Dear Wikimedia Community,
The Community Affairs Committee (CAC) [1] of the Wikimedia Foundation Board
of Trustees assigned the Sister Projects Task Force (SPTF)[2] to update and
implement a procedure for assessing the lifecycle of Sister Projects — wiki
projects supported by Wikimedia Foundation (WMF)[3].
A vision of relevant, accessible, and impactful free knowledge has always
guided the Wikimedia Movement. As the ecosystem of Wikimedia projects
continues to evolve, it is crucial that we periodically review existing
projects to ensure they still align with our goals and community capacity.
Despite their noble intent, some projects may no longer effectively serve
their original purpose. Reviewing such projects is not about giving up—it’s
about responsible stewardship of shared resources. Volunteer time, staff
support, infrastructure, and community attention are finite, and the
non-technical costs tend to grow significantly as our ecosystem has entered
a different age of the internet than the one we were founded in. Supporting
inactive projects or projects that didn’t meet our ambitions can
unintentionally divert these resources from areas with more potential
impact.
Moreover, maintaining projects that no longer reflect the quality and
reliability of the Wikimedia name stands for, involves a reputational risk.
An abandoned or less reliable project affects trust in the Wikimedia
movement.
Lastly, failing to sunset or reimagine projects that are no longer working
can make it much harder to start new ones. When the community feels bound
to every past decision—no matter how outdated—we risk stagnation. A healthy
ecosystem must allow for evolution, adaptation, and, when necessary,
letting go. If we create the expectation that every project must exist
indefinitely, we limit our ability to experiment and innovate.
Because of this, SPTF reviewed two requests concerning the lifecycle of the
Sister Projects to work through and demonstrate the review process. We
chose Wikispore as a case study for a possible new Sister Project opening
and Wikinews as a case study for a review of an existing project.
Preliminary findings were discussed with the CAC, and a community
consultation on both proposals was recommended.
== Wikispore ==
The application to consider Wikispore as a new Sister Project was submitted
in 2019 [4]. SPTF decided to review this request in more depth because,
rather than being concentrated on a specific topic, as most of the
proposals for the new Sister Projects are, Wikispore has the potential to
nurture multiple start-up Sister Projects.
After careful consideration [5], the SPTF has decided not to recommend
Wikispore as a Wikimedia Sister Project. Considering the current activity
level, the current arrangement allows better flexibility and
experimentation while WMF provides core infrastructural support.
We acknowledge the initiative's potential and seek community input on what
would constitute a sufficient level of activity and engagement to
reconsider its status in the future.
As part of the process, we shared the decision with the Wikispore community
and invited one of its leaders, Pharos, to an SPTF meeting.
Currently, we especially invite feedback on measurable criteria indicating
the project's readiness, such as contributor numbers, content volume, and
sustained community support. This would clarify the criteria sufficient for
opening a new Sister Project, including possible future Wikispore
re-application. However, the numbers will always be a guide because any
number can be gamed.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikispore
== Wikinews ==
We chose to review Wikinews among existing Sister Projects because it is
the one for which we have observed the highest level of concern in multiple
ways.
Since the SPTF was convened in 2023, its members have asked for the
community's opinions during conferences and community calls about Sister
Projects that did not fulfil their promise in the Wikimedia movement [7, 8,
9]. Wikinews was the leading candidate for an evaluation because people
from multiple language communities proposed it. Additionally, by most
measures, it is the least active Sister Project, with the greatest drop in
activity over the years.
While the Language Committee routinely opens and closes language versions
of the Sister Projects in small languages, there has never been a valid
proposal to close Wikipedia in major languages or any project in English.
This is not true for Wikinews, where there was a proposal to close English
Wikinews, which gained some traction but did not result in any action [6;
see also Section 5 from 9], as well as a draft proposal to close all
languages of Wikinews (see on the relevant meta discussion page).
Initial metrics compiled by WMF staff also support the community's concerns
about Wikinews (see on the relevant meta discussion page).
Based on this report, SPTF recommends a community reevaluation of Wikinews.
We conclude that its current structure and activity levels are the lowest
among the existing sister projects. SPTF also recommends pausing the
opening of new language editions while the consultation runs.
SPTF brings this analysis to a discussion and welcomes discussions of
alternative outcomes, including potential restructuring efforts or
integration with other Wikimedia initiatives.
Options mentioned so far (which might be applied to just low-activity
languages or all languages) include but are not limited to:
*Restructure how Wikinews works and is linked to other current events
efforts on the projects,
*Merge content of Wikinews into the relevant language Wikipedias, possibly
in a new namespace,
*Merge content into compartibly licensed external projects,
*Archive Wikinews projects.
Your insights and perspectives are invaluable in shaping the future of
these projects. We encourage all interested community members to share
their thoughts on the relevant discussion pages or through other designated
feedback channels.
Public consultation about Wikinews - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikinews>
== Feedback and next steps ==
We’d be grateful if you want to take part in a conversation on the future
of these projects and the review process. We are setting up two different
project pages:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikispore and Public
consultation about Wikinews - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Public_consultation_about_Wikinews>.
Please participate between 27/06/25 and 27/07/25, after which we will
summarize the discussion to move forward. You can write in your own
language.
I will also host a community conversation 16th July Wednesday 11.00 UTC and
17th July Thursday 17.00 UTC (I'll send the call links later) and will be
around at Wikimania for more discussions - unfortunately, SPTF application
for a workshop was rejected, but I'll try to set a meetup.
Kind regards,
Victoria
—
1) Wikimedia Foundation Community Affairs Committee - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
2) Wikimedia Foundation Community Affairs Committee/Sister Projects Task
Force - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
3) Wikimedia projects - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_projects>4) Wikispore - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikispore>
5) WikiSpore - Google Docs
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1foUeLwY6Y7SSXchrbt9F4or6x-gP5Phcgwag87m…>
6) Proposals for closing projects/Closure of English Wikinews - Meta
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_closing_projects/Closure_of_E…>
7)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WCNA_2024._Sister_Projects_-_openin…
8)
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…
9)
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConvention_francophone/2024/Programme/Q…
10)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yxf7dZOZDG5ZblADi3872UvnLQXd1fX63pGS354…
--
Kind regards, Victoria
Victoria Doronina
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/profile/dr-victoria-doronina/> (she/her)
Trustee
Sister Projects Taskforce Lead
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
"Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. Please help us make it a reality."
This message will be translated into other languages on Meta-wiki
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
العربية • español • français • português • Deutsch• 中文
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
You can help with more languages
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
Hi everyone,
Since joining the Foundation I have tried to regularly write to you
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
here and elsewhere, and I wanted to share a few updates since my last
letter. In October 2023
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…>,
I reflected that we were in a period of compounded challenges across the
world with escalating wars, conflict, and climate reminding us each week
that global volatility and uncertainty was on the rise. That feels even
more true now. My instinct then was to ask us to make more time to talk to
each other and to try and pull closer together. This feels even more needed
now.
I noted that the return of in-person gatherings has been essential for a
subset of our volunteers, providing spaces for reconnecting, recharging and
working through difficult issues together in the same room. Foundation
leadership has also been working harder to share organizational news and
have individualized conversations on-wiki and in other digital forums. Our
goal has been to put more effort and intentionality into communicating the
right information, at the right time, and in the right way, even knowing
that we can never meet everyone's expectations.
Most importantly, we had to keep talking to each other – formally and
informally – throughout the year. This was the basis of an open invitation
to Talking: 2024
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…>,
an effort designed to listen intently to what is on your minds now, to
share progress at the Foundation, and to also reflect on the needs for
multi-year strategic plans. (A reminder that our priorities for long-range
planning
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…...>,
informed by movement strategy, are Wikimedia’s financial model,
product/technology needs, and roles/responsibilities.)
So far, Wikimedia Foundation Trustees, executives, and staff have hosted
130 conversations
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
on-wiki, with individuals, and in small groups. These conversations have
stretched across all regions of the world. We have learned from
prolific community
members to recent newcomers, from technical volunteers to stewards, event
organizers, and affiliate leaders. Since these discussions were intended to
improve deliberations at the Board’s strategic planning retreat next week,
here is a summary of some of the feedback I've heard so far!
Continue focusing the Foundation on supporting product/technology needs. As
early as my first letter to you in January 2022,
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chi…>
I understood that the central role of the Wikimedia Foundation is in
enabling our projects, which is core to every aspect of our movement's
mission. This was reinforced in most of the Talking:2024 conversations that
we hosted over the last five months – from the need for the Foundation to
remain focused on upgrading technical infrastructure to supporting
volunteer needs for tool maintenance and metrics. Our annual planning
continues to center the Foundation’s product and technology priorities. More
deliberate conversations are taking place at the Foundation about what a
multi-generational view of Wikimedia projects requires of us all. For me,
this remains perhaps the most critical topic for our strategic efforts as
we make tangible and practical a mission
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Mission> that calls for
our work to continue in perpetuity.
Recent discussions on this mailing list remind me that we can’t get to
everything fast enough, but we continue to move more in the right
direction. Chief Product & Technology Officer Selena Deckelmann recently
shared
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/02/20/thinking-about-annual-planning-in-the…>
that: “In the last couple of months, we shipped changes that enabled a
better backbone for PageTriage
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:PageTriage>, and worked closely
with volunteer developers to ensure future sustainability. Going forward,
we have a number of initiatives ranging from projects like Edit Check
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Edit_check>, Discussion Tools
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DiscussionTools>, Dark mode
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/11/24/dark-mode-is-coming/>, Patrolling on
Android <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps/Team/Android>, Watchlist
on iOS <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps/Team/iOS>,
Automoderator <https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Moderator_Tools/Automoderator>,
Community Configuration
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Growth/Community_configuration>, the Wikimedia
Commons Upload Wizard
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Upload_Wizard>, and others.
We've resolved over 600 volunteer-reported issues in Phabricator in the
last 6 months, and we're using research methods that solicit prototypes
directly from volunteers
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Reading/Web/Accessibility_for_reading/Commun…>
for informing typography decision making. And we're learning not just the
basics of font size and spacing, we're also getting important information
about context, devices and cultural aspects of the use of Wikipedia which
are vital for helping make our software easier to use as how people use and
access it changes (and it has changed a lot over 20 years!).” She has
also already
published draft objectives for the product and tech teams, and your input
and on-wiki comments are always welcome
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Ann…>
.
‘Human-led, tech-enabled’ means that the humans still lead. While tech
featured prominently in most of these conversations, there remains no doubt
that Wikimedia is a human-led movement (“It’s all about people.”). This led
to exploring even more solutions that can address a familiar dilemma about
how to balance the needs of existing editors with initiatives to welcome
newcomers (“It’s always the war between ‘we need to protect the existing
content’ and ‘do we care about new users with a tolerance for errors.’”).
While some shared wonderful stories of their own journeys (“I wanna say
that the Newcomer tools have been a really great project and very glad to
see that energy was expensed there”), there was vocal urgency about the
sustainability of the projects for generations to come (“We are sending
away people who could be helpful to the projects”). In this regard, several
discussions highlighted the value of the Universal Code of Conduct
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct>
as a “game changer” in signaling to all communities that they are actively
invited and welcomed to safely contribute to the mission of free knowledge,
while still acknowledging there is more to do (“It’s probably a good thing,
but I don’t know if it will solve what I have faced.”). I learned in my
initial listening tour that we have to make all contributions count
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Chief_Executive_Office…>,
and all contributors feel welcomed. I found that the Talking:2024
conversations deepened my own understanding of the peer support and
mentorship needed for volunteers to thrive as active community members.
(One example are these reflections
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Clovermoss/Editor_reflections> where
140 other editors participated).
Finally, our human-led values came up in several conversations about
Wikimedia’s role in shaping the next generation of artificial intelligence,
a topic of ongoing discussion in the world
<https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/magazine/wikipedia-ai-chatgpt.html?unloc…>,
in our communities <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Future_Audiences>,
and at the Foundation. This is complemented by ongoing discussions about
the role of AI-generated content on our platform by various project
communities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Large_language_model_policy)>
A recent effort to contribute to a shared research agenda on AI
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Artificial_intelligence/…>can
be found here – including the need for more research to understand human
motivation to contribute to the knowledge commons – it was created by a
small group working in the open who rushed to publish a ‘bad first draft’
that will benefit from more input.
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Talk:Artificial_intellig…>
Can our financial model provide more certainty, and also force difficult
trade-offs? In my last letter,
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…>
I shared that future projections indicate that, for a range of reasons,
fundraising online and through banners may not continue to grow at the same
rate as in past years. We have several long-term initiatives underway to
help mitigate this risk and also diversify our revenue streams, including
the Wikimedia Endowment
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Endowment>
and Wikimedia Enterprise
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Enterprise>.
Over the past two years, we have slowed the rate of growth
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Ann…>
for the Foundation itself, while increasing financial resources
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Ann…>
that support other movement entities. The Talking:2024 conversations
provided a space for movement entities to share a need for multi-year
financial certainty in their support from the Foundation, which we will
take into our planning for next year. Other conversations highlighted the
need to continue prioritizing limited resources and being more explicit
about trade-offs (“[We must] use the money we have as wisely as we can”).
These discussions have already improved the thinking for the Foundation’s
current and upcoming planning cycles.
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/01/31/progress-on-the-plan-how-the-wikimedi…>
Movement roles need more clarity. The task of defining a Movement Charter
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Movement_Charter> came
up in several conversations with contributors of all kinds. These ranged
from reflections about movement strategy recommendations and principles
(“Will it always be first come, first served in this movement?”) to
questions about the purpose of different structures (“What decisions do we
need the global council to make? Why are decisions moving from one center
to another?” “We are taking a hammer to solve this issue when they are
simple screws.”). Unsurprisingly, there were varying perspectives (“The
editing community in many regions doesn’t see an immediate benefit in
affiliates, hubs, or other governance structures.” “The community still
feels unheard by the Foundation.” “The good work that affiliates do in
certain regions is commendable, especially where those affiliates are
deeply engaged with the community.”)
And a deep recognition of the complex task at hand (“The community is so
huge and it’s hard to tie everyone together.” “How do we make change in the
movement in a way that is understandable and doesn’t scare people.” “There
has to be control and risk management with empowering the community,
inviting everyone, and trying to grow while protecting what we have
meticulously built over the past 23 years.”).
Considering the investment of time and resources going into the charter, we
need to make sure that this effort will provide us all with clearer
strategic direction on what is needed to serve the future needs of our
movement, and meet the expectations of a rapidly changing world around us.
The Wikimedia Foundation recently shared these questions
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Movement_Charter#Wikimedia_Foundation_…>
with the Movement Charter Drafting Committee to identify areas of key focus
and concern. We will continue to review and comment on new drafts as they
are produced in the weeks and months ahead. The Board of Trustees will
dedicate time at its next Open Conversation with Trustees on March 21
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Comm…>
to talk more about this process and the Foundation’s hopes for a Movement
Charter.
+++
Talking: 2024 kicked off a useful check-in to hear how we are collectively
doing, and it continues. Your voice and contributions would help add to the
feedback we have already received—whether that is on-wiki, in 1:1
conversations, in small groups, in person. What we learn will continue to
inform the Foundation's long-term planning. Please consider joining a
conversation
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Wikimedia_Foundation_Com…'s_talk>
.
For me, each conversation has been a reminder that what drives this
movement is the people. We remain at a pivotal moment, where the world
needs Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects more than ever. As one of you
shared, “I feel like there is a way because we have made a way, an
experience of community that connects people across the world.”
As always, I welcome your feedback either on my talk page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/User_talk:MIskander-WMF>
or emailing me directly at miskander(a)wikimedia.org.
Maryana
Maryana Iskander, Wikimedia Foundation CEO
Dear fellow Wikimedians,
On behalf of the WikiClassics User Group, we are thrilled to share with you our 2024-2025 annual activity report.The report provides a comprehensive overview of the activities undertaken by the members of the User Group from August 2024 to August 2025. Internal page on Meta (metrics and content collection): https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiClassics_User_Group/Reports/2024Official foprm submitted to WMF: Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy/Implementation/Affiliate health criteria/Reports/2024/WikiClassics User Group - Meta-Wiki
Thank you.and have a wonderful day!
Alessandro MarchettiThomas KerboulCamillo Pellizzari
Dear Wikimedia Nigeria Community,
On behalf of the leadership of the Wikimedia User Group Nigeria, I am
pleased to introduce our Strategic Plan for 2026–2029. This document
represents the collective vision, priorities, and direction that will guide
our work over the next four years.
Since its inception, Wikimedia UG Nigeria has evolved into a vibrant
community of volunteers dedicated to advancing free knowledge, promoting
inclusivity, and ensuring that Nigeria’s voices, languages, and heritage
are well-represented across Wikimedia projects. Building on this
foundation, the new strategic plan was carefully developed through
community engagement, reflection, and alignment with the broader Wikimedia
Movement Strategy 2030.
What the plan represents:
1. A roadmap for expanding participation and strengthening our
community.
2. A commitment to support Nigerian languages and underrepresented
knowledge.
3. A framework to deepen partnerships with cultural, educational, and
governance institutions.
4. A vision for sustainability and impact through innovation,
inclusion, and collaboration.
We also extend our deep appreciation to all contributors who supported the
development and documentation of this plan. Your insights, time, and
dedication were invaluable in shaping a roadmap that reflects our
collective aspirations.
This plan belongs to all of us. Its success depends on our shared
commitment and collective action. We encourage every community member to
read the document, reflect on its priorities, and think about ways you can
contribute to its implementation. Together, we will continue to make
Wikimedia Nigeria a leading example of knowledge equity and free knowledge
advocacy.
We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to working with you
to bring this vision to life.
You can access the document here:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_User_Group_Nigeria-_Strat…
With appreciation,
For Wikimedia UG Nigeria
Olaniyan Olushola
President Wikimedia UG Nigeria
Dear all,
We are delighted to invite you to the upcoming She Leads Circle<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nitesh_(OKI)/IIITH-OKI/She_Leads/She_L…>, a global call bringing together women leaders, emerging leaders, and allies from across Wikimedia and the wider open knowledge movement.
Date: Friday, 29 August 2025
Time: 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM IST | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM UTC
Organized by: Open Knowledge Initiative team at IIIT-H (International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad)
This month’s call will feature inspiring talks by:
• Netha Hussain – Medical doctor, Wikimedia volunteer, and advocate for diversity in knowledge creation.
• Anwesha Chakraborty – Researcher and community leader in the open knowledge space, working towards inclusive representation.
About She Leads Circle:
The She Leads Circle is part of the She Leads<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nitesh_(OKI)/IIITH-OKI/She_Leads> initiative<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nitesh_(OKI)/IIITH-OKI/She_Leads>, designed to provide a safe and collaborative space for women leaders, emerging leaders, and allies to:
• Share leadership experiences and strategies.
• Build cross-border connections for stronger representation in open movements.
• To promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Highlight and learn from women changemakers across communities.
Who can join?
This is an open call, anyone interested in equity, leadership, and inclusive collaboration is welcome to participate, regardless of gender or prior experience.
Join the Call:
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/93647026519?pwd=MvrhXCa9bBNFaAfbrVKXOamTumAFp9.1
<https://zoom.us/j/93647026519?pwd=MvrhXCa9bBNFaAfbrVKXOamTumAFp9.1>Meeting ID: 936 4702 6519
Passcode: 575728
Let’s come together to share, learn, and strengthen our collective voice in the open knowledge ecosystem.
Regards,
Nitesh Gill
Program Officer, Open Knowledge Initiative
International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad
Hello everyone,
I'm excited to invite you to the 32nd edition of the DCW Conversation Hour,
featuring Abbad Diraneyya, a long-time Wikimedian, writer, and advocate for
open knowledge. Active in the Wikimedia movement since 2009. He has
authored *The Story of Wikipedia in Arabic*, a Creative Commons–licensed
work that documents the growth of Arabic free knowledge online and is
currently building expertise as a Conversational AI Designer.
In this session, we will explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping
knowledge production and consumption, the risks of AI hallucinations, and
the urgent need for robust fact-checking. Drawing on his experiences across
Wikimedia, authorship, knowledge strategy, and AI design, Abbad will guide
us through critical questions on how communities can safeguard knowledge
integrity in the age of AI.
The Conversation Hour is scheduled for Sunday, 31 August 2025, at 13:30 UTC
(7:00 p.m. IST).
We have integrated registration directly into the event page; the link is
provided below:
https://dcwwiki.org/dc-o8
We look forward to your participation. Please bring along your questions!
Kind regards,
Ariba
Deoband Community Wikimedia
Greetings Dear Wikimedians,
This time, We will be shining the light on ISA Tool. This is one tool many
of us know well 😊 it was the focus of our first-ever hackathon, some of us
worked on it again during our Hackathon in March, and most recently, it
traveled with us to Wikimania, where new contributors made big improvements
to it.
For those not familiar with it, it is a tool that helps add structured data
to images on Wikimedia Commons.
Date: Saturday, 30th August 2025
Time: 16:00 UTC (5pm Nigeria tme)
Registration / Even page:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:WMA_Tool_Series_-_ISA_Spotlight_Sessi…
Don't miss this session.
Kind Regards,
Kingsley Nkem
FOR: IGBO WIKIMEDIANS USER GROUP
Hello everyone!
We're excited to announce that the next Language Community Meeting is
happening soon - on August 29th at 15:00 UTC! If you’d like to join,
simply sign
up on the wiki page
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_and_Product_Localization/…>
.
This is a participant-driven meeting where we share updates on
language-related projects, discuss technical challenges in language wikis,
and collaborate on solutions. For example, in our upcoming meeting, we plan
to hear from the Avro keyboard developers from Wikimedia Bangladesh, who
were recently awarded a national award for their contributions to this
keyboard.
Got a topic to share? Whether it’s a technical update from your project, a
challenge you need help with, or a request for interpretation support, we’d
love to hear from you! Feel free to reply to this message or add agenda
items to the document here
<https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/language-community-meeting-aug-2025>.
Also, we’d like to highlight that the 8th edition of the Language &
Internationalization Newsletter (July 2025)
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_and_Product_Localization/…>
is
now available. This newsletter provides updates from the April-June 2025
quarter on new feature development, improvements in various
language-related technical projects and support efforts, details about
community meetings, and ideas for contributing to projects. To stay
updated, you can subscribe to the newsletter
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_and_Product_Localization/…>
on
its wiki page.
Are you interested in contributing to the technical work around language
development? There are a few newcomer-friendly technical tasks waiting for
your contribution: T399682 <https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T399682>.
Cheers,
Srishti
*Srishti Sethi*
Senior Developer Advocate
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Hello everyone!
January 15, 2026 will mark Wikipedia’s 25th birthday. It is an
extraordinary milestone that communities plan to celebrate all year.
To support these festivities, the Wikimedia Foundation's Communications
department is adding several resources to the Wikipedia 25 Meta-Wiki hub.
[1]
These resources include a visual system to mark this milestone. It is
inspired by the humble jigsaw puzzle piece, which has starred in the
Wikipedia puzzle globe since 2003 and was the central motif of the
Wikipedia 10 celebrations in 2011. [2][3] It has been used in thousands of
Wikimedia applications since. We’re really excited to bring it back for the
25th birthday.
The visual system resources are ready for your use and adaptation. For
Wikipedia 20, we created around 30 icons and were delighted to see
volunteers make more than 100 more. This year, we are starting with 24
symbols. Step-by-step guidelines and a web tool are coming in the next few
weeks to empower people to make their own icons. Let’s see how many more we
can make!
We’re also announcing a grant program to allow communities to host
Wikipedia 25 parties. [4] The first round of applications will be due on
November 1 so that approved grants can begin in January 2026.
I’ve had the great honor of supporting both Wikipedia 15 and Wikipedia 20.
These milestones are always moments of profound joy, consideration, and
appreciation from within our movement and around the world. Let’s make this
our biggest celebration yet! - Zack McCune
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_25
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_logo#Puzzle_globe_(2003)
[3] https://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design
<https://ten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design#How_to_localize>
[4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_25/Grants
--
Zack McCune (he/him)
Director of Brand
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
Dear Wikimedians,
We hope this email finds you well. We invite you to join the next episode
of WikiAfrica Hour "Celebrate Africa through the lens: Stories from Wiki
Loves Africa 2025”
We are very excited to discuss this topic with the episode guests and your
joining is very valuable.
What can you expect from the episode?
In this special episode, 2025’s winners, jury members, and local organizers
come together to share the inspiring stories behind the scenes, the
challenges and joys of judging, and the vibrant community efforts that make
this annual photo contest such a success.
Watch, share, and be inspired.
Who are the guest speakers?
-
Wiki Loves Africa 2025 Winners, Local organisers, and Jury members.
Hosting them: *Hilary Ogali*, Wiki Loves Africa Facilitator.
When and where will the episode take place?
Data: Wednesday 27th August
Time: 16:00 UTC
Join us LIVE on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_ZWNQyd9QY
You can also register in the event tool
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:WAH_Episode_49_-_Celebrate_Africa_thr…
Looking forward to seeing you!
--
*Donia*
WikiAfrica Hour Production Coordinator
& Wiki In Africa Tools Community Facilitator