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  "path": "/2026/05/29/every-museum-has-a-story-shared-through-collaboration-on-bangla-wikipedia/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-29T09:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://diff.wikimedia.org",
  "tags": [
    "International Museum Day\nEdit-a-thon",
    "Wikimedia Bangladesh",
    "Chattogram Wikimedia\nCommunity",
    "95 new articles in seven\ndays",
    "21 countries across\nAsia",
    "95 new museum-related articles",
    "Nil Nandy",
    "Tarek Bablu",
    "Meghmollar2017",
    "Moheen Reeyad",
    "Manik\nDas",
    "Mahbubul Haque\nWakim",
    "Anaf Ibn\nShahibul",
    "215\nmuseum-related articles",
    "Expanding Museum Knowledge on Bangla\nWikipedia",
    "Celebrating International Museum Day 2024 on Bangla Wikipedia\nthrough Open Knowledge"
  ],
  "textContent": "Museums safeguard humanity’s collective memory. They preserve artefacts, traditions, histories, and stories that connect people with their cultural roots. Yet many museums across Asia remain underrepresented online, particularly in languages spoken by local communities. For millions of Bangla speakers, information about these institutions is often scattered, incomplete, or entirely unavailable.\n\nThis gap is precisely what the International Museum Day\nEdit-a-thon seeks to address. From **18 to 24 May 2026** , volunteers from across the Bangla Wikipedia community came together to expand museum-related content on Bangla Wikipedia. Organised by Wikimedia Bangladesh with support from the Chattogram Wikimedia\nCommunity, the initiative focused on improving access to knowledge about museums and cultural institutions throughout Asia.\n\nMore than an editing campaign, the event represented a collective effort to make cultural knowledge more visible in Bangla. Contributors spent the week researching reliable sources, translating information, verifying facts, and transforming fragmented information into encyclopedic articles that can be freely accessed by readers everywhere.\n\n## Continuing a Growing Tradition\n\nSince its introduction in 2024, the International Museum Day Edit-a-thon has become an annual community initiative dedicated to enriching museum-related content on Bangla Wikipedia. Each edition has demonstrated how volunteer collaboration can help address content gaps and increase the availability of cultural knowledge in Bangla.\n\nThe 2026 edition attracted contributors from across the Bangla Wikipedia community, including both experienced Wikipedians and newcomers. Their collective efforts reflected a shared commitment to documenting museums, archives, and cultural institutions from across Asia.\n\nProducing **95 new articles in seven\ndays** may be impressive by any measure, but the achievement is particularly notable because it emerged from a traditional community edit-a-thon. At a time when contest-based contribution models have become increasingly common across Wikimedia projects, this campaign demonstrated that collaboration, shared purpose, and volunteer commitment remain powerful drivers of content growth on Bangla Wikipedia.\n\n## Expanding Knowledge Beyond Borders\n\nOne of the strengths of Wikipedia is its ability to connect readers with places and histories far beyond their immediate surroundings. During the edit-a-thon, contributors documented museums from **21 countries across\nAsia** , ranging from major national institutions to lesser-known regional museums.\n\nThe resulting collection of articles broadened Bangla Wikipedia’s geographic and cultural coverage. Museums from India, Israel, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Cyprus, Iran, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and many other countries became part of the encyclopedia’s growing body of knowledge. Together, these articles help readers discover diverse histories, artistic traditions, archaeological collections, and cultural narratives that might otherwise remain inaccessible in Bangla.\n\nBy documenting museums from across the region, contributors not only expanded Wikipedia’s content but also strengthened the representation of Asian cultural heritage within one of the world’s largest free knowledge platforms.\n\nOver the course of seven days, volunteers made a substantial contribution to Bangla Wikipedia’s coverage of museums and cultural heritage:\n\n  * **26 participants** joined the edit-a-thon.\n  * 95 new museum-related articles were created on Bangla Wikipedia.\n  * **50,037 words** of encyclopedic content were added.\n  * Museums from **21 countries across Asia** were documented.\n\n\n\n## A Community Effort to Enrich the Encyclopedia\n\nBehind every article was a volunteer contributor willing to invest time and effort in making knowledge freely available. Experienced Wikipedians and newer editors worked alongside one another, sharing references, exchanging research materials, and supporting article development throughout the campaign.\n\nThis collaborative approach reflects one of the defining strengths of the Wikimedia movement: knowledge grows through collective effort. Individual contributions become part of a larger shared resource that benefits readers, students, researchers, educators, and cultural enthusiasts alike.\n\nAmong the most active contributors, **Nil Nandy** created **16 articles** and added **12,904 words**. **Tarek Bablu** followed with **9 articles** and **6,444 words** , while Meghmollar2017 contributed **7 articles** and **2,750 words**. Their work, together with the efforts of all participants, helped significantly expand museum-related content on Bangla Wikipedia.\n\nWhile these figures demonstrate the scale of participation, their lasting value lies in the knowledge they have made available. Every new article fills a content gap and creates opportunities for future readers to learn about museums, collections, and cultural institutions that were previously absent from the encyclopedia.\n\n## Recognizing Volunteer Contributions\n\nVolunteer participation remains the driving force behind Wikimedia projects. To recognise the dedication and efforts of contributors, all participants received a **Wikipedia Barnstar** and a **certificate of appreciation** as tokens of recognition for their valuable contributions to the Wikimedia movement.\n\nSuch recognition not only celebrates individual achievements but also encourages continued engagement in collaborative knowledge-building activities. The organisers would also like to express their sincere appreciation to **Moheen Reeyad** , Manik\nDas, **Mahbubul Haque\nWakim** , and **Anaf Ibn\nShahibul** for reviewing submissions and helping maintain the quality and reliability of the articles created during the campaign.\n\n## Building a Lasting Legacy\n\nThe impact of the International Museum Day Edit-a-thon extends beyond a single year. Since the first edition in 2024, contributors have collectively created ****215\nmuseum-related articles**** , building one of the most substantial collections of museum-related content on Bangla Wikipedia. Together, these contributions document cultural institutions from across Asia and help ensure that knowledge about them is available in Bangla for future generations.\n\nMore importantly, this growing collection strengthens the diversity of knowledge available in the Bangla language. It enables readers to explore museums, cultural histories, and heritage institutions from different countries through content written and maintained by the community itself. In doing so, the initiative contributes not only to the growth of Bangla Wikipedia but also to the broader goal of making knowledge more inclusive, representative, and accessible.\n\nWikimedia Bangladesh extends its gratitude to every participant, reviewer, organiser, and supporter who contributed to this year’s campaign. Their collective efforts continue to enrich Bangla Wikipedia and strengthen the diversity of knowledge available through the Wikimedia movement.\n\nEvery museum has a story. Through the dedication of volunteers, more of those stories now have a place on Bangla Wikipedia—where they can be discovered, explored, and shared freely with readers for years to come.\n\n* * *\n\nRead more: **_\nExpanding Museum Knowledge on Bangla\nWikipedia_**\nRead more: **_\nCelebrating International Museum Day 2024 on Bangla Wikipedia\nthrough Open Knowledge_**",
  "title": "Every Museum Has a Story: Shared Through Collaboration on Bangla\nWikipedia"
}