OU Hosts Wiki Workshop

Hyderabad: Efforts to preserve and promote Telugu literature in the digital era took a major step forward as the departments of Telugu of Osmania University and Nizam College, in collaboration with the Bolicheto Foundation, conducted a two-day Wikisource workshop.

The workshop saw participation from students, faculty, and enthusiasts keen on contributing to Wikimedia projects. The primary objective was to familiarise attendees with Wikisource, a digital library platform that makes public domain books accessible in a structured format. The focus was on teaching participants how to digitise Telugu literary works, ensuring they are freely available for future generations.

After an inaugural session led by Prof. Sagi Kamalakar Sharma, head of OU’s Telugu department, including Neeti Saikiran, founder of Bolicheto Foundation; Rahmanuddin, founder of Bujjai Technologies; and Prof. C. Kasim, Principal of the Arts College and Wikisource editors and scholars, including Dr A. Vijayalakshmi, Dr S. Raghu, and Rameshwaram, stressed the importance of digitising Telugu literary heritage.

During the training sessions, students learned key aspects of Wikisource, including login procedures, using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tools, and verifying digitised pages for accuracy. The sessions were led by prominent Wikimedians, including Guntupalli Rameshwaram, Abhilash, Praveen, Saikiran, and Anjan.

On the second day, participants applied their skills by completing a group Wikisource project, followed by a presentation of their work. The closing ceremony featured a traditional Dhinisa folk dance, setting the stage for the final session. Dr S. Chandrayya from Nizam College presented a detailed report on the workshop’s outcomes. A book, ‘Wikipedia – Telugu Sahitya Vinayogam’ by author Abhilash, which was formally released by Prof. Surya Dhananjay, Vice Chancellor of Veeranari Chakali Ilamma Women’s University, was unveiled.