Student Wikimedian Clubs are the beacons of knowledge and creativity. As the organizer of the Student Wikipedian Community in Waseda University Tokyo, I have seen many students gain knowledge, edit more articles and create new ideas through Wikimedia projects and their collaborative activities. Such experiences are very valuable, and I hope that every student Wikimedian will start their club, even if you are alone: you can connect with other clubs around the world!
In this article, I present two newly formed clubs and celebratory comments from Wikimedians around the world!
Kent Wiki Club
On 18 August 2023, Kent Wiki Club was officially launched at Wikimania 2023. It is a Wikimedia student association at the Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia Kent Campus (IPGK Kent).
One of the goals of the club is to preserve the Kadazandusun language, an indigenous language, through Wikimedia projects. To achieve this goal, members of the club contribute to Wiktionary and Wikimedia Incubator.
The Kent Wiki Club has already collaborated with other Wikimedia communities, such as Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia and Wikimedia Japan-Malaysia Friendship. In fact, as a participant in the friendship project, I edited the Kadazandusun language entries in the Japanese Wiktionary with their support. It was very interesting and I was really impressed by their wisdom and communication skills.
Istanbul Bilgi University Wikipedia Student Club
In September 2023, the Istanbul Bilgi University Wikipedia Student Club was founded. This club states its goals on its project page on MetaWiki.
- We aim to encourage students to contribute to Wikipedia based on the knowledge they have on the topics they wish, after learning the rules of writing, verifying and accessing the right sources, not just reading, Wikipedia, which is open source and freely licensed.
- Gaining a culture of cooperation and sharing.
- To inform students about free licenses.
- Collaborations on youth and student issues with the Wikimedia CEE Hub Youth Group and other Wikipedia Student Clubs around the world.
Istanbul Bilgi University Wikipedia Student Club has also collaborated with other communities. It gave a presentation at the Turkic Wikimedia Conference 2023 with other student Wikipedia clubs in Turkey. The club also joined the Wikimedia Japan-Türkiye Friendship and declared the sister club relationship with the Student Wikipedian Community in Waseda University Tokyo.
Furthermore, Kurmanbek, the founder of the club, is a talented designer and has created various images for Wikimedia activities. You can also read about Kurmanbek’s work in a Diff post “How we created a symbol of Unity and Diversity: Meet the Turkic Wikimedia Conference brand”.
Celebratory Comments from Wikimedians
There are celebratory comments for them from Wikimedians around the world!
- Congratulations on the new student Wikimedian Clubs! Best wishes as you start this exciting journey. May your clubs thrive and inspire others to contribute to Wikimedia. Keep up the great work! — Jessie Mi (East Asia Regional Ambassador of Art and feminism, Director of Wikimedia Taiwan)
- Dear Wikimedians! Congratulations on officially launching your club. I wish you success in your efforts to disseminate knowledge and preserve language. You demonstrate that one does not need to wait until finishing her studies and begin to work to become productive. You already have a lot to share with the world and thank you for starting to do so. — Basak (Wikimedia Community User Group Türkiye)
- Let’s make our Wiki markup mightier than any sword in solidarity. — Kitamura Sae (Japanese Wikipedia)
- Congratulations, and thank you for bringing more folks from around the world into the Wikimedia community! — Pax Ahimsa Gethen (Wikimedia LGBT+ User Group, Media Contributor of the Year 2023)
- Kent Wiki ClubならびにIstanbul Bilgi University Wikipedia Student Clubの皆様、設立おめでとうございます！同じ大学生ウィキペディアンとして、共に活動できることを楽しみにしています。(English translation by Eugene Ormandy) Congratulations to Kent Wiki Club and Istanbul Bilgi University Wikipedia Student Club! I am looking forward to working together as a fellow university Wikipedian. — Takenari Higuchi (Student Wikipedian Community in Waseda University Tokyo)
- Congratulations to both the Kent Wiki Club and the Istanbul Bilgi University Wikipedia Student Club on your recent official formation and launch. I have confidence that your students will enjoy contributing to open knowledge all the more as a result of collaborating with their peers. Good luck and happy editing! — Siobhan Leachman (Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand, Wikimedia Laureate 2023)
- I’m really happy to see that new student Wikimedian clubs have been formed in Malaysia and Turkey. I’m looking forward to improving Wikimedia together through our friendship projects. — Eugene Ormandy (Toumon Wikipedian Club Japan, Newcomer of the Year 2023)
- I congratulate you for starting your journey in the Wikimedia movement from your university. Not everyone had the chance including me to be active in Wikimedia as a university activity. I hope you will enjoy being in the club and make the best out of it. — Taufik Rosman (Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia, Wikimedian of the Year 2023)
There is one more special guest…… Jimmy Wales!
Hi Kent Club!
I love seeing the ways that Wikimedians connect and work with each other as part of this global movement. I was delighted to meet different members from your community at Wikimania in Singapore and I’m excited to see what you’ll create together and with others. In today’s world, it’s even more important for us to find these chances to connect with other people around the world, sharing knowledge.
All the best in your work preserving the Kadazandusun language. I enjoy watching small language projects grow and I’m excited to see where you will take yours. Thank you for the work you do! @ Jimbo Wales (talk) 13:31, 7 November 2023 (UTC)
MetaWiki [[Talk:Kelab Wiki Kent/en]] 17:58, 8 November 2023 (UTC)
Hi Istanbul Bilgi University Club,
I love seeing the ways that Wikimedians connect and work with each other as part of this global movement. I was delighted to meet different members from your community at Wikimania in Singapore and I’m excited to see what you’ll create together and with others. In today’s world, it’s even more important for us to find these chances to connect with other people around the world, sharing knowledge.
All the best in spreading our values of sharing information and open collaboration, and supporting students in contributing to Wikimedia. I have long marveled at the soft skills that contributing to Wikimedia nurtures and it’s great to see that in action with your group. Thank you for the work you do! Jimbo Wales (talk) 13:32, 7 November 2023 (UTC)
MetaWiki [[Talk:Istanbul Bilgi University Wikipedia Student Club]] 17:59, 8 November 2023 (UTC)
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank the student Wikimedians for their efforts! May happy Wikimedia experiences be with you!
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