Task force/Local language projects

The task force process is completed. Some task forces may be reconstituted to discuss incomplete issues. Please discuss on the Village Pump.

There are 79 languages worldwide that each have more than 10 million native language speakers. Those languages are spoken by a total of 4.7 billion people, of whom one billion are online. While there are robust Wikimedia projects in some of these languages, in many of these languages, particularly non-western ones, Wikimedia projects are small with a limited number of participants and users. There are some challenges that are shared by many smaller Wikipedias. Many of these issues are technical. In order for people to successfully develop and maintain a Wikipedia they need to be able to interact with the MediaWiki software in their own language. However, despite the immense efforts of the MediaWiki team there is still a ways to go to fully localize the MediaWiki software. Another problem faced by many smaller Wikipedias is the lack of tools and templates to facilitate editing. This is in large part due to a dearth of editors that have the necessary technical skills to develop tools and fix errors and bugs on the wiki. A final issue common to small Wikipedias with a limited number of editors and administrators is the difficulty of maintaining this site in protecting it from spam and vandalism. Additionally, in many regions there is a lack of understanding of the concept and possibilities of a wiki.

The goal of this task force is to develop 1-3 primary strategic opportunities for investment to that will support the growth of local language Wikimedia projects. This task force will focus solely on people who have internet access; it will not address offline usage. Recommendations are due January 12, 2010.

The task force should develop answers to the following questions:

1. Are there Wikimedia policy and procedures that inhibit the development of local language Wikipedias?
2. How can mature Wikipedias like English and German support the development of local language Wikipedias?
   • How can Wikipedians who do not speak local languages but have experience editing and building mature Wikipedias contribute to the development of local language Wikipedias(ex. developing templates, Wikipedia buddy system)?
   • What role should translation from mature language Wikipedias to local language Wikipedias play and what tools are needed to facilitate this role?
3. What lessons can be learned from the growth of the successful smaller language Wikipedias?
4. What strategies and tactics are successful in increasing awareness of Wikipedia projects in a specific geographic region and how can Wikimedia empower people to implement these strategies and tactics?
5. What tools and supports are necessary to further build out local languages?
6. Who is needed to support this strategy (e.g., Wikimedia Foundation, chapters, individual volunteers, external partners), and what do they need to do?

There's been some good discussion about this group's mandate in a variety of places, including the talk page. Here's a summary of the discussion. There's also a summary of the overall analysis.

This group is currently working on recommendations. One possible recommendation is on outreach.