Submissions/Kyrgyz Wikimania Issues
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This is a rejected submission for Wikimania 2012. |
- Submission no.
39
- Title of the submission
Kyrgyz Wikimania Issues
- Type of submission (workshop, tutorial, panel, presentation)
Presentation
- Author of the submission
Tynchtyk Chorotegin
- E-mail address
chorotegint@gmail.com
- Username
Tynchtyk Chorotegin
- Country of origin
Kyrgyz Republic
- Affiliation, if any (organization, company etc.)
Kyrgyz History Society
- Personal homepage or blog
- Abstract (at least 300 words to describe your proposal)
This presentation will be devoted to the emerging public movement in Kyrgyzstan aimed to further strengthen awareness on the Kyrgyz language Wikipedia amongst the local young audience in Kyrgyzstan (especially, in 2011 and 2012.) One of the steps was to unite efforts of the individual supporters of the Kyrgyz language Wikipedia by organizing seminars, workshops, weekly cultural events amongst the students and professors of different universities in Kyrgyzstan, a post-Soviet Central Asian republic.
There was a lack of the official support of the Kyrgyz language Wikipedia by the Kyrgyz authorities in 2002-2011.
However, the Kyrgyz language “wikipedists” felt that it was enough to raise awareness amongst the Kyrgyz language population that a free, open and independent online encyclopedia will be one of the main tools to develop an educational online network to reach those in different remote bregions who suffer from the shortage of the textbooks and other means for a self-study.
In the late 2010, several activists of the Kyrgyz language Wikipedia contacted with each other about the extreme low level of the Wikipedia in their native tongue. They started to discuss it with local NGOs. Amongst them was Soros Kyrgyzstan Foundation, a local branch of the Open Society Institute funded by an American philanthropist George Soros. The NGO became one of the engine to financially support the projects to strengthen the Kyrgyz language Wikipedia in 2011-2012.
Thus, in March 28 – April 04, 2011, the Kyrgyz activists held a Wikipedia week-long event in Bishkek and Naryn cities of Kyrgyzstan. They met with the professors and students of the Kyrgyz National University, the Kyrgyz Technical University, the Kyrgyz International University, the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University, the American University in Central Asia (Bishkek) and the Naryn State University (Naryn). Then they launched different types of competitions amongst the Kyrgyz youth to further develop the Kyrgyz Wikipedia by strengthening its content and multimedia base.
In December 2011, the activists, supported by the Soros Kyrgyzstan Foundation, held a workshop in the village of Bosteri in Issyk-Kul region (Northern Kyrgyzstan.) Several young participants of the workshop were awarded with interesting books, etc.
In the early 2012, the activists continued to organize series of the meetings with different students and staff members of the Bishkek universities and other academic institutions.
They also launched the free online lessons about writing articles to the Kyrgyz Wikipedia.
Such a citizenship activities has had a positive impact in the drastic raise of the Kyrgyz version of the Wikipedia. If there was less than 1,000 articles in Kyrgyz Wikipedia in the middle of 2010, then it jumped to the 5,000 articles in the early 2012.
- Track
- Length of presentation/talk
- 25 Minutes
15 to 20 minutes.
- Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?
Yes (it depends on the financial support.)
- Slides or further information (optional)
Yes
- Special request as to time of presentations
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