Museums are more than just spaces filled with artefacts — they are living institutions that preserve history, spark curiosity, and connect communities across generations. To mark International Museum Day 2025, Wikimedia Bangladesh hosted a week-long online edit-a-thon on Bangla Wikipedia, held from 18 to 24 May. In line with this year’s global theme, “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities,” the event invited contributors to explore how museums are evolving to become more inclusive, innovative, and resilient.
Building on Past Success
Following the encouraging response to the first edition in 2024, this year’s edit-a-thon brought together Wikimedians from across the Bangla-speaking world. With active support from the Chattogram Wikimedia Community, the initiative continued its mission of improving Wikipedia’s coverage of museums, helping preserve cultural knowledge and broaden access to information in local languages.
Many contributors returned from last year’s campaign, energised by the collective goal of documenting institutions that often go under-represented online. Newcomers were also warmly welcomed, making this a vibrant mix of experienced editors and fresh voices.
A Community-Driven Effort
Staying true to its collaborative spirit, the 2025 edition emphasised inclusivity and active participation. A total of 21 Wikimedians participated, creating and enhancing articles on a wide range of museums — from archaeological and ethnological to national and regional — to help bridge persistent content gaps.
An event page on Bangla Wikipedia provided suggested articles, editing guidelines, and resources to help participants get started. Contributions were submitted through the Fountain tool, allowing for transparent review and effective progress tracking. Outreach via social media and community platforms ensured broad participation and enthusiastic engagement throughout the week.
Outcomes and Impact
Over seven days, participants created 96 new articles, covering topics such as ethnographic collections, natural history museums, and contemporary art galleries. Among the most active contributors, Salil Kumar Mukherjee led by article count with 14 entries (5,384 words), while Md Malek Islam topped the word count with 11 articles totalling 7,388 words.
Among the standout contributions were articles on the Tribal Museum Bhopal, the Museum of Santal Culture, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya — each shedding light on cultural dimensions that are often under-represented. These additions not only enrich Bangla Wikipedia’s content but also help ensure local community stories are documented thoughtfully and accurately.
In recognition of their dedication, all contributors received a Wikipedia Barnstar and a certificate of appreciation.
Reviving the Spirit of Traditional Edit-a-thons
In today’s Wikimedia landscape, where funded contests and campaign-style events are increasingly common, traditional edit-a-thons often receive less attention. Amid this crowded space, producing nearly a hundred articles in just one week stands out as a remarkable achievement. It reflects not only the dedication of participants but also a renewed interest in the traditional format of collaborative content-building.
This initiative brought editors together to focus on meaningful contributions — editing not for incentives, but to preserve and share knowledge about cultural institutions that matter. It showed that community-led, purpose-driven editing events still hold strong potential to engage volunteers and produce high-quality content.
As of 2025, the International Museum Day edit-a-thons have led to the creation of 120 museum-related articles on Bangla Wikipedia. This growing body of work significantly enhances regional documentation and helps close persistent content gaps, providing Bangla-speaking readers in Bangladesh, India, and the global diaspora with greater access to information about South Asian museums and the stories they hold.
Looking Ahead
The success of the 2025 edit-a-thon underscores the enduring power of volunteer-driven initiatives in promoting cultural literacy and preserving collective memory. Wikimedia Bangladesh remains committed to supporting inclusive, community-led projects that uphold the Wikimedia movement’s mission: to make free knowledge accessible to all.
Looking ahead, we warmly invite Wikimedians to join future editions of this campaign. Whether you’re a seasoned contributor or a new editor, your efforts are vital. Every contribution helps document how museums are shaping informed, connected, and sustainable communities.
Explore the newly created articles on Bangla Wikipedia — each edit helps bring knowledge closer to those who seek it.
Lastly, heartfelt thanks to all participants and reviewers for their time, energy, and dedication. Your contributions continue to leave a lasting impact on the Wikimedia movement.
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