Pics: Spoorthi Ullal/ Joshwa D'souza
Daijiworld Media Network-Mangaluru (JD)
Mangaluru, Feb 15: Eminent mathematician, KP Rao inaugurated the 13th anniversary of Kannada Wikipedia at St Aloysius College premises on Sunday February 14.
Principal, Fr Swebert D'silva opened the Kannada Wikipedia (kn.wikipedia.org) by pressing the remote key and marked the 13th anniversary.
In his presidential address, Fr Swebert said, “Wikipedia is a special website used for the accumulation of knowledge. It can be referred to as the knowledge bank due to the vast topics it covers. It is an appreciable fact that it has scope for various regional languages.”
“In the modern world, knowledge is money. If you are a knowledgeable person you have ample opportunities.”
“Since pre-independence, St Aloysius College has rendered its contribution for the growth of Kannada. Eminent scholars of the college Muliya Thimmappayya, Gopalkrishna Bhat, N D Shetty have worked a lot for Kannada. Kannada and St Aloysius College share a close bond,” he added.
KP Rao in his inaugural address said, “During the initial days of Kannada Wikipedia, few had the questions if there was any need for it. When we think about the cultural aspect of Kannada, there are certain things in Kannada which are best suited for Kannada script. Kannada Wikipedia is required for enriching the cultural diversity of Kannada. It is better to transform to Kannada rather than translating it.”
Speaking on the occasion, the director of Akashavani Vasanth Kumar Perla said, “Until now we used to store the knowledge in books. As they have a restricted lifespan digitizing them is a best option. In this context Kannada Wikipedia is very significant. Today if the cultural richness has to be conserved all the Kannadigas should contribute for Kannada Wikipedia.”
The program was organised by Wikipedia foundation, centre for internet and security, Kannada and BCA departments of St Aloysius College.
Executive director of Pilikula Nisargadhama Prabhakara Sharma, director of Pilikula regional science centre KV Rao, eminent tech columnist and convener of Kannada Wikipedia Pavanaja, HOD of BCA department Ravindra Swamy, HOD of BCA department Saraswathi were present.