Wikipedia:Wikipedia Summit Pune/About Us

What is Spoken Wikipedia?

Spoken Wikipedia/Indic Languages is a Wikipedia Project undertaken by Wikipedia Club Pune to give a voice to the Indian community and to produce a knowledge domain of information related to India through audio recordings of the articles. Wikipedia seems to relatively lack articles on India, its culture, its people and about the little things that make them Indian. This project is a huge step forward in uplifting India to a global level through this platform, making it more noteworthy, better understood and effectively represented. Who better to undertake this task than the Indians themselves?

It is a fact that a majority of the Indian population belongs to the rural section of the country. What one must realize is that this chunk of the population is often ill-informed and spends a lifetime in relative ignorance about even the most basic of aspects. Every decision a citizen makes about oneself or others affects the nation as a whole at a smaller or larger scale. When the majority of people of a country belong to a section of the society that is less-privileged in terms of communicating or gaining knowledge, amongst other things; Spoken Wikipedia becomes almost a necessity.

How can we reach out to those who do not have an access to technology or the Internet? What about those who don't have basic education or don't comprehend the English language? With the development of this project, this audience shall have audio recorded articles in their mother tongues. They can reach out and hear these articles without the limitation of knowing a language that might have been a barrier earlier. Further, the people who can understand English but cannot read or write it would benefit from this project too. These are certain major advantages of Spoken Wikipedia, amongst others, the details of which can be found on the page-link provided previously.

Health is a primary concern in the agenda at present. It has become immensely important for the rural community especially, though not exclusively, to know and take the right decisions about its health. Evidently, a disease, however trivial it may seem, doesn't only affect the concerned person, but everyone around him/her as well. Epidemics can have a nationwide effect and recent occurrences of the spread of grave and severe contagious diseases should serve as an eye-opener for one and all. This issue shall be looked into and be given due importance in this project.

Gender gap is another important aspect of the society, not only at the level of a nation, but at a world level. This breach and division hinders and economy greatly, over time. Wikipedia Club India shall strive to bridge this gap through this Summit and through continual activities towards this end thereafter. Volunteers for the same are encouraged to give their voice and to participate.

Why Pune ?

Pune (Maharashtra, India) is known for movements like Swaraj, Quit India, Women’s emancipation and Swadeshi. It has progressed in the fields ranging from super-computing to cell sciences and molecular genetics. Pune has led India - and even the world in more ways than one - and has been an ideas' capital for centuries. Pune's thinkers and doers have inspired better citizenship and have striven for better education opportunities. Pune has also developed into a major education hub of the country, with over 2.5 lac students in 9 universities.

Pune City: Pune is the seventh largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the center of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 meters above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula River (India) and Mutha river. The city is the administrative capital of Pune district.

Pune became the center of Indian politics during the early 18th century. After the town was annexed to British India in 1817, it served as a cantonment town and as the "monsoon capital" of the Bombay Presidency until the Independence of India.

Today, Pune is known for its educational facilities and relative prosperity. Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra. Pune has had manufacturing, glass, sugar, and forging industries since the 1950-60s. It has a growing industrial hinterland, with information technology and automotive companies setting up factories in the district. The city is famous for a variety of cultural activities like ranging from music, to theater, sports, and literature.These activities and job opportunities attract migrants and students from all over India and abroad, which makes for a city of many communities and cultures.

Pune is ranked as a Gamma World City and it is an ideal place for the onset of Wikipedia events and activities.

Why Wikipedia Summit Pune ?

Briefly, Wikipedia Summit Pune will strive to collect together contemporary ideas worth executing to inspire better education through the use of Wikipedia. It will seek ideas that inspire people to live lives with purposes beyond oneself. It will aim to disseminate these ideas for a better tomorrow.

The concept of women education was pioneered by India and it is noteworthy that the first woman teacher was from Pune, and the first girls' school was also launched in Pune. Thus, continuing this tradition, the first large scale efforts to bridge the gender-gap will be initiated by Wikipedia Summit Pune! The second day will be dedicated to address this issue.