During the week of International Women’s Day 2025, three Wikisource Workshops were conducted under Kannada Language Workshop Programme, organized by active Wikimedians and Tulu Wikisource administrators, Mrs. Kavitha G. Kana and Mrs. Babitha Shetty. These workshops aimed to enhance contributions to open knowledge and strengthen Kannada and Tulu Wikisource communities. The initiative focused on inclusivity, ensuring diverse voices played a role in preserving the literary heritage of Kannada and Tulu.
Contribute to Open Knowledge at Canara College Mangalore
Date: March 4, 2025
Organizer: Mrs. Babitha Shetty
The “Contribute to Open Knowledge” workshop was held at Canara College, Mangalore, with the objective of introducing students to Wikisource contributions and fostering an understanding of open knowledge platforms. Led by Mrs. Babitha Shetty, the session provided an in-depth, hands-on training experience, guiding students through the process of digitizing and proofreading Kannada and Tulu texts on Wikisource.
Right from the beginning, students actively participating in discussions and showing a keen interest in the significance of preserving literary heritage through digital platforms. Their eagerness to learn was evident as they quickly adapted to the Wikisource interface. Even those who were completely new to Wikimedia projects showed exceptional progress, asking insightful questions and readily applying the techniques demonstrated during the session.
Empowering Young Minds at Vijaya College, Mulky
Date: March 6, 2025
Organizers: Mrs. Babitha Shetty and Mrs. Kavitha Ganesh
The “Empowering Young Minds” workshop was conducted at Vijaya College, Mulky, with the goal of equipping students with essential skills for contributing to Kannada and Tulu Wikisource. The event was inaugurated by chief guests Mrs. Babitha Shetty and Mrs. Kavitha G. Kana, with strong support from college staff members Smt. Shailaja Y.V., Smt. Jyothi Shankar, and Smt. Rashmi.
Students showed remarkable enthusiasm throughout the workshop, eagerly diving into the learning process. Many participants, despite being new to Wikisource, adapted quickly to the platform’s editing environment. Their curiosity and willingness to explore the nuances of digitization and proofreading were evident as they engaged in interactive hands-on sessions. Some students even went beyond the basic training, proactively experimenting with advanced formatting.
International Women’s Day Wikisource Workshop
Date: March 8, 2025
Organizer: Mrs. Kavitha G. Kana, Rotary Club of Baikampady
Chief Guest: Mrs. Babitha Shetty
The third workshop, held on occasion of International Women’s Day, not only celebrated the contributions of women in Wikimedia projects but also served as a platform for experienced participants to mentor newcomers. Organized by Mrs. Kavitha G. Kana with collaboration of Rotary Club of Baikampady, with Mrs. Babitha Shetty as the chief guest, the event reinforced the importance of inclusivity in open knowledge initiatives. Students who had previously attended workshops at Canara College, Besant College, and Vijaya College returned as peer mentors, enthusiastically assisting first-time participants in navigating the Wikisource platform. Their prior experience allowed them to provide real-time guidance, helping new users understand text digitization, proofreading techniques, and OCR error correction. This collaborative approach created an engaging and supportive learning environment, where knowledge was passed down organically from one group to another.
One of the most remarkable aspects of the workshop was the speed and efficiency with which new participants adapted to Wikisource. Under the mentorship of their peers, they quickly grasped fundamental skills and actively contributed to ongoing digitization projects. Some students took up complex tasks, such as aligning text formatting with original manuscripts and resolving inconsistencies in digitized pages. The workshop not only strengthened the Kannada and Tulu Wikisource communities but also inspired many to take an active role in preserving and promoting their linguistic heritage through Wikimedia projects.
These workshops were supported by Mr. Anoop Rao (~aanzx) as the trainer through the Kannada Language Workshop Programme. The Kannada Language Workshop Programme aims to promote community engagement and encourage contributions to open knowledge. Funded by a Wikimedia grant, it offers training for Kannada and Tulu editors on Wikimedia topics such as Wikisource, Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Templates, Infoboxes, Growth tools, Pywikibot & PAWS, User scripts and gadgets, and improving articles with reference templates, citations, and endnotes/footnotes.
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