Belarusian Wikipedia Day in Poland 2026

Belarusian Wikipedia Day in Poland 2026
Date	14 March 2026
Location	Warsaw Public Library
Organizers	Tomasz Bladyniec, Grzegorz Gogacz, Anatol Michnawiec
Languages	Belarusian, Polish

Belarusian Wikipedia Day in Poland 2026 – a training course on the basics of editing Wikipedia in Belarusian, held at the Warsaw Public Library on March 14, 2026. The event aimed to promote the editing and development of Belarusian-language Wikipedias among Belarusian speakers residing in Poland. Its main theme was security and anonymity while editing. The event was organized by Tomasz Bladyniec, Grzegorz Gogacz, and Anatol Michnawiec, with Marek Stelmasik as one of the presenters; the Wikimedia Polska provided support. A total of 23 people participated in the training.

Circumstances

The event was a continuation of a series of training sessions conducted in Warsaw, Prague, Vilnius, and Poznań between 2013 and 2015. Their goals were to popularize Wikipedia among Belarusians living abroad, build the foundations of a Belarusian Wiki community in Poland, and protect the Belarusian language, which is endangered.

In 2025, a series of arrests of Wikipedia administrators occurred in Belarus, leading to a sharp decline in the activity of the local Wikimedian community. It became clear that the upcoming training session should focus on topics that raised the greatest concerns. Therefore, maintaining anonymity and security while editing Wikipedia became the main topic.

Safety of participants

To ensure the safety of participants, several changes were made compared to previous editions. The exact time and location were not publicly announced before the event. Participants were invited directly through friends. Some media representatives specializing in Belarus were contacted, encouraging them to participate while requesting that details not be made public ahead of time.

A red and white lanyard system was introduced during the event itself. Those who did not wish to be photographed or filmed were offered red lanyards. These individuals were removed from group photos before they were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. Wearing a white lanyard, or none at all, constituted consent to being photographed. During the training, 8 of the 16 participants chose to wear a red lanyard.

Training course

The training took place on Saturday, March 14th – exactly 11 years after the last edition in 2015. It began at 10:00 AM with a presentation by Wikimedia steward Marek Stelmasik on the pillars of Wikipedia. At 11:30 AM, Tomasz Bladyniec delivered a presentation on anonymity and security when editing Belarusian Wikipedias. Participants asked many substantive questions and were very active, leading the presentations to a wide-ranging discussion.

At 1:00 PM, participants were invited to lunch at a nearby restaurant owned by a Belarusian. There, they were treated to a lunch inspired by traditional dishes from the former eastern lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

After lunch, at 2:00 PM, there was an hour-long tour of the Warsaw Public Library, during which participants saw a modern, glass-roofed space with a large "living" wall covered with vegetation. They visited the historic reading room where, in 2023, Polish Wikipedians broke the Guinness World Record for continuous editing of Wikipedia, lasting 100 hours. They also had the opportunity to see the book storage facilities and the area where documents are digitized. The tour was led by Grzegorz Gogacz, a member of the Wikimedia Polska Board and a library employee.

From 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM, the practical portion took place. The presenters explained step-by-step how to set up an account and create your first edits. Participants independently edited the Belarusian Wikipedia, assisted by experienced colleagues. At 5:00 PM, the three most active participants received books on Belarusian-Polish and Belarusian-European relations.

Most of the training was conducted in Belarusian, with the exception of Marek Stelmasik's presentation and the library tour, which were conducted in Polish. A kitchen and cafeteria were open at all times, offering coffee, tea, soft drinks, and sweet snacks. The library provided 15 laptops for participants to use while editing. Marek Stelmasik provided Cyrillic keyboards. All participants received gift packages from Wikimedia Polska, which included a calendar, bookmarks, and stickers.

Participants and organizers

The training was planned for a maximum of 15 people (presenters and participants combined). It quickly became clear that interest was much greater, exceeding the organizers' planned logistical capabilities this time. Therefore, they were forced to stop accepting new applicants quite early on. Ultimately, a total of 23 people participated in the event, including 16 participants, 3 presenters, and 4 journalists. This is not a strict division, as some roles overlapped. Of the 16 participants, 6 were women. The high interest in Belarusian Wikipedia Day in Poland suggests it should be repeated – perhaps in a different, larger format.

The event was conceived and organized by Tomasz Bladyniec. Grzegorz Gogacz organized the training space in the library and served as a guide during the tour. Anatol Michnaviec participated in the recruitment of participants. Marek Stelmasik gave a presentation, answered questions, and provided support to participants throughout the training. Special thanks go to Marcin Szwarc for his extensive technical support during the preparation of the presentation on security and anonymity; to Dariusz Woszczyński, who designed the attractive, long-standing event logo; and to Artur Krawczyk, who prepared the occasional stickers. The Wikimedia Poland Association provided financial support, which allowed for the purchase of lunch and books for participants.

Edits

The format of the training, the number of program items, and the number of attractions meant that the practical portion was relatively short – two hours out of seven. As a result, not many articles were produced. However, participants found the program engaging and were satisfied. Articles edited from registered accounts included:

Амерыканскі сасновы насенневы клоп (author: Ursusowicz)
Роберт Левандоўскі (author: A optima)
Татарск (Аршанскі раён) (author: WikiLoloBy)

Media coverage

A few days before the training, the Belarusian Editorial Office of Polish Radio and Radio Swaboda conducted extensive interviews with the main organizer, during which, among other topics, they discussed Wikipedia and the upcoming Belarusian Wikipedia Day in Poland in general^[1] ^[2]. Journalists of Belsat TV were present at the training itself. They recorded a video for their main newscast "Abjektyu"^[3] and also prepared a report published on Belsat's website the following day^[4].

References

[1] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20260306082256/https://www.polskieradio.pl/396/7811/Artykul/3655864

[2] ttp://web.archive.org/web/20260313125839/https://www.svaboda.org/a/33704419.html

[3] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zac4N6r44ps

[4] ttp://web.archive.org/web/20260316093630/https://belsat.eu/92103654/belaruskaya-vikipedyya

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