Growing Together: The Evolution of the Assamese WikiSanjog Mentorship Program

It was a sunny, crisp autumn morning in Edmonton, a vibrant city in Western Canada. As late summer transitioned into fall, the rows of towering Horse Chestnut trees in front of my house were beginning to turn brilliant shades of gold and yellow. It was the time for the beautiful season of transformation. I glanced at the stunning display of colors in nature through the window and sipped my morning coffee while checking the Assamese Wikimedia Community WhatsApp group. Over the past few years, this group has evolved into a central platform for the community, where members connect to discuss and collaborate on various aspects of Assamese Wikimedia projects. Being on the other side of the globe from Assam, this group has also become an essential forum for me to stay connected and continue contributing as an active member.

That morning, I caught the tail end of a discussion in the group about the limited number of active editors on Assamese Wiki projects. Over the past few years, the Assamese Wikimedia community has expanded across various sister projects and initiatives. In addition to efforts to grow content across multiple Wiki platforms—such as Wikipedia, Wikisource, Wikiquote, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata—we have been publishing a monthly newsletter, WikiPatrika, and organizing regular monthly meetings to work collaboratively. We have also been trying to engage with the larger Assamese community through offline and online workshops. While these events and workshops have attracted new members, active contributors still remain few. Is it due to the “out of sight, out of mind” effect, or because new members often struggle with knowing how to contribute? Perhaps a bit of both!

The discussion on the Assamese Wikimedia Community WhatsApp group sparked an idea in me. We know that many Assamese people are still unaware of the ongoing efforts on Wikimedia to promote the Assamese language, and those interested might not know where or how to start. This highlights the need for adapting our approach to effectively guide new members and foster consistent, active participation. Rather than holding one-off workshops or events, perhaps we need a long-term strategy to help new members navigate through the various ongoing projects within our community.

This became especially clear when a few new editors, guided by experienced members, began contributing actively in the recent past. The personal encouragement and support from these mentors helped them navigate through different Wiki projects. This tailored approach could be the key to growing our community of active members—having a mentor as a go-to point of contact to answer questions and assist with challenges. Why not expand this model on a larger, more structured scale?

This vision culminated in the proposal for the initiative ‘WikiSanjog‘, the Assamese Wiki Mentorship Program. Through this initiative, experienced and active members of the Assamese Wikimedia Community will mentor and guide new members, helping them contribute to various Wiki projects depending on their interest and availability. This initiative aimed to empower both mentors and mentees, building a stronger, more collaborative community.

The Assamese Wikimedia community embraced the proposal with great enthusiasm. Several experienced Wiki editors volunteered to participate as mentors, and the number continued to grow over the next few weeks. I continued to lead as the project manager, with two active members—Dibya Dutta and Ishan Jyoti Bora—coming forward to help coordinate the initiative throughout its duration. We set the mentorship period from October 1 to December 31, 2024, to take stock of progress periodically and evaluate the program’s overall impact. In September, we focused on identifying potential mentees through social media and Wiki channels, inviting anyone interested in contributing to Assamese Wikimedia projects, regardless of experience. As the success of the program relied on strong mentor-mentee relationships, mentors were encouraged to engage with potential mentees to understand their interests, project preferences, time commitment, and support needs. This helped ensure that the mentor-mentee pairing is a good fit and that the mentee receives the most relevant and effective support.

The Program generated an overwhelming level of interest within the wider Assamese community. By the end of September, 2024, we had a total of 18 mentors and 58 new mentees on board, from various parts of Assam, India, and even beyond. We also had three mentors from North America, including myself, and mentees from Canada. A few mentors even signed up to be mentees for other mentors.

The WikiSanjog program officially launched with an inaugural meeting on September 29th, 2024. The enthusiasm of the new members in the meeting was palpable—the excitement of beginning something new, combined with the uncertainty of not knowing the technical aspects, but united by a shared desire to contribute to establish our mother tongue in the digital world. We felt deeply inspired hearing their stories.

The next three months were a breath of fresh air for the Assamese Wikimedia community, to say the least. Most mornings for me in Edmonton began with a flurry of texts, filled with various updates from mentors and mentees navigating through WikiSanjog. Each mentor had their own approach, depending on their expertise and availability. Some mentors held online classes and took a more hands-on approach, while others made themselves available for mentees to ask questions whenever they needed help. Some mentors even formed groups, such as ‘Loge Bhage Wiki’ (Wiki Together) and ‘Wiki adda‘ (Wiki Chat), to train their mentees in a group setting. We also created a mentorship-specific WhatsApp group and held regular online classes to share important information and support each other throughout the program.

During the three months of WikiSanjog, the Assamese Wikimedia Community hosted several online edit-a-thons, including the Asian Month 2024 Edit-a-Thon, Pukhali Bistar Mela (Stub Expansion Edit-a-Thon), and Wikisource Proofread-a-Thon. These events saw a significant rise in participation, driven by the new members. This boost in engagement was reflected in our monthly progress reports of WikiSanjog, with one mentee contributing over 1,000 edits in the first month, and many others making substantial contributions as well.

At the end of the WikiSanjog program, out of the total 58 mentees, six made over 1,000 edits, eight made over 100, 13 made over 10, and the remaining 11 contributed at least one edit across various Wiki projects. The total number of edits made by all mentees up to the last day of the program was a whooping 19,767. The top three mentees with the highest number of edits were Kumud Ghosh (4,976 edits; mentor: Pranamika Adhikary), Papori Borah (3,952 edits; mentor: Joli Rumi), and Naruna Baruah (2,783 edits; mentor: Rumi Borah). Additionally, Kumud Ghosh created 91 new articles, Naruna Baruah created 70, and Dipankar Das (mentor: Babul Baishya) contributed 46 new articles to Assamese Wikipedia. The top three mentees with the highest contributions on Wikisource were Himashree Borah (794 edits; mentor: Dibya Dutta), Sushmita Lekharu (646 edits; mentor: Rumi Borah), and Anjumani Saikia (370 edits; mentor: Joli Rumi).

After an exciting three months of working together, WikiSanjog was officially wrapped up at the First Assamese WikiSanjog Conference on January 5, 2025 held at the Indian Institute of Bank Management in Guwahati, Assam. This one-day collaborative event between the Assamese Wikimedia Community and CIS-A2K was organized by two active Wikimedians and mentors, Ishan Jyoti Bora and Nayan Jyoti Nath. The event provided an opportunity for the mentors and mentees to meet in person for the first time and celebrate their shared experience on the WikiSanjog program. The celebration was even more special as it coincided with the anniversary celebration for Assamese Wikisource and Assamese Wikiquote.

The First Assamese WikiSanjog Conference was a huge success, with mentors and mentees sharing their experiences from the program, along with hands-on activities focused on Assamese Wikimedia projects. The top mentees with significant contributions during the program were also recognized and awarded certificates. The icing on the cake was the first-ever ‘Assamese Wikimedian of the Year’ award, which was presented to Jyoti Chiring for her outstanding contributions to Assamese Wiki projects in 2024. She was once a mentee herself.

Over the past three months, WikiSanjog has connected many Assamese people who are passionate about our language and Wiki projects. Together, we’ve built a new team of dedicated contributors ready to work toward the preservation and promotion of our mother tongue. The dedication of the mentors who volunteered their time and effort to guide the mentees every step of the way, along with the passion and enthusiasm of the mentees, was truly inspiring. To ensure the momentum continues, we’ve launched “Wiki Mukoli Paath (Wiki Open Lesson),” an hour of mutual learning each month from January, 2025 onward. This initiative provides ongoing support and a space for newcomers to ask questions and seek guidance. 

Personally, this program has shown me how Wiki unites us across age, background, and geography, all driven by a shared vision for strengthening our language and roots. I was particularly inspired by moments like when my mentee, Papori Borah, joined an online session during a field trip in a remote area; when Kumud Ghosh dialed into a monthly meeting from the hospital to share his thoughts; and when Sushmita Lekharu and her mentor, Rumi Borah (who also happens to be my mother), continued their Wiki learning late into the nights—truly reflecting the dedication and spirit of our community.

As I reflect on the growth and evolution of the WikiSanjog program, I am filled with immense pride to be part of such a vibrant community and to call myself an Assamese Wikimedian. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank all the mentors and mentees whose dedication and hard work have led WikiSanjog to its success. As Edmonton transforms into a winter wonderland, blanketed in fresh, white snow, I feel deeply hopeful that the Assamese Wikimedia Community will remain evergreen—its members, both seasoned and new, continuously carving the path forward, united in our mission to preserve and promote our language and heritage.