Empowering Communities: Documenting Odisha’s Government Schemes on Odia Wikipedia

In an effort to bridge the information gap and provide accessible knowledge to the Odia-speaking community, I have embarked on a project to comprehensively document all government schemes of Odisha on the Odia Wikipedia. This initiative aims to create a centralized repository of information that can benefit citizens, researchers, and policymakers alike.

Project Overview:

The project involves creating detailed articles for each government scheme, outlining their objectives, benefits, eligibility criteria, and application processes. By presenting this information in Odia, we ensure that it reaches a wider audience, including those who may not be proficient in other languages. The main article, titled “ଓଡ଼ିଶା ସରକାରଙ୍କ ଯୋଜନାସବୁର ତାଲିକା” (List of Odisha Government Schemes), serves as a hub, linking to individual articles for each scheme.

Impact on Society:

Odisha’s socio-economic development is deeply influenced by its welfare schemes targeting health, education, women’s empowerment, livelihood promotion, and social security; however, limited awareness often prevents citizens from availing themselves of these benefits. By presenting this information on Odia Wikipedia, the project promotes transparency and awareness about welfare programs, assists marginalized and rural communities in accessing relevant schemes, supports researchers, students, and policymakers with a reliable, language-accessible knowledge base, and aligns with Wikimedia’s mission of closing knowledge gaps and promoting knowledge equity. This initiative, therefore, becomes a meaningful step toward creating a more informed and empowered society in Odisha.

Challenges and Learnings:

The journey of documenting these schemes came with its share of challenges. Official resources on government schemes are often in government websites or some information available only in English wikipedia, making research time-intensive. Translating technical and policy-related terminology into Odia while maintaining accuracy required careful linguistic consideration. Additionally, ensuring information credibility by cross-referencing multiple government and media sources was crucial. However, these challenges presented opportunities for growth, as collaborating with the Odia Wikimedia community, engaging with open knowledge advocates, and interacting with government portals honed my skills in research, content curation, and community engagement.

Reflections on Contributing to Wikimedia:

Contributing to Odia Wikipedia has been a transformative experience. Beyond enhancing my professional skills, it reinforced my belief in the power of open knowledge. Documenting government schemes goes beyond content creation—it is about empowering communities with the right information at the right time. Through this project, I have witnessed firsthand how regional language content can break barriers, fostering trust and participation in governance. It also opens avenues for further contributions that can address information asymmetry in other critical sectors.

Conclusion:

Knowledge, when accessible in the language people understand best, becomes truly empowering, and this project on Odia Wikipedia strives to achieve just that—making Odisha’s government schemes available and understandable for all. I am grateful to the Wikimedia community for providing a platform that fosters such impactful knowledge-sharing initiatives, and I look forward to expanding this project, collaborating with passionate contributors, and continuing to advocate for knowledge equity in Odisha and beyond.

Aliva Sahoo, Odia Wikimedian User group