WikimediaBD Organizational Profile

Wikimedia Bangladesh or WikimediaBD (locally registered in Bangladesh as Wikimedia Bangladesh Foundation) is an approved chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, which was founded by Wikipedia activists in Bangladesh. It was approved by the Wikimedia Board of trustees on October 3, 2011 and was the 39th chapter to be approved by the Wikimedia Foundation board, the main body responsible for maintaining Wikipedia and its sister projects.

It was locally registered in Bangladesh on 9 June 2014 at Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms as a non-profit foundation under the Societies Registrations Act, 1860 bearing the registration number S-11906 and official name Wikimedia Bangladesh Foundation.


Mission and vision

Imagine a world in which all people share in the knowledge of humanity, can use, and increase it. This is our vision of free knowledge!

Access to knowledge and education is a human right. Free knowledge leads to a cosmopolitan and informed society. Regardless of origin or social status, people should not only be able to access knowledge freely, but should also be able to contribute knowledge themselves. Our goal is therefore to establish and strengthen the creation, collection, and dissemination of free knowledge in all areas of society. Because: together we know more!

While the content of Wikipedia and other wiki projects is written and edited exclusively by volunteer authors, we are the foundation aming to serve this unique community: We encourage the volunteers to do their digital volunteering and to implement their ideas and goals.

 

Objectives

  1. To create awareness among the people of Bangladesh about the availability of free and open educational content and enable them to effectively use this.
  2. To help build the capacity of individuals and institutions to access, develop, and contribute to free and open educational resources which include but are not limited to, encyclopedias, dictionaries, books, images, etc.
  3. To organize and facilitate workshops, seminars, study circles, conferences, training programs, and other educational activities in collaboration and cooperation with academic/educational institutes, research groups, non-government organizations, foreign agencies, governments, and any other interested organization for spreading the knowledge and/or use of free and open educational resources.
  4. To support the charitable work of the Wikimedia Foundation.
  5. To promote wider participation in the creation, dissemination, and expansion of information and educational resources covering the world’s knowledge and languages to all persons, everywhere.
  6. To further the development of electronic, printed, and other resources required to support such participation.
  7. To produce, publish, and develop or cause to be produced, published, and developed, information/educational resources, whether in printed, electronic, or other forms.
  8. To encourage the use of information resources for the advancement of education.
  9. To do all and any other acts or things as may be incidental or conducive to the attainment of all or any of the above objects.



Current projects

Bengali language (bn) projects

Name

Type

Local name

Description

Bengali Wikipedia

Wikipedia

উইকিপিডিয়া

Wikipedia is a multilingual open-collaborative online encyclopedia created and maintained by a community of volunteer editors using a wiki-based editing system. The Bengali Wikipedia or Bangla Wikipedia is the Bengali language edition of Wikipedia, launched on January 27, 2004. On 9 November 2020, total articles crossed 97,261 articles with 1,238 active editors per month and ranked 4th in terms of depth among Wikipedias. In 2018, Bengali Wikipedia was viewed about 190 million times from all over the world. On average, the site was viewed over 500 thousand times a day.

Bengali Wiktionary

Wiktionary

উইকিঅভিধান

Wiktionary is a project to create open-content dictionaries in every language. Currently, it has more than 12 thousand entries.

Bengali Wikisource

Wikisource

উইকিসংকলন

Wikisource is a Wikimedia project to build a library of free texts. Wikisource is an online digital library of free content textual sources. The Bengali Wikisource is the Bengali language edition of Wikisource, launched on August 10, 2007. On 13 November 2020, the total number of books crossed 3,711.

Bengali Wikibooks

Wikibooks

উইকিবই

Wikibooks is a wiki-based Wikimedia project for the creation of free content e-book textbooks and annotated texts that anyone can edit. The Bengali Wikibooks is the Bengali language edition of Wikibooks, launched in June 2005.

Bengali Wikivoyage

Wikivoyage

উইকিভ্রমণ

Wikivoyage is a free web-based travel guide for travel destinations and travel topics written by volunteer authors. Wikivoyage has been called the "Wikipedia of travel guides". The Bengali Wikivoyage is the Bengali language edition of Wikivoyage, launched on June 04, 2018. As of 13 November 2020, it has more than 850 articles.

Bishnupriya Manipuri (bpy) language projects

Bishnupriya Manipuri Wikipedia

Wikipedia

উইকিপিডিয়া

The Bishnupriya Manipuri Wikipedia is the Bishnupriya Manipuri language edition of Wikipedia, launched on November 21, 2006. In November 2020, total articles crossed 25 thousand.

Santali (sat) language projects

Santali Wikipedia

Wikipedia

উইকিপিডিয়া

The Bishnupriya Manipuri Wikipedia is the Santali language edition of Wikipedia, launched on August 02, 2018. In November 2020, total articles crossed 05 thousand.

Non-native

Wikimedia Commons

উইকিমিডিয়া কমন্স

Wikimedia Commons (or simply Commons) is an online repository of free-use images, sounds, other media, and JSON files. Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used across all Wikimedia projects in all languages, including Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, Wikivoyage, Wikispecies, Wikisource, and Wikinews, or downloaded for offsite use. As of May 2020, the repository contains over 61 million free media files, managed and editable by registered volunteers.


To enrich Bangladesh and Bengali language/culture-related online content, contributors from Bangladesh are regularly contributing here.

Wikidata

উইকিউপাত্ত

Wikidata is a free and open knowledge base that can be read and edited by both humans and machines.


Wikidata acts as central storage for the structured data of its Wikimedia sister projects including Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Wiktionary, Wikisource, and others.


Wikidata also provides support to many other sites and services beyond just Wikimedia projects!


Contributors from Bangladesh are contributing regularly to Wikidata as well.

English language (en) projects

All English language projects, most notably English Wikipedia (to develop Bangladesh and Bengali language/culture-related content).




Local communities run by Wikimedia Bangladesh

Name (en)

Local name

Area

Formed

Chattogram Wikipedia Community

চট্টগ্রাম উইকিপিডিয়া সম্প্রদায়

Chittagong Division

2014

Rajshahi Wikipedia Community

রাজশাহী উইকিপিডিয়া সম্প্রদায়

Rajshahi Division

2015

Barisal Wikipedia Community

বরিশাল উইকিপিডিয়া সম্প্রদায়

Barisal Division

2016

Khulna Wikipedia Community

খুলনা উইকিপিডিয়া সম্প্রদায়

Khulna Division

2017

Sylhet Wikipedia Community

সিলেট উইকিপিডিয়া সম্প্রদায়

Sylhet Division

2018

Comilla Wikipedia Community

কুমিল্লা উইকিপিডিয়া সম্প্রদায়

Comilla District

2018


Notable events

Bangla Wikipedia Unconference 2012

2nd day of Bangla Wikipedia Unconference 2012 by Akib Bin Shahriar 47
Bangla Wikipedia Unconference 2012. Photo by Akib Bin Shahriar published under CC-BY-SA 3.0

Bangla Wikipedia Unconference 2012 was the first-ever big-level conference-like outreach event organized by Wikimedia Bangladesh in association with Independent University, Bangladesh, Chittagong, and Bangladesh Open Source Network. The event took place on March 2nd and 3rd of 2012, and it was hosted by Independent University Bangladesh in Chittagong. This open event was attended by around 300 participants and a good number of schools, colleges, and universities of Chittagong. The event was named after Bangla Wikipedia to promote the biggest Bengali language Wikimedia project, Bengali Wikipedia. The purpose of the Unconference was to make people aware of Wikipedia and to introduce them to the uses of Wikipedia, Wikipedia editing, and to develop wiki culture and awareness.

 

Wikipedia Zero launching ceremony

Bangla Wikipedia Unconference 2012
Wikipedia Zero launching ceremony. Photo by Nasir Khan Saikat published under CC-BY-SA 3.0

On 13th November 2013, Wikipedia Zero was officially launched in Bangladesh. Wikimedia Bangladesh arranged a press conference at Karwan Bazar to mark the launching and brief the media about the Wikipedia Zero program. Carolynne Schloeder, Director of Mobile Programs of Wikimedia Foundation, joined the press conference. Also, representatives from the top three mobile operators of Bangladesh - Grameenphone, Banglalink, and Robi were present at the press conference along with Wikimedia Bangladesh President and board members. WikimediaBD President informed the newsman about the Wikipedia Zero program in detail. The mobile operator representatives further informed about their own initiatives regarding this program and their partnerships with Wikimedia Foundation.

 

Gala evening to celebrate Bengali Wikipedia's 10th anniversary

Bengali Wikipedia 10th Anniversary Gala Event with Jimmy Wales at Dhaka
Bengali Wikipedia 10th Anniversary Gala Event with Jimmy Wales at Dhaka. Photo by Tariqul Dipu published under CC-BY-SA 3.0

Bengali Wikipedia completed 10 Years in March 2014. To celebrate this historic milestone a gala evening was held at Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel, Dhaka on 26 February, 2015. The event was organized by Wikimedia Bangladesh and sponsored by Grameenphone. Jimmy Wales the founder of Wikipedia presented as a chief guest of the program. This event was attended by around 300 invited participants including Wikimedians and other respected guests from different universities as well as from the govt. New Wikimedia contributors from seven divisions of Bangladesh were also awarded in this event. The event was circulated by local and national dailies/electronic media.

 

Bangla Wikipedia 10th Anniversary Conference 2015

Bengali Wikipedia 10th Anniversary Gala Event with Jimmy Wales at Dhaka
Bangla Wikipedia 10 year Founding Anniversary Conference 2015. Photo by Kanon Ahammad published under CC-BY-SA 3.0

The Bangla Wikipedia 10th Anniversary Conference 2015 was held on 30th May 2015 at Daffodil International University in Dhaka. About 300 Wikipedians from Bangladesh and West Bengal of India attended the conference. The State Minister of ICT Division of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was present at the conference. Vice-Chancellor of the university Dr. Lutfur Rahman and Wikimedia Bangladesh President Munir Hasan were also present during the inauguration. A number of workshops and interactive sessions took place at the day-long conference. The sessions were conducted by WMBD Executive Committee and Operations Committee members. Participants at the workshops were given hands-on training on creating and developing articles, adding photos and content to Wikipedia. Wikipedians also shared their experiences and discussed improving Bangla Wikipedia. Ten best Wikipedians were awarded at the program for their outstanding contribution. Three best photographers were also awarded for their photographs submitted for the Bangla Wikipedia Photography Contest 2014, which was arranged as part of the 10th anniversary of Bangla Wikipedia. Eminent writer and journalist Anisul Hoque was present during the award-giving ceremony. A session was held particularly to enhance female contributors to Wikipedia. Another session was held where Wikipedians from West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh discussed collaborative activities among the Wikipedians of their region.

 

Wikipedia School Programs

Wikipedia School Program at Agrabad Government Colony High School
Wikipedia School Program at Agrabad Government Colony High School. Photo by Motiur Rahman Oni published under CC-BY-SA 3.0

As part of the legacy of the Bangla Wikipedia's expansive ten-year anniversary celebrations, the Bengali Wikimedia community and Wikimedia Bangladesh—a local chapter—has been hosting Wikipedia awareness programs in schools around the country.

Out of nine programs, three were held in Dhaka, four in Chittagong, one in Patgram Upazila, and one in Rajshahi. Local Wikipedians, school teachers, cultural clubs helped to organize the events, which were each attended by an average of seventy students from ninth to twelfth grade. The events received press coverage from around the country, including newspapers like Prothom Alo.

 

Edit-a-thon at Bangladesh National Museum

A day-long edit-a-thon was held in the Bangladesh National Museum
A day-long edit-a-thon was held in the Bangladesh National Museum. Photo by Sufe published under CC-BY-SA 3.0

A day-long edit-a-thon was held in the Bangladesh National Museum on December 24, 2016. The event was organized by Wikimedia Bangladesh and supported by the museum authority. 25 Wikipedians participated in the edit-a-thon, where they developed the articles on the liberation war of Bangladesh and issues of cultural significance. Wikipedians utilized the resources available in the museum, to improve the contents. The edit-a-thon produced 7 good articles related to the heroic freedom fighters of Bangladesh.

 

Wiki Loves Monuments Bangladesh

A day-long edit-a-thon was held in the Bangladesh National Museum
This image was awarded the 4th prize worldwide in Wiki Loves Monuments 2018. Photo by Abdul Momin published under CC-BY-SA 3.0

Bangladesh took part in the international Wiki loves monuments photography competition (the world’s largest photography contest) since 2016. In 2017, two photos from Bangladesh ranked 3rd and 7th position. In 2018, four photos ranked 4th, 5th, 11th, and 15th position. In 2019, a photo got 8th position in worldwide competition.

 

Wiki Loves Earth in Bangladesh

This image won the 3rd prize in the national contest of Bangladesh in Wiki Loves Earth 2018
This image won the 3rd prize in the national contest of Bangladesh in Wiki Loves Earth 2018. Photo by Abdul Momin published under CC-BY-SA 3.0

Bangladesh has taken part in the international Wiki Loves Earth (an annual international photographic competition around conservation areas of the participating countries) photography competition since 2017. Every year Bangladesh won prizes in world wide competition. From the 1st edition of this competition a photo got no 11th position from Bangladesh. In 2018, 3 photos got the prize of 3rd, 8th and 12th position. In 2019, a photo got 4th position internationally. In 2020, we had a blast. 1st, 3rd, 7th and 15th positions are achieved from Bangladesh.

 

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee (EC) consists of President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Six Members. The EC is elected by the general assembly for a two-year term. The following members are currently serving on the EC.

  1. Shabab Mustafa (President)
  2. Ankan Ghosh Dastider (Secretary)
  3. Masum al Hasan (Treasurer)
  4. Tanvir Rahman (Member)
  5. Mayeenul Islam (Member)
  6. Ali Haidar Khan (Member)
  7. Tanweer Morshed (Member)
  8. Moheen Reeyad (Member)
  9. Subrata Roy (Member)

Business Hours

We are open on everyday. We prefer to communicate via online.

Contact online

Our Office Location

Sheltech Niribili, 210/2 (1st Floor),
New Elephant Road, Katabon, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh

Location on map

 Home map WMBD