Wikipedia Workshop for Bird enthusiasts – Ornithology edit-a-thon 2018

Wikiproject Nature and Conservation of India and Madras Naturalists Society are running a two day workshop on contributing to Wikipedia with a specific focus on images and articles related to Birds and their habitat in India.

For organizing the event we request you to REGISTER yourself in this form: https://goo.gl/forms/AqQPm6iHHANFcgJ13

(Note that there is a nominal fee (Rs. 300, Rupees Three Hundred only) to meet the administration charges. This has to be paid at the venue).

Registered Participants are encouraged to select their images to upload, choose articles in advance, register a user name on Wikipedia and are expected to bring along a laptop (with power-cords, mouse, etc.). The workshop demonstrations will largely focus on contributing to the English and Tamil Wikipedia.

The workshop would include the following aspects, some of which will be more of a discussion:

1. the philosophy – sharing information, the idea of the commons, the knowledge commons
2. the evolution of Wikipedia and its rules 
3. the software behind Wikipedia – understanding the interface, the mechanics of editing, the tools available to editors
4. understanding reliability, verifiability and citations
5. the social side of Wikipedia – editor interaction, conflicts
6. understanding copyright, licensing and the public domain 
7. contributing to Wikimedia Commons 
8. birding and photographing birds within the campus on Day 1 evening or Day 2 morning
9. research tips, hands-on research and substantial contribution to participant-selected articles
10. paths for continued Wikipedia contribution, interaction and ways to obtain help

Coordinators:

1. Subramanian Sankar, Madras Naturalist’s Society, Mobile :98401-11606, Email: subbush@gmail.com
2. Dr. Sreekumar PGRIAS, Email: sreesnake@gmail.com
3. Dr. Venkataramanan, PGRIAS, Email: venkivet@gmail.com

Facilitators:

1. L Shyamal
2. T R Shankar Raman
3. Neethidoss
4. P Jeganathan
5. Swati Sidhu
6. Prashanth N S

Natural History and Chennai (that was once called Madras).

Chennai is a great place to do a Natural world wikipedia workshop for a number of reasons. It was here that some of the early attempts to systematically document Indian biodiversity began. The natural world was the first and most obvious stimulus for all learning and it is not surprising that even the earliest attempts to produce encyclopaedias emphasised what we call the earth sciences and biology. Surgeon Edward Balfour wrote one of the first encyclopaedic works on India in English – the Cyclopaedia of India and followed up with the establishment of the Madras Museum. Chennai was also where early amateur science flourished, thanks to the Madras Literary Society, which published the Madras Journal of the Literature and Science. The pages of the journal, with contributions from the likes of T.C. Jerdon, Sir Walter Elliot and N.R. Pogson are still a pleasure to read. They also provide useful insights on the hegemony of knowledge. Wikipedia and the Internet in general has made information literacy an important skill for today’s global citizen. It is hoped that members of the Madras Naturalists Society and others interested in research and public awareness will find, through this workshop, that Wikipedia is a stimulating place for research, writing and discussion.

Report in The Hindu, Chennai about the event.