryana Iskander and Jimmy Wales's video address screened at the WikiStipendiya Awards Ceremony

The edit-a-thon was officially launched on 20 May 2022 with significant media coverage. The mammoth edit-a-thon, which ran until 20 December 2022, is unprecedented in the region in terms of both its scale and duration. Close to $30,000 was allocated to award the most active participants with one-off scholarships. Active members of the Wikimedians of the Uzbek Language User Group took on responsibility for evaluating the participants' contributions using the Fountain tool.

The edit-a-thon generated significant interest among students and media in Uzbekistan, with several publications running stories about it (see below). Results were outstanding: over 76,000 new articles were created on the Uzbek Wikipedia during the course of the project. Several sub-projects were organized within the marathon, including:

  • ErkinLitsenziyalar: promotion of open content licenses
  • WikiAudio: creating audio articles in Uzbek
  • WikiAyollar: closing the gender gap on the Uzbek Wikipedia by creating content on women
  • WikiOromgoh: two weeklong camps which brought together a total of 300 participants and Wikipedia administrators
  • WikiSport: improving sport-related content on the Uzbek Wikipedia
  • WikiTaʼlim: introducing Wiki Education to Uzbekistan

On 26 December 2022, a grand award ceremony was held to celebrate our results, reward the most active contributors, and discuss lessons learned. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and WMF CEO Maryana Iskande recorded a video address congratulating the Uzbek-language community, which was screened on large screen during the award ceremony.

Outreach

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Throughout 2022, members of the user group focused on recruiting new contributors by developing tutorials and conducting online and offline lessons. Within the framework of the WikiStipendiya edit-a-thon, 13 professional video lessons were produced and uploaded to Uzbek Wikipedia's YouTube channel. Additionally, throughout the year user group members answered thousands of questions of new and experienced users and provided general support to them in the Telegram group of the Uzbek Wikipedia.

Reports in local media

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In 2022, the following articles about the activities of the user group were published in local and foreign media outlets:

Membership and future

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In 2022, the number of members increased fivefold and exceeded 50. Looking into the year 2022 and beyond, the Wikimedians of the Uzbek language User Group is looking to involve more of its members in coordinating events. More broadly, we look to contribute to Movement Strategy discussions, particularly those spearheaded by the Strategic Wikimedia Affiliates Network.