Telangana: The Wikimedia Technology Summit 2024, held from October 3 to 5, saw an enthusiastic gathering of technologists, developers, and voluntary contributors to Wikimedia projects from across the country. Organized by the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad with support from the Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group and the Wikimedia Foundation, the summit featured a day-long hackathon at the IIIT Hyderabad campus, followed by the main event at the Hyatt Gachibowli hotel. Bringing together 130 attendees from various regions of India, the summit had the theme “Wiki tech for all: Empowering voices, expanding horizons”. The event aimed to enhance inclusivity within Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects, especially for smaller language communities.
It provided a unique opportunity for collaboration and knowledge exchange among developers, researchers, community leaders, and WikiClub students from multiple colleges, all dedicated to advancing technological innovations that serve diverse Wikimedia user groups. The students interacted with experienced Wikimedia technical contributors for hands-on training on relevant tools and familiarised themselves with Wikimedia’s technology infrastructure.
“The Wikimedia Technology Summit 2024 is yet another successful event in our long-term effort to enhance the technical support available to Indian-language communities and beyond,” said Radhika Mamidi, Associate Professor at IIIT Hyderabad. “We are grateful to our speakers, participants and supporters for making this event possible, and we look forward to carrying forward the momentum generated here. I would also like to recognise the efforts of our Programme Manager Kripal Kashyap in organising this summit and the support of the Wikimedia Foundation.”
The first day of the summit included a panel discussion on the impact of AI, featuring experts from AI4Bharat, BITS Pilani, CIS, IIIT Hyderabad and Microsoft.
Other sessions covered content development in indigenous languages, the use of OpenStreetMap to update real-time content during the recent crisis in Kerala, and a demonstration of some of the latest features and tools from the Wikimedia Foundation. The second day focused on addressing the gender gap in technology used by Wikimedia communities, with workshops covering a range of technical topics including mobile editing, voice and image-based user scripts, and tools for Indian languages.
This year’s summit also highlighted bridging the gender gap within Wikimedia projects and communities through technical outreach programs. “At this year’s Wikimedia Technology Summit, we have witnessed a remarkable display of collaboration and passion for sharing knowledge through open-source technology,” said Professor Vasudev Varma, Head, Language Technology Research Centre (LTRC) at IIIT Hyderabad. “This summit highlights engagement among diverse stakeholders, as we aim to fulfill the mission of free knowledge as envisioned by the Wikimedia movement.”
The summit concluded with a hackathon showcase, where participants presented their innovative solutions and tool upgrade suggestions. This was followed by a discussion highlighting the future of the Wikimedia movement and open-source technology in Indian languages.
