Deoband Community Wikimedia (DCW), an Indian affiliate of Wikimedia, celebrated the tenth birthday of Wikidata this Sunday, which is a central repository project hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. It is a sister project of Wikipedia, the famous online free encyclopaedia. Wikidata went live on October 29, 2012, and its first successful decade is being celebrated worldwide.
DCW had planned a thematic contest for this day. In a statement to The Chenab Times, DCW founder Aaqib Anjum Aafi said, “Islamic scholarship is underrepresented on Wikidata as it is underrepresented on other platforms.” The contest aimed to bridge this gap, the statement mentioned.
“There are problems, but the major problem for us is to keep the volunteers active. Wikipedia and its sister projects are non-commercial, and telling people to contribute there is a difficult task. We do not receive any donations. We strive to get financial aid from the foundation, which we can use to address this problem. Even if this is addressed, there are issues such as that of FCRA,” the statement included, citing financial constraints.
The Chenab Times News Desk