Bridging the Wikipedia Divide: Wikipedia Academy

The logic is simple – only less than 0.1% of the Wikipedia readers contribute back, and my guess is that the percentage is even lower in India. The solution is Chennai Wikipedia Academy:

The Chennai Wikipedia Academy is NOT a brick and mortar entity. It’s a concept that embodies the spirit of sharing. It’s a simple initiative that anyone can start in their office, homes, community halls, schools or colleges. It’s simple. Arrange for a place where people who are knowledgeable about Wikipedia will help people who want to learn about Wikipedia.

We think the potential is immense in encouraging users in a country like India to engage more on Wikipedia. A quick look at the Wikipedia Contributor Stats shows that for the English language site, 52% of the contributors are from the US and majority of the contributors are from the English speaking countries Western world. 

The idea came out of a group session at BarCamp Chennai, a user-generated conference focused on technology start-ups. You can learn more about Barcamp here. And while you are it, also check out Failcamp – a friendly unconference where people get-together to share and learn from failure