Wikipedia Asian Month 2020

What is Wikipedia Asian Month?

Wikipedia Asian Month (WAM) is an annual Wikipedia contest focused on the promotion of Asian content on various language-specific Wikipedias. Each participating community runs a month-long online edit-a-thon every November on their language's Wikipedia to create new content or improve existing articles about Asian topics apart from their own country.

The first iteration of this competition began in 2015 and each year the number of articles has increased and the participants have diversified and expanded. Wikipedia Asian Month has achieved much over 5 years: over 37,500 high-quality articles have been added in more than 63 language-specific Wikipedias by more than 2,900 Wikipedia editors.

As part of the friendship and cultural exchange of the Wikipedia Asian Community, participants who create at least four articles will receive a special Wikipedia Asian Month Postcard from another participating community. Wikipedians who create the most articles on each Wikipedia will be honored as "Wikipedia Asian Ambassadors".

Get ready to be surprised! You never know which Wiki community will be sending you postcards!

Call to Action!

There are millions of subjects you can read about on Wikipedia, but Asian topics are largely underrepresented on the internet as well as on Wikipedia despite being the largest and most populous continent. Without being presented on the internet, Asia's rich culture and history are hard to be learned and known by the rest of the world. Meanwhile, most Asian languages Wikipedia projects and communities are relatively smaller compared to its large population base. There are 9 Wikipedia projects that have more than 5,000 active users, yet only 2 of them are Asian languages. Among 39 Wikimedia Chapters, only 7 of them are from Asia.

Wikipedia Asian Month wishes to narrow these gaps. Supporting is essential for these communities to take more approaches to grow. Wikipedia Asian Month devotes itself to this supporter position for demands of community development. For many Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects / communities, Wikipedia Asian Month is their only online event. By participating in the Asian Month, you are empowering the WAM team and make all these supporters possible and available to these communities.

Unlike some other Wikipedia events, Wikipedia Asian Month isn't paying most of its attention to outreach to new users, or highlight extraordinary active editor. Instead, we give most of our effort to praise the core forces of the Wikipedian communities, who has constantly contributed to Wikipedia for a long period of time by writing serval new articles every year, or by making a couple hundred edits once a while.

>>> Read more about the background and theme here

How to Participate in Contest?

Introduction

• Time: November 1st, UTC 00:00 to December 1st, UTC 05:00, 2020.
• Tools: The Fountain tool.
• Rules: Rules for the contest part are published here. Some subcontests might have their own rules, nominations, deadlines etc.
• Prize: Participants will receive Wikipedia Asian Month postcards when they create 4 articles that fulfill the rules.
• Userbox : {{User Asian Month|2020}}

As an Editor

• Find the language edition of Wikipedia you would like to edit, if they are participating.
• Choose articles about themes and topics related to Asia, but not from your native country, and start creating articles.
• Sign up any time through the month of November 2020, and have to submit your contributions through the Fountain tool .

As an Organizer

• When local Wikipedia communities participate in Wikipedia Asian Month, they need someone to be an organiser.
• Set up an event page and run the contest on a local level within your language community.
• Organize online and offline events, and keep track of participants' progress though the Fountain tool.
• If you have expertise or skills in public relations, then you can help us get media coverage.

>>> Read more about the rules here

Communities and Organizers

Wikipedia Asian Month's project is a one-month contest, and participation is not limited to Asian communities. At least 54 participating local communities will runs this online Edit-a-thon on November 2020, and some subcontests are held with our partner:

Don't find your home Wikipedia? Sign up below to be the local organizer! Create a WAM page and link it here: