Third Edition of Bangla Wikibooks Writing Contest Concludes Successfully

The third edition of the Bangla Wikibooks Writing Contest, “Wikibooks Writing Contest 2025”, was held from May 7 to June 7, 2025, turning into a vibrant gathering of both active and new volunteers from the Bangla Wikimedia community.

This year, the contest was organized as part of the “Bangla WikiConnect” initiative, which aims to engage new contributors and writers interested in building a free knowledge base in the Bangla language, while also encouraging experienced volunteers through structured collaboration and community spirit.

A total of 251 users registered to participate in the contest. Among them, 58 participants submitted at least one page in accordance with the contest rules. A total of 1,696 pages were submitted during the one-month period. After thorough evaluation by a team of eight experienced reviewers, 1,162 pages were finally accepted, containing a combined 1,146,509 words.

In comparison, during the 2024 edition of the contest, 418 users registered and 67 participants submitted at least one page. That year, 717 pages were submitted, out of which 624 pages were accepted. The total word count of the accepted pages in 2024 was 1,148,079 words. However, an important change was made in 2025: for pages related to programming and mathematics, the code snippets and mathematical equations were excluded from the word count. As a result, this year’s statistics reflect a slightly different representation.

The entire review process was completed within a month after the contest ended. Thanks to the reviewers’ dedicated efforts, the final results were published on July 8.

To make participation easier and more accessible, 18 participants were provided with internet support during the contest. In addition, a dedicated Telegram group was actively used for Q&A, troubleshooting, and sharing information in real-time, helping to build a responsive and interactive environment for participants.

Throughout the contest, the organizing team has actively shared promotions and updates on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram. These efforts helped attract new contributors and cultivate a collaborative atmosphere across the community.

This year’s contest also reflected a growing diversity in participation. Around 11.11% of the reviewer team were women, and 30% of the top ten winners were women, two of whom were newcomers to the Wikimedia movement. This positive trend highlights the inclusive and welcoming nature of the Bangla Wikimedia community.

The contest once again demonstrated that with collective effort, proper guidance, and technical support, building high-quality, freely accessible educational content in the Bangla language is not only possible but thriving.