Wikipedia talk:WikiProject International development

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To-do list for Wikipedia:WikiProject International development: edit · history · watch · refresh

The "to do" list is for uncontroversial tasks. Anything uncertain or controversial should be discussed on the talk page first.

  • Articles:
  • Categories, linking and organization of articles:
  • Tasks related to the WikiProject itself:
    • Get this page sorted. See Wikipedia:WikiProject & Wikipedia:WikiProject/Best practices
    • Write up the scope on this page (near top); use it to explain this WikiProject at Wikipedia:List of WikiProjects
    • Promote the project - don't be pushy, just let people know. Some things to consider:
      • People who work (paid or volunteer) in the development field;
      • People who are into permaculture or sustainability are often into appropriate technology and concerned about international development, so tell them about this project.
      • Politically active people. Many people across the political landscape are concerned about these issues. And they often have email lists or newsletters that you can post a brief notice on.
      • Inside Wikipedia: Paste {{WikiProject International development}} on relevant talk pages. If a topic is only marginally related, then just put a note, telling people about it. (Use [[Wikipedia:WikiProject International development]] to link to the project page.

Contents

[edit] An accessible WikiProject, to create a widely accessible resource

I have started this WikiProject with a few aims in mind:

  • Make an entry point for people interested in development, including those not yet involved in Wikipedia.
  • Keep the barrier to entry low (like Wikipedia in general - anyone can edit it). The people who have the most to contribute may be busy people. So before getting into membership and details, the first section after the intro has some links (to the stub category and the to-do list) that let people get straight into the interesting stuff rather than reading a long project page and jumping through hoops.
  • The main motivation for me is to develop a comprehensive and accessible resource which people everywhere can use to improve their own lives. I'm sure there are many Wikipedians and others who share that motivation. Crucial to achieving this is that it can be translated into other languages. Wikipedia is a good platform for that, and it's something we'll look at as the pages are developed. I'd like to see some serious translating into major languages of the less developed world, starting in 2006. I think that's possible, and it's something to aim for.

A point about the layout of the project page: To avoid having an extremely long (and ever-changing) list of articles, the Articles section links to the category pages where the articles are found.

I want to emphasize that I don't have any feeling that I own this project or any article. This is for everyone - ultimately it's for the world, especially those without clean water & sanitation, with limited resources... and also for everyone concerned about the state of our planet and the need for sustainable development. --Singkong2005

[edit] Improvable articles

I came across a set of articles in Category:Development charities, created by the same user, that all need significant improvement. I added cleanup and wikify templates. However, the original author does not share my opinion. It would hence be good if one of us with the appropriate knowledge could improve the articles directly. I do not feel that I have the factual knowledge, though I could do some copy editing.

--Drdan 21:19, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

Well spotted. Some of these are likely to be unsuitable for Wikipedia (no original research); however if the original author provides suitable sources, we can work constructively to upgrade the articles. --Singkong2005 09:45, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
As some of these, at least, appear to be original research, I've suggested moving them to the new Development and Sustainability Wikia, and have already created a page for one, at Anuragam. --Singkong2005 06:06, 27 April 2006 (UTC). --Singkong2005 06:06, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] UNOmbud

Could someone take a look at UNOmbud? It is described as an international organization but there's only 50 hits for the term on Google and they all point back to Wikipedia. Does this organization actually exist? Perhaps it's a typo? Someone with more expertise than I, please check it out. Pimlottc 21:36, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

I have searched for some time now I can only find references to Wikipedia. I also used Swedish search-engines and Swedish telephone books. Nothing. I tried different spellings, but the name makes sense, ombudsman. It must be a very small organisation if it does indeed exist and will have nothing to do with the UN. Though a webpage does exist for what is supposed to be its host organisation, UNNET, it seems very dodgy. It isn't UN either and the webpage uses logos and material that it does not have the right to do. Smells like some kind of scam to me. But I am not 100% sure. I will contact some friends that will know. In the meantime I think it would be appropriate to put some kind of warning message on the articles. rxnd ( t | € | c ) 22:42, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
Having had a look at the users edits I am almost certain that this is somekind of donation scam. One article has already been deleted. rxnd ( t | € | c ) 22:51, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
Good work. I flagged it for deletion. --Singkong2005 04:21, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
I stumbled across these and stuck prod on the other articles. The same IP also created Kushindo, which seems to turn up some Google hits, so I'm not sure if that is a hoax or not. Pagrashtak 05:03, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

I came to here through the links of Kushindo, international organizations is something I don't know much about but a simple search in the Swedish Tax Authority reveals that Unombud exists and has Org Nr 848001-2619. It seems to be the legal arm of the United Network for Universal Aid (www.un-net.org) it is not a hoax and was wrongly deleted. Jennylen 18:18, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

Here by accident, but the article was deleted by speedy and could be recreated. I've looked at the deleted version and there would be no problem if sources were added from the first--it had none at the time. If anyone wants to work on it, since I'm an admin, I can copy it to your user talk page. DGG (talk) 20:59, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
See this thread which references "e-pol.org":
Also:
  • User:Durin/Departure
Note the use of open proxies documented in the noticeboard discussion.
Related domains:
--00:01, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Development and Sustainability Wikia

I have added a note on the WikiProject page about a new wiki for ideas, discussion, experience, personal (and thus unverified) reports of projects, original research... all the things that aren't allowed on Wikipedia. You may have even have done a relevant thesis, in which case you can post it there.

It's a complement, rather than a challenge to Wikipedia. It may be a challenge - a friendly challenge - to sites such as Worldchanging.com. I think the wiki format offers some advantages over forums and admin-operated sites, but we'll see how it works in practice.

It's called the Development and Sustainability Wikia. Started by me - and feedback is appreciated. I've also made a userbox: {{User DevSust Wikia}}.

All welcome. I see it as a lower priority than Wikipedia, but it does provide a useful place to put things that just don't fit on Wikipedia. --Singkong2005 15:38, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
The wiki project described above never took off; that's cool, as it was an experiment, and ultimately I want to see one strong wiki on the topic rather than several smaller ones.
Following discussions with LRG (aka Lonny) of Appropedia, my concerns about that site have been dealt with - he has been very willing to take new ideas on board. In particular, I'm no longer concerned that it will overlap significantly with Wikipedia. It should complement Wikipedia's development articles, with how-tos, collaboration pages and other non-encyclopedic stuff. So the above project has been merged into Appropedia, and I'm now contributing there, as well as to Wikipedia. --Singkong2005 talk 14:32, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh

Needs work - probably deserves more attention in the Arsenic poisoning article. See my post at Talk:Arsenic poisoning. --Singkong2005 16:40, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

I've created the Arsenic contamination of groundwater article since I made that comment, and it's looking better now - though there's still plenty of room for improvement. --Singkong2005 talk 14:35, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gender and development

There's a lack of info on gender issues within articles such as International development & Participation (decision making), and a lack of info on development in the gender article. I've done a little work, but am not confident enough to put it straight in the article. See my first attempt at Talk:Gender (under heading Gender and development). Input appreciated. --Singkong2005 16:45, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Poverty and Hunger

There are many Hungry poors in Indian subcontinent than African subcontinent and India is on top. Border of Pakistan and India (near Punjab, Rajasthan, Kutch) is waste land but Indus Sindhu river pass through this land. Land is plain in surface and can be converted in green belt. Reader of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia are requested to find out some solution to eradicate the poverty in Indian subcontinent. vkvora 04:25, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Global apartheid

This AfD will probably be of interest. --Ian Pitchford 14:46, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Human-powered devices

On the topic of appropriate technology, there seems to be a lack of articles/info related to human-powered and animal-powered technology. E.g. pedal generator, treadle pump. Hand pump is a stub. Anyone with knowledge of this or any good links, please comment. Thanks --Singkong2005 tc 06:35, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Human-powered water pumps

There are many, here are a couple:

  • Kick Start's "Money Maker"
  • PlayPump's "Roundabout PlayPump"

  • The roundabout PlayPump is aleady linked in appropriate technology. Kick Start is is also mentioned in that article as an organisation; their innovative pumps appear not to be. --David 07:38, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

    Thanks! I don't have time to do anything with it right now - hopefully someone else can. Or I'll get to it later in the year. --Singkong2005 talk 04:18, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

    [edit] Sustainable Developmen

    It seems that the theories of sustainable development are not well represented, which is a shame seeing as sustainable development has become pretty much the dominant set of views dictating development policy now. Their is no subcategory with that title and the article sustainable development is seriously underdeveloped (no pun intended). There are no pages on weak or strong sustainability theories, either. It would be good if other people who are educated on the topic could get involved in developing articles dealing with this topic and if I could get help expanding the sustainable development article itself to actually expound upon the debates within the field... --The Way 06:27, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

    All right, it seems that there is a separate article entitled sustainability which is essentially sustainable development. I'd strongly recommend that the two articles be merged. --The Way 06:33, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

    [edit] Project directory

    Hello. The WikiProject Council has recently updated the Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Directory. This new directory includes a variety of categories and subcategories which will, with luck, potentially draw new members to the projects who are interested in those specific subjects. Please review the directory and make any changes to the entries for your project that you see fit. There is also a directory of portals, at User:B2T2/Portal, listing all the existing portals. Feel free to add any of them to the portals or comments section of your entries in the directory. The three columns regarding assessment, peer review, and collaboration are included in the directory for both the use of the projects themselves and for that of others. Having such departments will allow a project to more quickly and easily identify its most important articles and its articles in greatest need of improvement. If you have not already done so, please consider whether your project would benefit from having departments which deal in these matters. It is my hope that all the changes to the directory can be finished by the first of next month. Please feel free to make any changes you see fit to the entries for your project before then. If you should have any questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you. B2T2 22:10, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

    [edit] Wikipedia Day Awards

    Hello, all. It was initially my hope to try to have this done as part of Esperanza's proposal for an appreciation week to end on Wikipedia Day, January 15. However, several people have once again proposed the entirety of Esperanza for deletion, so that might not work. It was the intention of the Appreciation Week proposal to set aside a given time when the various individuals who have made significant, valuable contributions to the encyclopedia would be recognized and honored. I believe that, with some effort, this could still be done. My proposal is to, with luck, try to organize the various WikiProjects and other entities of wikipedia to take part in a larger celebrartion of its contributors to take place in January, probably beginning January 15, 2007. I have created yet another new subpage for myself (a weakness of mine, I'm afraid) at User talk:Badbilltucker/Appreciation Week where I would greatly appreciate any indications from the members of this project as to whether and how they might be willing and/or able to assist in recognizing the contributions of our editors. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 23:21, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

    Note: Esperanza is no more - it is "officially inactive."
    The focus here is on actually creating content, and we're obviously having trouble even taking the time to contribute on this page, let alone an appreciate page. The effort to recognize people's contributions is admirable, but (speaking personally) I get the biggest kick out of knowing that I'm contributing to a resource that people around the globe are using. I met someone the other week (at an Engineers Without Borders event) who raved about the Appropriate technology article. Very cool.
    I confess I haven't been watching this page lately, being caught up at Appropedia (the development & sustainability wiki), but if things stay quiet here, then anyone with questions is welcome to contact me via my talk page. --Chriswaterguy talk 00:12, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] Where do I begin?

    Hey, I'm a new user just signed in and I feel interested in the topic there. Could somebody suggest some simple tasks for me to choose? I'm a social sciences scholar with fluent non-native English. I've looked through the list of projects and picked this one out of three or four that correspond with my interests. Not sure if this message is placed right. Best wishes, Futurano 00:11, 23 March 2007 (UTC) Looks like nobody is home. I'd better join more projects. Futurano

    It really depends what you want to do. Research? Expanding? Creating new articles? What topic area? What is your expertise?
    Please don't let my questions put you off - we would love to have your contributions! --Chriswaterguy talk 00:14, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

    Now it’s my turn to be sorry for delaying answer. I want to do all! In a reasonable order of course : ). Let me start with the basics – expanding and improving existing articles. As for topics, I’m more into social aspects, conflicts, economy and nature conservation, rather than technology. Re: expertise, I have a two-year college diploma in small business administration and a university degree in sociology. However, I abandoned academic research after my graduation and went into more practical social studies and PR. Unfortunately, both my education and work are poorely connected with my English. BTW, I already started working within Wikipedia:Wikiproject Urban studies and planning, but they seem to be freezing over. --Futurano 13:26, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] Overlapping content

    It should be pointed out that there is a lot of overlapping content between the articles on economic development, development economics and development theory. Granted these topics are all very closely related, but I feel that some better way of sorting their content should be devised and possibly a merge or two should be made... any opinions? --The Way 06:27, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] The Sustainable development Portal

    I recently started The Sustainable development Portal and offered it up for portal peer review to help make it a feature portal down the road. Please feel free to to help improve the portal and/or offer your input at the portal peer review. Thanks. RichardF 17:28, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

    The Sustainable development Portal now is a Featured portal candidate. Please feel free to leave comments. RichardF 02:50, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

    Sorry, haven't visited here for ages (have been caught up at Appropedia). Great portal! --Chriswaterguy talk 07:10, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] Anyone care to look at Green politics?

    The Green politics-related articles had a number of very dedicated editors years ago, but lately not much is happening there. I made some substantial changes to the Green politics article as well as to the other core topics in that area, Green movement and Green party. It's been almost two months and I've received no feedback, despite leaving messages on the talk pages of users I thought might be interested. If anyone wanted to take a look at those three articles and share some thoughts, I'd be very grateful. Fishal 22:47, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] Proposed deletion: The International Conference Series on the Foundations and Future of Democracy

    The International Conference Series on the Foundations and Future of Democracy (via WP:PROD on 2007-10-01) Deleted
    --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 12:25, 30 September 2007 (UTC)
    updated --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 18:39, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

    [edit] Proposed deletion: Eurointegration through Art

    Eurointegration through Art (via WP:PROD on 2007-12-28)

    --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 18:40, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

    [edit] TfD nomination of Template:Millennium Development Goals

    Template:Millennium Development Goals has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for Deletion page. Thank you.

    (Well, they suggest informing WikiProjects, but I can't find any. The underlying article is associated with this WIkiProject, so....) — Arthur Rubin | (talk) 18:24, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

    [edit] Underdevelopment

    Page has your stamp on it, but has been turned into an essay of sorts. Please take a look if you have a moment to do so. --AndrewHowse (talk) 14:45, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

    [edit] Akhtar Hameed Khan for WP:FAC

    The article has been put as Featured Article Candidate at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Akhtar Hameed Khan for opinions and comments. --IslesCapeTalk 19:48, 25 April 2008 (UTC)