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Welsh Wikipedia reaches 100,000 articles

28.03.2018

The Welsh Wikipedia has reached the milestone of one hundred thousand articles. This tremendous number was reached through the efforts of thousands of contributors in the 15 years since it was established in 2003.

Wicipedia, the Welsh version of Wikipedia of the online encyclopedia, is the most widely used Welsh language website, with 752,294 pages being opened monthly on average. Anyone on the web can create and edit content, and contribute to making information on any number of subjects available through the medium of Welsh.

The milestone is reached in the same week as the first meeting of the Wikimedia Community User Group Wales, the first entity for Wales to be recognized by the Wikimedia Foundation.

The first meeting of the User Group was held at The National Library of Wales on 27 March, and follows the Library’s announcement last year that Jason Evans’s role as Wikipedian in Residence had been made permanent as National Wikimedian for Wales. The National Library and Wikimedia UK have worked closely since 2015, specifically through the co-funding of the successful Wikimedian in Residence scheme, and through the Welsh Government-sponsored Wici-Pop and Wici-Iechyd projects.

On 5-6 July the 2018 Celtic Knot Conference, which is a Wikipedia language conference, will also be held at the Library, and focuses on supporting Celtic languages, minority and indigenous languages.

The importance of Wikipedia to the Welsh language is acknowledged by the Welsh Government through its inclusion in the Work programme for the Cymraeg 2050 strategy and the Wici Môn and Wici Caerdydd initiatives are great examples of how Wicipedia can be a platform for educational and community activity in support of the Welsh language.

Robin Owain, Wales Manager Wikimedia UK, said:

"Reaching 100,000 articles is a huge milestone, being recognized as an official group within the Wicimedia family is also huge. Achieving this in the National Library - home of Wicipedia Cymru! - is very exciting and sets out our strong plans for the future. "

Linda Tomos, Chief Executive and National Librarian of The National Library of Wales added:

"Reaching the hundred thousand articles on the Welsh Wikipedia is a milestone that we can be proud of as a nation. In the interest of Wales and the Welsh language, it is imperative that the Welsh-language Wicipedia contains articles on the widest range of topics and, as an organization that protects and facilitates access to information, the National Library is delighted to work with the community to make it a comprehensive and reliable resource. "

Further Information

Elin-Hâf 01970 632471 or post@llgc.org.uk