Knowledge lovers showcase Pune through Wikipedia - Times of India

PUNE: People from diverse fields in the city have been contributing to Wikipedia, a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopaedia project.

With Wikipedia celebrating its 10th anniversary on Saturday, city-based Wikipedians have begun updating information on Indian birds, adding articles in Marathi and photographs of Pune to 'Wikimedia Commons.'

Barry Newstead, chief global development officer of Wikimedia Foundation is expected to be present.

City enthusiasts have planned to celebrate the tenth anniversary by meeting, discussing, sharing experiences, reaching out and advocating Wikipedia and Wikimedia. The meet will be held from 6.30 pm at Symbiosis Institute of Computer Sciences and Research in Model Colony on Saturday.

Noted ornithologist Satish Pande told TOI that articles on Indian bird species have been updated on Wikipedia on behalf of the seventh ornithology course, run by Ela Foundation and Abasaheb Garware college of arts and sciences. "There are around 12,000 bird species in India. There is scope to add information like their origin, behaviour and habitat. At present, there is incomplete data on bird species on Wikipedia," he said.

The initial work includes the Indian mynah, Bonelli's eagle peregrine falcon, white stork, a sub-species of the peregrine falcon-- the Shaheen falcon -- found in India and Sri Lanka. "We want more people to get involved," he said. The Marathi Wikipedians' meet will also showcase Pune as the cultural capital of Maharashtra, and Mandar Kulkarni is updating the information.

He said, "Information in Wikipedia is in hundreds of languages. For many years people have been working on Wikipedia in Marathi which now has 28,000 articles. As there scope to add content, I am adding information to the articles on geography, the city and forts and also editing many current articles." A group called Wiki Puneri adds photographs of the city to Wikimedia Commons, the photographs' site.