Outreach, Engagement, and Content Creation: The Hindi Wikimedians User Group

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The Hindi Wikimedians User Group, which is working on furthering content on the 4th most spoken language in the world, has been focussing our efforts on new editor engagement, article creation, and partnerships with academic institutions through which we can bring in new users and editors to certain Wikimedia projects like Wikipedia, Wikisource etc in India. 

More recently, through our efforts we have been successful in establishing a sustained partnership with Google India, supported by the Wikimedia Foundation, through which we aim to take our projects to new audiences, users and potential editors. 

These specific initiatives have been zeroed in by the Hindi Wikimedians User Group based on our need to bring in new editors and users to the movement in an attempt to create, preserve and present knowledge to a wider audience.

Here is a snapshot of some of the initial activities we have executed under the partnership and our own activities (in the last quarter of 2023).

PILOT PROJECT

Through Google’s support we have been given key search trends on Google (in Hindi) for which there was no Hindi Wikipedia page. The group then focussed on the topics relevant to our audiences and editors and launched an Editathon on Hindi Wikipedia in June, 2023 through which we saw over 40 sign ups and 900+ new articles on Hindi Wikipedia. 

We also hosted a Hindi Wikisource Edithathon in July where 15 participants proofread selected works including the Constitution of India, Hindi Grammar and more.

These projects gave us a lot of understanding on the current engagement trends of our community and also on the need to focus on bringing in more contributors to the projects. 

OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

Following the learning and impact of the Pilot Project we regrouped as a team to focus on our outreach and engagement activities that inspire new contributors to the projects. The focus and approach were regularly shared on the Hindi Community Village Pump for community input, discussion and for transparency. 

Some of the key activities were

All of the activities above were focused on new editor outreach and engagement to bring in new contributors to our efforts and activities as a user group. 

KEY LEARNINGS

While the timelines are very short for conclusive outcomes, the following are some of the trends we are monitoring as we proceed further with our engagement activities. 

For Eg: In December, 2023 we saw over 90 millon page views on Hindi Wikipedia making it one of the most active months in 2023. 

  • Increased Engagement and Viewership: We are seeing positive engagement, increasing viewership and interest from Hindi Wikipedia due to our recent activities.
  • Editor Growth:  There is a keen focus on increasing the current base of editors through the partnership which will enable an incremental yet sustained increase in our editors and content.
  • Ground Level Partnerships: We have been focussing on establishing new and sustained partnerships with educational institutions through which we can bring in new members to the Wikimedia ecosystem (Delhi, West Bengal, UP, and Mizoram). 
  • Beyond Wikipedia: While there is a keen focus on increasing the number of articles/editors on Hindi Wikipedia we are also focussing on the enhancement of Wikisource as well. 
  • Mixing Online and Offline: Keeping in mind timelines and resources we are seeing the benefits of establishing a good mix of meet-ups, edit-a-thons and online contests with a focus on increasing engagement but also avoiding editor burnout. 

We aim to continue and grow this momentum in the next few months by hosting online and offline workshops, community meet ups and online contests by which we not only bring in new contributors to the fore but also increase our content on projects like Wikipedia and Wikisource. 

To know more or engage with us, please contact on our meta page or the Hindi Wikipedia Village Pump

This blog has been written by the author(s) on behalf of the Hindi Wikimedians User Group

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