On 17 September 2025, I had the opportunity to introduce Karakalpak Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation’s sister projects at the Muhammad al-Khwarizmi State IT School, a specialized institution in the formal sciences, located in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan.
How I organized the event?
In preparing this event, I received valuable support from Atabek Murtazaev (User:Qarahat), one of the contributors who helped launch Karakalpak Wikipedia back in 2008. He contacted the school administration, and thanks to his efforts, we were able to arrange this meaningful gathering.
What we did with the students
Around 40 students took part in the event. I began by sharing the history of Wikipedia and the story of Karakalpak Wikipedia, from its creation in 2008 to its development over the years. Afterwards, I introduced the interface of Karakalpak Wikipedia, demonstrating how to create an account, start a new article, and edit existing ones.
In the next part of the program, together with the school’s Karakalpak Language and Literature teachers, we spoke to the students about writing encyclopedic articles in accordance with Karakalpak language rules. This combination of technical training and linguistic guidance helped the students see both how Wikipedia works and how to contribute in their own language effectively.
A small gift
To make the event more memorable and engaging, I prepared stickers featuring Karakalpak Wikipedia’s logo with a traditional “kara kalpak” (black hat) and distributed them to the students. This little souvenir sparked curiosity and a sense of connection to the project.
Looking ahead
I am very happy to have shown young people how they can contribute to free knowledge through Wikipedia. I also believe this event has helped raise awareness of Karakalpak Wikipedia within the community. In the future, I plan to organize similar outreach activities in other schools and encourage even more students to become part of the Karakalpak Wikipedia community.
External links
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