Bangla WikiConference 2024: Results and Outcomes

Moheen Reeyad, programs lead of the Bangla WikiConference 2024 Core Organizing Team (COT), is also the treasurer of Wikimedia Bangladesh. Rocky Masum, event lead of the Bangla WikiConference 2024 Core Organizing Team (COT), is also the general secretary of Wikimedia Bangladesh.

Bangla WikiConference 2024 was the first edition of the biannual conference, which celebrates Bangla Wikimedia projects and the volunteers who make them possible. This event took place from 15 to 16 November 2024 at Gazipur, Bangladesh, with the theme of “Knowledge. Diversity. Collaboration.” The conference was hosted by Wikimedia Bangladesh and Wikimedia volunteers and regional communities of the Bangladesh chapter. 56 participants attended the conference in person, and more participated online during the event as well as on live broadcasting.

It was a landmark event that brought together Bangla-speaking Wikimedians from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and around the world. The conference featured provide a platform for sharing ideas, discussing challenges, and exchanging innovative solutions to further the growth of Bangla Wikipedia and its sister projects. The conference set a precedent for fostering inclusivity and advancing the open knowledge movement within the Bangla community.

A Platform for the Bangla WikiCommunity

The conference provided an unprecedented opportunity for Wikimedians to come together in person, allowing them to discuss their unique challenges and share best practices. Participants represented a diverse mix of volunteers, educators, technologists, and Wikimedia leaders who are passionate about advancing Bangla-language Wikimedia projects.

The themes of the conference — Knowledge. Diversity. Collaboration. — underscored the importance of inclusivity and shared responsibility in promoting open knowledge. From technical workshops to strategy discussions, the event covered a wide range of topics, ensuring that everyone had the opportunity to contribute meaningfully.

Keynote Sessions: Inspiring the Community

The conference began with an inspiring keynote session emphasising the vital role of knowledge as the foundation of communities and societies. A distinguished panel of speakers highlighted the collective responsibility of the Bangla-speaking Wikimedia community to make knowledge accessible to all.

Shabab Mustafa, President of Wikimedia Bangladesh, shared the organization’s future roadmap and highlighted success stories from community-driven initiatives. A key moment was a talk by Faizul Latif Chowdhury, a former Director General of the Bangladesh National Museum, writer, and veteran Wikimedian. He passionately discussed the evolving landscape of digital knowledge and emphasized how Bangla Wikipedia can bridge knowledge gaps by documenting underrepresented cultures and histories. He also delved into the nuances of old and modern Bangla spelling systems and their relevance to Wikipedia. Additionally, Maryana Iskander, chief executive officer of the Wikimedia Foundation, acknowledged the conference’s success through her inspiring video message.

Skill-Building Sessions

The conference offered numerous sessions aimed at empowering contributors with advanced skills. These hands-on sessions covered topics such as:

1. Generating Wikidata lexemes and modelling Wiktionary entries: explores the process of creating and managing lexicographical data in Wikidata while aligning it with the structure of Wiktionary. The discussion focuses on the generation of lexemes, their components (lemmas, forms, senses), and how they can be modelled to represent linguistic data accurately. It also examines best practices for integrating Wiktionary content into Wikidata, enhancing interoperability and enriching linguistic datasets for multilingual projects.
2. Future of Patrolling: Another insightful session explored the evolving landscape of patrolling in Wikimedia projects. The session covered various topics, including the use of patrolling tools, the concept of temporary accounts, and how patrolling processes might change with the introduction of this feature. It also highlighted advancements in auto-moderation, such as tools for automatically detecting and reverting vandalism, showcasing how technology can support community efforts to maintain content quality and integrity across Wikimedia platforms.
3. Machine translation challenges, problems and solutions: One of the skill-building sessions at Bangla WikiConference 2024 focused on the challenges of machine translation that many new editors encounter when translating Wikipedia articles. The session highlighted how machine-translated content often lacks readability and comprehensibility, making it difficult for readers to engage with the information. Practical solutions were provided to help editors refine and enhance translated articles, ensuring they meet Wikipedia’s quality standards while maintaining linguistic accuracy and clarity.
4. Citations developing: This involves guiding writers on how to identify, evaluate, and incorporate reliable and notable sources into their articles. It includes strategies for selecting sources that are credible, authoritative, and relevant to the topic being discussed.

These sessions were particularly impactful for younger contributors, many of whom expressed enthusiasm about applying their newfound knowledge to their Wikimedia projects.

Addressing Story of Challenges: Open Discussion

A significant portion of the conference focused on open discussions, providing a platform for attendees to share their insights, experiences, and concerns regarding Bangla Wikiprojects, such as Wikibooks, Wikiquote, Wikisource, Wikivoyage and Wiktionary. This interactive session covered a wide range of pressing topics, including strategies for improving content quality, retaining and engaging editors, addressing technological limitations that hinder participation, and exploring effective outreach methods to expand the community. The discussions also highlighted practical challenges faced by contributors and identified actionable steps to overcome these issues, fostering collaboration and innovation among participants to strengthen the Wikimedia ecosystem.

A panel discussion was held to address the challenges and opportunities associated with decentralizing Wikimedia Bangladesh operations and strengthening regional community initiatives. Representatives from the Chattogram Wikimedia Community, Rajshahi Wikimedia Community, and Mymensingh Wikimedia Community participated in the discussion, sharing their struggles and insights into their communities’ unique challenges. They also explored the potential for fostering collaboration, improving outreach, and creating sustainable growth in their respective regions, emphasizing the importance of empowering local communities to advance Wikimedia’s mission more effectively.

A dedicated panel discussion featuring Bangla Wikipedia administrators was a highlight of Bangla WikiConference 2024. Administrators engaged in in-depth conversations on key issues including various administrative problems, challenges and solutions related to machine-translated articles, and the overall significance of their role. The discussion also addressed the controversial topic of generative AI, with administrators deliberating its potential threats to the quality and authenticity of Bangla Wikipedia, rather than seeing it as a blessing. This session provided valuable insights into maintaining the platform’s integrity and future development.

Celebrating Innovation and Collaboration

The conference also served as a platform for showcasing innovative projects undertaken by community members. Highlights included:

• Bangla WikiMoitree, is an international network that deals with Bengali culture and heritage or works on thematic-linguistic coordination and collaboration between the Bangla-speaking Wikimedia community, affiliates and informal groups.
• Wikinandini, is a community in Wikimedia Bangladesh, working to increase the participation of women in the Wikimedia movement in Bangladesh and to create a safe, inclusive and supportive environment for women in this work.
• Wiki Loves Bangla or Banglar Preme Wiki, is an annual international photography competition around the Bangla culture and heritage, organized by Bangla WikiMoitree. This photo competition is held every year on a different theme as part of WikiMoitree’s Bangla Culture and Heritage Conservation Program.
• Wiki Loves Butterfly, for the last seven years, through the ongoing project, has been relentlessly working to digitally preserve knowledge, education, and experiences related to butterflies. At the same time, they are striving to enrich the fundamental goals of the Wikimedia movement by spreading and sharing knowledge and education and creating global awareness.
• WikiBarta, is a Bangla magazine about news from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and the global Wikimedia community. Wikibarta started the journey to inform the Bangla-speaking Wikipedia community about Wikipedia and its sister projects, the Wikimedia Foundation and all the activities and events of Wikimedia Bangladesh.

The collaborative spirit of the conference was evident as participants actively networked, forming new partnerships that are expected to drive the community forward.

AI-integrated Bangla Language Technology

A session titled Evolution and Future of Bangla Language Technology delved into the intersection of AI and the Bangla language. In this session about the evolution and future of Bangla language technology, Mamun Or Rashid explained how large stakeholder like Wikipedia is disrupted to train AI tools and how much Wikipedians contribute to this. Rashid, a researcher in arts and humanities and a lecturer in the Bangla Department of Jahangirnagar University discussed how AI is shaping the future of Bangla language processing, including advancements in machine translation, voice recognition, and sentiment analysis, and highlighted the potential for preserving linguistic nuances in a rapidly digitizing world.

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Bangla Wikipedia

The closing ceremony of Bangla WikiConference 2024 was a momentous occasion as it marked the grand celebration of Bangla Wikipedia’s 20th Anniversary. This milestone stands as a testament to the dedication and contributions of countless volunteers who have worked tirelessly to build and expand the platform. Before the conference, the anniversary was celebrated in four major cities across Bangladesh, highlighting the collaborative spirit and regional growth of the Bangla Wikicommunity. These celebrations brought together Wikipedians, enthusiasts, and advocates to reflect on two decades of progress while inspiring future contributions to further enrich Bangla Wikipedia’s legacy.

Outcomes of Bangla WikiConference 2024

The results and outcomes of the Bangla WikiConference 2024 are already making waves in the community. Key takeaways include:

1. Strengthened Community Bonds: The conference fostered stronger relationships among Wikimedians, paving the way for increased collaboration.
2. Actionable Roadmap: Concrete plans were developed to tackle issues such as content gaps, technical challenges, and editor retention. For example, a task force was planned to address the representation of marginalized communities on Bangla Wikipedia.
3. Enhanced Skills: Workshops equipped participants with the tools and knowledge to improve their contributions to Wikimedia projects.
4. Increased Visibility: Media coverage of the conference brought greater public attention to Bangla Wikipedia, encouraging more people to explore and contribute.
5. Sustainable Initiatives: Projects and initiatives like Bangla WikiMoitree, Bangla Culture and Heritage Conservation Program, Wikinandini and Wiki Loves Bangla received commitments of long-term support from the community.

A Vision for the Future

The success of the Bangla WikiConference 2024 is a testament to the strength and resilience of the Bangla WikiCommunity. As the conference drew to a close, participants expressed a renewed sense of purpose and optimism about the future of their projects.

The event underscored the potential of collaboration in overcoming challenges and highlighted the importance of diversity in enriching the global Wikimedia movement. By upholding the principles of open knowledge, the Bangla WikiCommunity is well-positioned to make a lasting impact.

Closing Remarks

At the closing ceremony Shabab Mustafa, President of Wikimedia Bangladesh, delivered an insightful speech on Wikimedia Movement and Political Philosophy. His address highlighted the Wikimedia movement as a global initiative centred on the philosophy of ensuring open access to humanity’s collective knowledge. He emphasized that the right to information, now recognized as a fundamental human right under UN Sustainable Development Goal 10.6, underscores the political dimension of the movement. The presentation summarized the impacts, events, and discussions tied to these principles, aiming to foster greater awareness among Wikimedians and inspire their commitment to advancing this transformative vision.

Moving forward, the community aims to build on the momentum generated by the conference, with plans to host similar events in the future. These initiatives will undoubtedly contribute to making Bangla Wikipedia and its sister projects more inclusive, accessible, and impactful.

As a first-of-its-kind event, the Bangla WikiConference 2024 has set a high benchmark for future gatherings. The enthusiasm and dedication displayed by participants reaffirm the trust that the open knowledge movement thrives on community-driven efforts.

For the Bangla WikiCommunity, the conference was more than just a conference — it was a celebration of shared goals, a reaffirmation of collective identity, and a powerful reminder of the transformative power of knowledge.

And,

The success of Bangla WikiConference 2024 would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of everyone involved. Heartfelt thanks go to the Core Organizing Team (COT), whose vision and meticulous planning brought this event to life. We extend our gratitude to the entire organizing team, whose efforts ensured a seamless and impactful conference. Special thanks to the young vibrant Wikimedians, Wikimedia Bangladesh, and its regional communities, whose contributions enriched the discussions and activities. We also appreciate the generous support and guidance of the Wikimedia Foundation, which played a crucial role in making this event a reality.