Wikimedia Bangladesh: a chapter's five-year journey
- Dear All,
- It gives me great pleasure to announce that Wikimedia Bangladesh (WMBD) has successfully completed its local registration in Bangladesh. Our application for registration was approved by the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies & Firms - Bangladesh on 9th June, 2014 and I have collected the certificate of registration today (10th June, 2014).
- Wikimedia Bangladesh has been registered under the Societies Registration Act of Bangladesh & our official name is Wikimedia Bangladesh Foundation.
This announcement from Wikimedia Bangladesh's chapter treasurer, Ali Haidar Khan (also known as Tonmoy), was widely welcomed on the Wikimedia-l email list. The first inklings of the organization formed in 2009, but they only received official local registration from the civil authorities on 10 June 2014. The long road in-between was subject to much persistence, patience, and luck—along with a good deal of worry.
Ali, who is vice-chair of the Wikimedia Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC), a credit analyst by profession, and an MBA student, spoke to the Signpost from Bangladesh. This report is based on his interview with us, along with statements from Lane Rasberry (Bluerasberry), who has visited Bangladesh and is currently a Wikimedian-in-residence in New York.
Bluerasberry notes that Bengali is one of the world's most widely spoken languages, with more than 210 million native speakers. In addition to Bangladesh, it is spoken in India, several other Asian countries, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Bluerasberry says that the way that the Bangladeshi chapter managed its registration, without providing the standard bribes or tips to hasten the process, should be a matter of pride for the Bangladeshi chapter and the Bangladeshi government. He believes that by registering without paying tips, the chapter made an important social statement that members of the chapter will be talking about 20 years from now.