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Volume 5 • Issue 3 • June 2025
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Volume 5 (2025)
Volume 4 (2024)
Volume 3 (2023)
Volume 2 (2018)
Volume 1 (2017)

Editorial: A Spring of Collaboration in the CEE

Dear CEE Wikimedians,

As summer approaches, the CEE region is bursting with activity—from regional collaborations and education programs to international conferences and campaigns that bring our communities together. In April, the Steering Committee and staff of the CEE Hub gathered in Bucharest to discuss the Hub’s governance and strategy, electing the Committee’s first Chair and Vice-chair. This was a milestone moment that signals the continued growth and formalisation of our structure.

In Armenia, capacity-building efforts for Wikiclub coordinators are strengthening local youth engagement, while in Albania, editing initiatives are enriching content on LGBTQ+ topics, Roma representation, and tourism through Wikivoyage. Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, the “Month of Science” is bringing academics and editors together to expand scientific content on Wikipedia and the Wiki Loves Film challenge goes regional.

Across the region, diverse programs continue to flourish: Wikimedia Serbia’s presence at the World Literacy Summit, student editing projects in Romania and Albania, and collaborative campaigns like the Ukraine–Moldova–Romania edit-a-thon all reflect how communities are innovating and collaborating to build and share free knowledge. War-torn areas are not forgotten either—Ukrainian editors launched a special category within Wiki Loves Monuments to document cultural heritage destroyed by war.

Voices from the CEE were also present on international stages, including the first-ever Central Asian WikiConference in Uzbekistan, which brought regional perspectives into the spotlight. In Poland, open science was the focus of the community’s annual gathering, and in Prague, a high-profile panel on “Wikipedia Meets AI” showcased the role of Wikimedia communities in shaping the future of online knowledge.

This edition is packed with updates, stories, and calls to action. We hope you’ll find inspiration and ways to connect, contribute, and celebrate the incredible work happening across the region.

Happy reading,

Jan Beránek
editor of the CEE Newsleter

CEE Hub updates
CEE Hub Steering Committee & Staff meeting in Bucharest
By: Karolina Gruszczyk

The third in-person meeting of the Wikimedia CEE Hub Steering Committee took place on 4–5 April 2025 in Bucharest, Romania. Bringing together Steering Committee members, CEE Hub staff, and special advisers Delphine Ménard and Natalia Szafran-Kozakowska, the gathering focused on strengthening internal governance, reviewing strategic priorities, and selecting the first Chair and Vice-chair of the Committee.

full article...

The Bucharest meeting marked a significant step forward for the CEE Hub as it continues to evolve its internal structure and collaborative practices. Over two intensive days, the Steering Committee, along with CEE Hub staff and external advisers, addressed key topics shaping the Hub’s strategic and operational direction.

CEE Hub Steering Committee, staff members and special advisors meeting in Bucharest, 2025
  • The group conducted a comprehensive review of the current annual plan and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), leading to an in-depth discussion on better alignment of the Hub’s three operational pillars with the activity of working groups.
  • A major outcome of the meeting was the approval of revisions to the internal communication and governance document. These updates introduced a clearer and more consistent decision-making process, reflecting the Hub’s growth and the need for more defined roles and responsibilities.
  • Discussions also touched on the future composition and selection process of the Steering Committee, with a commitment to continue refining these processes to ensure diverse and equitable representation.
  • One of the most impactful decisions from the meeting was the approval of a proposal for the CEE Hub to take over management of rapid grants. This transition will involve restructuring the relevant working groups to better support the administration of external, rapid, and microgrant programs.
  • On the second day of the meeting, members elected the Hub’s first Steering Committee leadership: Toni Sant as Chair and Başak Tosun as Vice-chair. Their appointments mark a new chapter in the Hub’s governance and strategic coordination across the Central and Eastern European region.

The Bucharest meeting underscored the CEE Hub’s dedication to transparency, strategic planning, and community-centered development, setting the stage for further growth and regional impact.

Curious to hear more about the CEE Hub staff updates? Follow our News & Updates page, where we share our monthly highlights!

International updates
Wikimedia International Update Corner June 2025
By: KGruszczyk-CEEhub

Here’s what has happened in 2025 so far, and what's ahead in the global Wikimedia movement: a roundup of international events and initiatives taking place in 2025.

full article...
June & July contests
  • Wiki Loves Earth ― an annual international photographic competition devoted to local nature protected areas in participating countries. The contest is held throughout May and July and organized worldwide by Wikimedia chapters, groups, and local Wikipedia volunteers.
  • 1Lib1Ref ― short for "One Librarian, One Reference" — is a global initiative that encourages librarians and supporters of free knowledge to improve Wikipedia by adding missing citations to its articles. It runs twice a year: from January 15 to February 5, and from May 15 to June 5.
  • Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos - WPWP ― an annual campaign where Wikipedia editors across the world, Wikipedia language projects and communities add photos to Wikipedia articles lacking photos. The contest lasts from July 1 to August 31.
  • Wiki Loves Film ― the first international edition of a movie-focused competition invented by Wikimedia Czech Republic. From July 1 to August 31 film lovers, cinema-goers, film festival attendees, and movie buffs will have the opportunity to participate in this international call and competition celebrating cinema through open knowledge.
Upcoming meetings & conferences in 2025
  • Wikimania 2025 – 20th Wikimedia conference hosted in Nairobi, Kenya, which will be both an in-person and virtual event on August 6–9 and celebrate Wikimania's 20th anniversary.
  • Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2025 – an annual conference centered on Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia and other related projects) in countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The 2025 meeting is organised by Wikimedia UG Greece and will be held in Thessaloniki, Greece, on September 26–28. Affiliation and community delegates can register for the meeting until June 15. All other self-funded participants can register until July 31.
Past meetings & conferences in 2025
CEE in the news
News from the CEE Region in other newsletters
By: KGruszczyk-CEEhub

What do they write about us? A summary of the articles from This month in Education and This month in GLAM.

full article...
This month in Education
This month in GLAM
Reader’s digest
Important topics from the Diff Blog
By: KGruszczyk-CEEhub

Here's your quick gateway to what’s happening across the Wikimedia movement. Dive into fresh picks from Diff and stay in the loop on global initiatives, community tools, and movement-wide updates!

full article...
The first Youth Conference in Prague was a blast!

The first-ever Wikimedia Youth Conference brought together nearly 100 young Wikimedians from over 50 countries — not just to talk, but to lead real change. With action plans, global connections, and even an Eurovision watch party, this event was all about shaping the future of free knowledge in bold, creative ways.

Your safety matters - find support, take action

Not sure where to turn if things get tough online? The Universal Code of Conduct and new Project Maps are here to help you navigate support systems and feel safer while contributing.

Meet the leadership of Wikimedia LGBTQ+

Wikimedia LGBT+ has taken a major step forward by welcoming its first-ever Executive Director, Bisi Alimi, and Director of Programmes, Vic Sfriso. With deep roots in global LGBTQ+ advocacy and Wikimedia community building, they’re ready to amplify queer voices and histories across Wikimedia projects.

The Wikipedia Library hts 1 million links

Since 2012, The Wikipedia Library has been a game-changer for Wikimedians by providing free access to paywalled academic and reliable sources. Now, with over one million links added to Wikimedia projects, it’s clear how vital this resource is for enriching content and citations across hundreds of languages and projects.

Highlights from the 2025 Celebrate Women* Campaign

In March 2025, the Wikimedia Foundation and communities worldwide joined forces to celebrate Women’s Month through the powerful Celebrate Women* Campaign. With a mix of multilingual events, impactful trainings, and the historic launch of the WikiWomen* Taskforce, this global initiative spotlighted the leadership of women and gender-diverse contributors and equipped organizers to close the gender gap more effectively.

How AI will support Wikipedia’s volunteer community

Wikipedia’s new AI strategy focuses on supporting, not replacing, its community of volunteer editors. AI will help automate tedious tasks, improve information discovery, and aid translation, allowing volunteers to focus on creating reliable knowledge. The approach is human-centered, transparent, and aligned with Wikimedia’s core values—ensuring AI empowers people while keeping Wikipedia’s mission alive.

Open calls and consultations
Open calls and consultations
By: KGruszczyk-CEEhub

Take part in the ongoing meetings, open calls and consultations to share your input and stay involved in current community discussions. Your perspective can help improve how we work together across the movement.

full article...
  • [REGISTER] Participate in CEE Meeting in Tessaloniki, Greece on 26-28 September. Affiliation and community delegates can register until June 15th, and all other self-funded participants until July 31st – REGISTER HERE
  • [REGISTER] Join us at the next CEE Hub Office Hours:
  • [REGISTER] Sign up for the upcoming CEE Catch up about temporary accounts on June 10 at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST) – REGISTER HERE
  • [OPEN CALL] Ongoing open call for CEE Hub Microgrant Programme – APPLY HERE
Updates from communities
Wiki Loves Film launches in CEE region in July 2025
By: Pavel Bednařík (WMCZ)

Following a successful experimental run in the Czech Republic, the Wiki Loves Film campaign is expanding across the CEE region. From July 1st to August 31st, 2025, film lovers, cinema-goers, film festival attendees, and movie buffs will have the opportunity to participate in this international call and competition celebrating cinema through open knowledge.

full article...

The only thing they need to do, is to write or expand an article on English or their native language Wikipedia and add a hashtag #wikifilm & #wikifilm2025 to be part of the competition. As in 2024, Czech version of the call will be connected to the two main film festivals, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště.

Everyone who wants to be informed about this call events and activities can join via Google form.

Organisers are looking for volunteers, who can get connected with local film festivals, producers or archives, as well as individual filmmakers, to take part in this competition. Expecially collections of photos or videos under Creative Commons Licences are more than welcome.

Capacity Building for Wikiclub Coordinators in Armenia
By: Mari Avetisyan WMAM

Wikiclubs are vital to Wikimedia Armenia’s mission of engaging teenagers with the Wikimedia movement. To strengthen their impact, a two-day training was held in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia, equipping coordinators with skills in leadership, newcomer engagement, and international collaboration. The training fostered experience-sharing and innovation, ensuring the continued success of Armenia’s 10 active Wikiclubs.

full article...

Wikiclubs are a cornerstone of Wikimedia Armenia's efforts to foster engagement with the Wikimedia movement among teenagers. They provide a sustainable framework for building long-term connections with young contributors, empowering them to become active participants in the Wikimedia community.

With the increasing demand for new Wikiclubs across Armenia, there is also a pressing need to enhance the skills and capacities of current Wikiclub coordinators. These coordinators play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of Wikiclubs. Their responsibilities include recruiting new members, teaching them the basics of Wikimedia projects, organizing local activities, reviewing content quality, and fostering a welcoming environment for newcomers while keeping experienced contributors motivated.

Wikiclub coordinators' gathering

At present, Wikimedia Armenia has 10 active Wikiclubs, each led by a dedicated coordinator. Recognizing the challenges and opportunities of this role, Wikimedia Armenia prioritizes capacity building to support these coordinators in their work. To this end, a two-day training for Wikiclub coordinators was held in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia, at April 25-27, 2025. The training focused on a range of topics essential to the coordinators’ development, including:

  • The Role of Coordinators: Understanding their responsibilities and impact within Wikiclubs.
  • Project and Edit-a-thon Planning: Exploring preferred topics and strategies for successful initiatives.
  • Participation in International Projects: Encouraging global collaboration and contribution to Wikimedia’s international endeavors.
  • New Tools and Features: Introducing recently launched tools and functionalities across Wikimedia platforms.
  • Engaging Newcomers: Learning effective methods and techniques for onboarding and retaining new members.

The training also featured experience-sharing sessions, where coordinators discussed challenges they face in their roles and exchanged strategies for overcoming these obstacles. Suggestions for improvement and innovative ideas were actively explored, fostering a collaborative atmosphere for problem-solving and innovation.

March and April 2025 at Wikimedia Serbia
By: IvanaMadzarevic

March and April were very dynamic months for Wikimedia Serbia. In addition to the accredited seminar and Wikipedia editing workshops, the highlight of the Education Program was participation in and presentation of educational projects at the World Literacy Summit at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As part of the GLAM program, the GLAMorous Wikidata campaign was organized, and work was done on preparing a lecture for the #1Lib1Ref campaign. Among the diversity-focused activities, we highlight the WikiGap campaign, the edit-a-thon marking International Roma Day, CEE Spring, as well as preparatory activities for the Wikilive conference.

full article...
Education Program
  • An accredited seminar for teachers was held at the “Đura Jakšić” High School in Rača, attended by 24 participants from this school as well as from the “Karađorđe” Primary School. Also, an accredited seminar for librarians in cooperation with the Belgrade City Library was being prepared.
  • The editing Wikipedia workshop was held for students of the Faculty of Computer Science and Informatics at the Union-Nikola Tesla University. The workshop was part of the ongoing cooperation that has been in place for several school years.
  • Wikimedia Serbia had a representative at the World Literacy Summit held at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. On this occasion, educational projects aimed at developing digital literacy were presented, such as introducing Wikipedia into teaching, training sessions for teachers, and projects intended for various social groups. The presented examples of good practices from Serbia demonstrated how free knowledge and Wikimedia tools can be successfully applied in both formal and informal education around the world.
  • A workshop for editing Wikipedia was held for students of the “Đura Jakšić” High School in Rača as part of the "Cultural Heritage of Rača" project, funded by Wikimedia Serbia. The students had the opportunity, for the first time, to learn about editing Wikipedia, and their task will be to enrich Wikipedia with articles related to topics concerning the cultural heritage of their region.
  • Wikimedia Serbia received an invitation for its representatives to participate in the Edu Camp to be held on Jahorina, organized by the Wikimedians of Republic of Srpska. During the camp, representatives of Wikimedia Serbia will present their experiences in implementing educational programs, as well as examples of good practices in using Wiki platforms in education. This event is a significant step in strengthening regional cooperation and knowledge exchange among Wiki communities.
GLAM Program
  • Wikimedia Serbia organized a campaign GLAMorous Wikidata. The campaign took place from March 23rd to 31st, during which 7 participants edited 701 items and made over 2,500 edits, while 56 new items were created. The top contributors of the campaign will be awarded with book vouchers.
  • Wikimedia Serbia, in cooperation with the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia Argentina, worked on preparing a lecture for the #1Lib1Ref campaign as part of the Let's Connect program. The efforts included a detailed analysis of the January campaign, creating a guide for tools that can be used in organizing the campaign, as well as announcing changes for future campaigns.
  • To improve activities related to file releases, Wikimedia Serbia began researching the use of the data processing tool OpenRefine.
  • Preparations have begun for the implementation of the Wikipedian in Residence project.
Diversity Program
  • In March, an edit-a-thon was organized to mark International Women’s Day as part of the WikiGap campaign. It lasted from March 7th to 14th, during which 25 articles were written, and 14 editors participated. The edit-a-thon was organized in collaboration with the Wikimedians of Republic of Srpska, the Women’s Association of the Kolubara District, and the Ružica Association. The edit-a-thon began with an event at the Serbian-Korean Information Access Center on March 7th.
  • During March, the results of the microgrants call for projects were published. A total of 16 project proposals were submitted, out of which 4 were accepted and will be implemented by the end of the year. More information about the selected proposals can be found on our blog.
  • Wikimedia Serbia, in cooperation with the Wikimedia Community of Republic of Srpska, is once again organizing the CEE Spring article writing competition. It started on March 21st and will end on May 31st. Editors will have the opportunity to write or expand articles about countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
  • In March and April, a call for Wikilive 2025 scholarship applications was published, the scholarship recipients were selected, and the conference program was announced. The conference will take place on May 10-11 at the Serbian-Korean Information Access Center (SKIP) in Belgrade.
  • Wikimedia Serbia, in cooperation with the Wikimedians of Republic of Srpska and the Roma Women's Association Osvit, organized the sixth edit-a-thon marking International Roma Day. The edit-a-thon lasted from April 1st to 15th. In addition to writing new articles, editors were able to expand existing ones and add quotes from prominent Roma figures on Wikiquote. This initiative was joined by seven language versions of Wikipedia. On the Serbian Wikipedia, seven users participated, creating 22 new articles and adding 29 quotes to Wikiquote.
  • In April, preparations were underway for the Coordinate Me 2025 competition, initiated by Wikimedia Austria with support from the CEE Hub. It's an international Wikidata competition around content with geodata that will run from May 1st to 31st,
The Month of Science on Czech Wikipedia is here
By: Hynek Kaplan

From May 9th to June 30th, 2025, the first edition of the “Month of Science on Wikipedia” challenge will take place on Czech Wikipedia in collaboration with Charles University. The goal is to expand Wikipedia’s content with scientific topics, figures, and concepts that are currently missing or in need of updates. Everyone who participates will also have a chance to win a subscription to a popular science magazine. The main edit-a-thon will take place on June 19th at 15:00 CEST at Didaktikon Hybernská, Charles University.

full article...

Science Month on Wikipedia aims to popularize science, strengthen collaboration between the scientific and Wikipedia communities, and improve the availability of verified information on scientific topics on the Czech Wikipedia. Throughout the month, there will be thematic edit-a-thons, workshops, and discussions involving experts from various scientific fields. The project targets both experienced editors and new volunteers, as well as the general public, contributing to the development of critical thinking, media literacy, and transparency of scientific knowledge in society.

Until June 30th, 2025, anyone can create or expand an article on a scientific topic, personality, or institution, thus contributing to the popularization of science. To participate in the challenge, include the hashtag #veda in the edit summary.

"We want to show that Wikipedia is not just a technical platform, but a tool for spreading knowledge and supporting open science", says Lucie Schubert from Wikimedia Czech Republic. "This challenge is ideal for students, scientists, and the general public who want to help others better understand the world around us."

Final Wikipedia project with Shefit Hekali school in Peqin, Albania
By: Vyolltsa (WoALUG)

From February to April 2025, the Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group collaborated with the students and teachers from Shefit Hekali 9-Year School in Përparim, Peqin, to explore the power of Wikipedia as an educational tool.

full article...

As part of the Year of the Albanian Language framework, this project focused on enhancing digital literacy, research skills and critical thinking. 17 students and 4 teachers participated in editing sessions and group work for 2 months learning how to create Wikipedia accounts, edit and improve articles.

They improved content related to their region, covering topics like geography, notable local figures, and animals by editing a total of 60 articles on Wikipedia.

The project concluded with a school event attended by principal Nexhmije Teqja, representatives from the Peqin Education Office, and members of the school community. During the event, students shared what they had learned and created through:

  • Poems, essays, and handcrafts using the Wikipedia and our User Group symbols;
  • Paintings inspired by free knowledge;
  • A dramatization, where Wikipedia was personified to explain its role in sharing open knowledge.

This time, our User Group aimed to go beyond traditional editing by encouraging students to engage creatively by combining Wikipedia content through arts’ expression to reflect their understanding of free knowledge in a personal way.

We are happy to see this great work and proud of the results achieved.

Social media

  • We have a public channel on WhatsApp of Albanian Language if you want to join and discuss Wikimedia projects.

If you want to see more about our activities, you canː

Reviewing pending articles editathon with high school students in Albania
By: Vyolltsa (WoALUG)

Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group organized a focused editathon at the ICT classroom of Jeronim de Rada 9-year elementary school in Elbasan.

full article...

A group of experienced Wikipedia editors with patrolling privileges from various high schools gathered to review the pending articles on Wikipedia.

On May 3rd 2025, for over 4 hours, they worked to review, verify, and improve contributions that had been awaiting approval, in some cases for a long time.

This was the second editathon, following up on the first one developed in December 2024. At the start of the editathon, the number of pending changes was 1,400. By the end of it, the number dropped to 980.

The event provided an opportunity for editors to discuss and review strategies, share experiences, and support one another in their contribution work. This initiative came as part of our ongoing efforts to support experienced contributors and strengthen the articles quality of Albanian Wikipedia.

Social media

  • We have a public channel on WhatsApp of Albanian Language if you want to join and discuss Wikimedia projects.

If you want to see more about our activities, you canː

Wikivoyage 2025: Exploring Kosovo and Albania Through Collaborative Editing in Prishtina
By: Rita Maliqi

The 2025 Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon, held in Prishtina by the Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group, brought together participants to improve travel content about Kosovo and Albania across Wikimedia projects. The event included editing sessions, community building, and a guided photowalk to document local landmarks.

full article...

Wikivoyage 2025

Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group organized the 2025 edition of the Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon in Prishtina, Kosovo, on May 17th and 18th.

Over two days, participants came together to enrich Wikivoyage, Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons with updated and newly created content focused on Prishtina and other locations in Kosovo and Albania.

As an annual event, our Wikivoyage weekend editathon is designed as a relaxing retreat (Wikivoyage is less formal) of getting to know each other, physical meetup of group members across borders and bringing new people to the community.

As part of the event, we hosted a guided photowalk through Prishtina. Attendees visited and photographed key cultural and historical landmarks, learning about the stories behind them while gathering visual content to share on Wikimedia Commons.

Explore a few of the articles that were worked on to showcase and document the tourist destinations of Kosovo and Albania:

Here are the results of the edit-a-thon:

  • Wikivoyage and Wikipedia: 2 pages created and 84 articles edits on Wikivoyage and 70 articles edited on Wikipedia
  • Wikidata: 13 items
  • Wikimedia Commons: 55 media files uploaded
Wiki Loves Monuments... But war destroys them
By: antanana, a member of Wiki Loves Monuments Ukraine organising team

1453 destroyed or damaged cultural sites are confirmed as of 25th April 2025 by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine[1]. And these numbers are growing every day. War Destroys Monuments is a special category of Wiki Loves Monuments photo contest in Ukraine that documents the toll of Russia’s war on Ukrainian cultural heritage. Out of 378 pictures from 9 regions of Ukraine submitted by 29 authors a special jury panel selected 22 works by 8 authors.

full article...

This special category was held for the second time[2] in 2024 after the start of the full-scale war which Russia launched against Ukraine in February of 2022. Documenting and raising awareness of the condition of the cultural heritage is among the goals of the Wiki Loves Monuments project, and its importance became even more evident during the war with some monuments being damaged, while some of them have been compositely destroyed by Russian attacks.

Winners were chosen by a separate jury panel, which included Wikimedians from different countries:

  • Shreya Dwivedi (India) — photographer, Wikimedian;
  • Asem Shakimova (Kazakhstan) — photographer, Wikimedian;
  • Ferdinando Traversa (Italy) — Wikipedian, Wikimedian.

The organising team developed guidelines to help evaluate the pictures documenting the war influence on the monuments, as some damage would not be very visible or clearly understood by people who have not experienced active war themselves. For example, a missile or a rocket might hit nearby, and the building would be mostly fine visually, but windows and doors can be blown out, so the windows and doors can be replaced with planks of woods, plastic wrappings etc, thus making monuments more prone to weather influence (rain, snow, extremely low temperatures, and so on). You can find them here.

This year the selected pictures were grouped thematically — religious, residential, educational, and other buildings.

  • Residential Buildings Under Threat
  • Residential Buildings. 4 Preobrazhenska street, Odesa © Павло Й. Шубарт (Pavlo Shubart), CC BY-SA 4.0
    Residential Buildings. 4 Preobrazhenska street, Odesa © Павло Й. Шубарт (Pavlo Shubart), CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Residential Buildings. 4 Preobrazhenska street, Odesa © Павло Й. Шубарт (Pavlo Shubart), CC BY-SA 4.0
    Residential Buildings. 4 Preobrazhenska street, Odesa © Павло Й. Шубарт (Pavlo Shubart), CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Residential Buildings. 4 Preobrazhenska street, Odesa © Олександр Воропаєв (Alexander Voropayev), CC BY-SA 4.0
    Residential Buildings. 4 Preobrazhenska street, Odesa © Олександр Воропаєв (Alexander Voropayev), CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Residential Buildings. 4 Preobrazhenska street, Odesa © Олександр Воропаєв (Alexander Voropayev), CC BY-SA 4.0
    Residential Buildings. 4 Preobrazhenska street, Odesa © Олександр Воропаєв (Alexander Voropayev), CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Residential Buildings. 4 Preobrazhenska street, Odesa © Олександр Воропаєв (Alexander Voropayev), CC BY-SA 4.0
    Residential Buildings. 4 Preobrazhenska street, Odesa © Олександр Воропаєв (Alexander Voropayev), CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Maslovskyi's revenue house. Kharkiv © Serhii Bobok, CC BY-SA 4.0
    Maslovskyi's revenue house. Kharkiv © Serhii Bobok, CC BY-SA 4.0

Detailed description of each photo in Ukrainian here. You can see all photos in the special category here.

References
  1. ↑ 1453 пам’ятки культурної спадщини та 2286 об’єктів культурної інфраструктури постраждали в Україні через російську агресію (in Ukainian)
  2. ↑ War destroys monuments 2023: the toll of Russian invasion of Ukraine in a Wiki Loves Monuments special category
“Sweet Wiki” edit-a-thon: Armenian Wikipedians create "sweet" articles
By: Mari Avetisyan WMAM

Wikimedia Armenia, in collaboration with “Laki Online” Academy, organized the Sweet Wiki Edit-a-thon to enrich Armenian Wikipedia with articles on sweets, pastries, recipes, and baking techniques. Over a month, 28 editors created and improved 482 articles, adding more than 5 million bytes of content.

full article...

Wikimedia Armenia (WMAM) consistently strives to identify and address content gaps on Armenian Wikipedia, encouraging the community to enrich the platform with high-quality articles. This time, the spotlight turned to the world of sweets, pastries, baking techniques, and recipes. To bring this idea to life, WMAM teamed up with the “Laki Online” Academy, which generously provided prizes for the winners of a new edit-a-thon.

"Sweet Wiki" awards ceremony

“Sweet Wiki” edit-a-thon ran for an entire month, attracting both sweet tooths and those less inclined toward sugary delights. The results were satisfying: 28 dedicated editors created and improved 482 articles, adding a total of 5,246,379 bytes to Armenian Wikipedia. Thanks to their collective efforts, readers can now explore a rich array of content covering candies, pastries, creams, and a variety of baking and preparation methods.

The edit-a-thon concluded with a celebratory awards ceremony at the Wikimedia Armenia office. Certificates of participation were presented to the top six contributors, while the top three winners received cash prizes and a subscription to exclusive online courses from “Laki Online.” These courses included workshops on baking biscuits, crafting creams, and designing cakes.

As a sweet finale to the event, participants and organizers shared a beautiful cake baked by “Laki,” marking the end of a successful and truly “sweet” collaboration.

Edit-a-thon Ukraine - Moldova - Romania
By: Magda Barascu

Wikimedia Ukraine and Wikimedians of Romania and Moldova organised an online editing marathon dedicated to enriching the content of Wikipedia on May 12th, 2025.

full article...

Participants edited articles about Romania and Moldova in Ukrainian, and about Ukraine in Romanian, respecting the rules of the CEE Spring 2025 contest. Their contributions were eligible for prizes and souvenirs.

Romanian Wikipedia now has articles about the Ukrainian documentary "This Rain Will Never End", actress Oksana Shvets, and the Kyiv Young Theatre. In Ukrainian, you can read more about the Crimean Tatars in Romania, the Chamber of Deputies of Romania, and the largest Moldovan bank, Moldindconbank.

Eleven participants from Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania worked on about 15 articles in two hours. At the edit-a-thon, organized by Wikimedia Ukraine and Wikimedians of Romania and Moldova, participants collaborated, learned new things about Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania, and enjoyed good music.

Wikimedia CEE Spring is an annual competition organized by Wikimedia communities in Central and Eastern Europe, with the aim of creating and improving Wikipedia articles about the countries in the region in all local languages. The Romanian Wikipedia is taking part in its ninth edition of this competition this year.

The First Central Asian Wiki Conference through the eyes of a Wikimedian from Ukraine
By: Mariana Senkiv

In April 2025, the first Central Asian Wiki Conference took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan — an event that brought together Wikimedians from different countries, including Central and Eastern Europe. It was very valuable for me to attend this conference, because I not only gained new knowledge about Wikimedia and contacts of interesting people, but also had the opportunity to better understand the cultural diversity of Central Asian region, especially Uzbekistan.

full article...

What motivated me the most to take part in this conference was the fact that there is a significant Crimean Tatar diaspora in Uzbekistan. I prepared a presentation on the development of the Crimean Tatar Wikipedia and the efforts of Wikimedia Ukraine in this direction and gave a lightning talk. I was also pleased to share best practices of Wikimedia Ukraine during some sessions, in particular, for attracting the scientific community in Ukraine to Wiki projects (I got the impression that the participants found it interesting).

Based on the sessions from representatives of Central Asian Wikicommunities, I came to conclusions about some common challenges that we and they face within Wikimedia, such as the lack of active patrollers and administrators in Wikipedia and other Wiki projects, the fight against vandalism, and the development of communities in small language chapters.

I would highlight a few sessions that were very useful for me:

  • Armen Mirzoyan (Wikimedian from Armenia) - "Beyond Wikimedia grants: unlocking new funding sources for your Wiki ideas"
  • Asaf Bartov (Wikimedia Foundation) - "Five common mistakes already made by others, so you don't have to!."
  • Amir E. Aharoni (Wikimedia Foundation) - "Lightning presentation of useful obscure Wiki features", during which the speaker noted the Special pages tab in Wikipedia, which is very functional, but rarely paid attention to.

I wrote notes from some of the sessions on this page, and also translated main ideas from some freely available slides into Ukrainian.

During the conference, I came up with certain ideas for cooperation, as well as initiatives that I would like to implement in Ukraine. I liked the idea of ​​involving young people in editing Wikipedia through the development of Wikiclubs (this is particularly common in Uzbekistan, where the Wikimedia community is quite young), as well as the idea of ​​organizing seminars on digital literacy and using technology to digitize traditions. By the way, the school where the conference was held also has its own Wikiclub.

User Batyrbek Alimzhanov from Kazakhstan kindly offered me cooperation in organizing the Wiki Loves Ramadan contest next year. And during the Wiki Women lunch, we decided to create a chat for Wiki Women of Central Asia and I joined it too. I also told about the new initiative group Wiki Women* Task Force. Later, I invited user Panpanchik from Uzbekistan to a meeting with Ukrainian Wiki Women — we met and discussed many interesting issues related to the Wiki movement in our communities. I also invited user Colibri Last to hold a webinar for the Ukrainian Wiki community on digital security and I hope this will happen soon.

I discussed interesting ideas with some of the participants. For example, with the representative of Wikimedia Israel and Wikimedia Venezuela Maor Malul, who studies the language chapters of Wikipedia of indigenous peoples and national minorities, for example, the Wayuu community. We discussed the challenges and prospects for the Crimean Tatar Wikipedia.

I also met Amir E. Aharoni and we discussed the problems of automatic translation into the Crimean Tatar language in Wikipedia.

It was wonderful to meet in person user Nurtenge from Kazakhstan, who often joins Ukrainian Wiki campaigns.

In general, my impressions of the conference were very positive. Organizationally, everything was at a fairly high level. I communicated exclusively in English and most of the participants understood me. This conference became a space for intercultural dialogue for me. I noticed how representatives of Central Asian Wiki communities preserve their cultural heritage (I especially liked the Uzbek dances and songs), and this inspired me to similar initiatives in Ukraine. The city of Tashkent amazed me with its cultural diversity and friendliness of its people. Very valuable for me was a visit to the monument to Taras Shevchenko, famous Ukrainian poet and the Roman Catholic church, where the service was conducted in Ukrainian, in my free time from the conference. I also discussed possible cooperation with the first secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Uzbekistan, Yusuf Kurkchi, who also shared with me information about the Crimean Tatar community in Tashkent.

So, from the Central Asian WikiCon, I brought not only souvenirs and notes, but also a feeling that the Wikimedia movement really unites and the Wiki communities of Central Asia are really much closer to us than I previously thought.

Digest of Russian Wikipedia activities in April-May 2025
By: Lvova

Thematic Weeks engaged Wikipedians through diverse regional and topical marathons, fostering quality content creation about multiple countries and regions. Recent highlights include the Historical Marathon in Memory of Yurii Lushchai, Ukrainian and Kazakh-themed weeks aligned with CEE Spring, and regional spotlights on Calabria, Columbus, the Northern Cape and others.

full article...

On April 18, the Historical Marathon in Memory of Yurii Volodymyrovych Lushchai concluded. It was dedicated to the memory of Ukrainian historian Yurii Volodymyrovych Lushchai, who contributed to the Russian Wikipedia under the username Юрий Владимирович Л. and was killed in action on March 28, 2024, while serving in the Ukrainian Defense Forces during the defense of Donetsk Oblast from Russian troops. The marathon table listed 96 articles, but according to reports, due to the risks of open participation, some contributors created articles aligned with the marathon’s theme and criteria without adding them to the public list.

From April 4 to April 14, the project Thematic Week hosted the 4th Ukrainian Week — a fourth marathon focused on writing articles about Ukraine, resulting in 121 articles meeting quality standards. From May 2 to May 12, the project held the 3rd Kazakhstan Week, during which 126 articles were created according to the same criteria. The countries were chosen by project participants in coordination with the ongoing CEE Spring contest, and the articles written qualify for the competition.

In addition to the general Thematic Week, the project also includes active subprojects such as:

  • Thematic Week of European Regions, focusing on Calabria from May 12 to May 18 (37 articles) and covering Hungary for the second time from April 14 to April 20 (82 articles);
  • Thematic Week of Cities, with participants writing about Columbus from May 12 to May 18 and about Sarajevo from April 14 to April 20 (29 articles);
  • Thematic Week of American Regions, which held its 2nd Oregon Week from April 21 to April 30 (113 articles) and plans to hold its 2nd Montana Week from May 19 to May 28;
  • Thematic Week of African Regions, which covered the Northern Cape Province from April 25 to May 1, 2025 (35 articles).

Throughout May, the Spring Gamer Marathon is taking place in the edition, and the Ural Federal District is represented in the Wikidata contest Coordinate Me.

From May 1 to May 25, interested participants are also taking part in the Movie Marathon.

In all internal marathons (i.e., all activities mentioned above except for CEE Spring and the Coordinate Me contest), Wikipedians participate to receive just barnstars.

The Curious Case of the Petersburg Delegation
By: Lvova

Tashkent where the first Asian Wikicon was held on April 19-20, 2025, will now forever remain in the history of the user group of North-West Russia Wiki-Historians User Group as a place where we managed to show ourselves to the Wikimedia community as a group working together.

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To make this possible, it was not enough to just come to the conference: Красный joined the Core Organizing Team, and Lvova joined the "Core Organizing Team+"; both worked in the conference program committee. During the conference, together with Екатерина Борисова presented a total of five events of various formats. Lvova и ElenaLitera as T&S volunteers guaranteed the safety of the conference space. Also, our traditional, but slightly updated poster was presented on behalf of the entire user group. We wanted to be useful to the local Wiki Community, and we hope that we succeeded in this. The success of how we managed to present ourselves as a team is evidenced by the joke told at the end of the conference, according to which outside the conference Victoria heard questions about whether she was Russian, and at the conference - questions about whether she was from Saint Petersburg.

It's nice that our teamwork turned out to be possible in such a serious representative format, even though user group members who reach Wikicon are usually separated by about 3,600 kilometers. And let's hope that this is not our last opportunity to show up in the wiki community.

Our contributions:

Wikimedia Commons has more media related to:
Wikipedia Event for International Roma Day 2025
By: Vyolltsa (WoALUG)

On April 12th, 2025, Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group (WoALUG) marked International Roma Day by organizing an event to increase the visibility of the Roma community on Albanian Wikipedia.

full article...

This gathering brought together 6 participants from the Roma community and non-Roma civil society organizations from Peshkopia and Bulqiza in Albania. Among them was Klaudjo Taho, Specialist at the Directorate for Social Protection and Inclusion, part of the General Directorate of Civil Protection at Tirana Municipality, who contributed insights on social inclusion and the representation of Roma people in public institutions.

Throughout the event, participants discussed ways to improve and create articles that reflected the culture, history, and contributions of the Roma community in Albania. They worked on translating existing content and enriching biographies.

This initiative aimed to empower Roma contributors and strengthen the presence of Roma-related topics on Wikipedia to promote free knowledge that includes everyone.

Social media

  • We have a public channel on WhatsApp of Albanian Language if you want to join and discuss Wikimedia projects.

If you want to see more about our activities, you canː

From Tashkent to Bishkek: A Photographic Odyssey
By: Екатерина Борисова, Красный

In 2024, the members of the North-West Russia Wiki-Historians User Group felt the strength not only to take photos and upload images to Wikimedia Commons, but also to teach less experienced Wikimedians how to do this. In an era when almost everyone has if not a portable camera, then certainly a smartphone, it would seem very easy to photograph everything that the eyes see. However, it is important that the images taken and uploaded to Commons are useful, have decent quality, clear descriptions, and correct categories. This is exactly what many downloads are sorely lacking (anyone who has ever tried to sort out the "piles" on Wikimedia Commons will confirm), and it was precisely all this that some members of the user group decided to teach everyone.

full article...

The first photo workshop took place in April 2024 in Tashkent. It cannot be said that it was perfect, but judging by the photos uploaded later by the listeners to the Uzbek stages of the photo contests "Wiki loves Earth" and "Wiki loves monuments", the photo workshop brought some clear benefits. Therefore, in 2025, it was decided to organize another event of the same type, but in another country and another city — in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Almost at the last moment, it became clear that one of the lecturers, the famous Kazakh photographer Islam Mirsaitov, would not be able to attend the photo workshop in Bishkek. But it was impossible to cancel the announced event, where the listeners had already signed up. Therefore, the other three lecturers — ElenaLitera, Екатерина Борисова and Красный — gathered their strength, brainstormed and decided to teach the course of Islam "Natural Photography" on their own, especially since all three have considerable experience photographing natural monuments. In addition, the lecturers took into account last year's experience and decided to modify and improve the photo workshop program. In particular, if the courses in Tashkent were purely theoretical, and students were offered to apply the acquired knowledge and skills in practice on their own, then in Bishkek not only theoretical but also practical parts were planned. That is: we listened to about an hour-long lecture on the proper shooting of nature — then we go outside and photograph nature, we listened to a lecture on shooting architecture — we go to photograph architecture, both under the guidance of mentored lecturers. And the next day (when there was a course on photo processing and uploading images to Wikimedia Commons), we process and upload the photos we took the day before.

This structure of the photo workshop was a success, even though in the vicinity of the hospitable People Hostel, where the event was held, in terms of natural objects, only trees on Pushkin Street and blooming tulips on the square near the Bishkek Philharmonic building could be found. As for architecture, given the lack of Freedom of panorama in Kyrgyzstan and the historical buildings in Bishkek, it was almost impossible to find suitable building for further uploading images of it to Wikimedia Commons, but in the end, it was possible just to train on modern buildings and structures. Despite the hot weather, the participants of the photo workshop enthusiastically photographed everything that caught their eye and asked the lecturers a lot of questions. In addition, the theoretical part of the photo workshop included looking at pre-selected photos from Kyrgyzstan and Bishkek categories, both good and not so good. The lecturers first explained to the audience why some photos can be called successful and others not, and then invited the participants of the photo workshop to determine for themselves what is good and what is bad. This part was also lively and interesting.

A total of 13 people participated in this photo workshop; it is pleasant to note that more than half of the listeners were women. As for the lecturers, they managed not only to cope with their mission, but also to find a few free hours to walk around Bishkek and photograph various sights of the city, large and small. Of course, these photos will also be properly processed, described, categorized and uploaded to Wikimedia Commons.

Workshop was organized by the steering committee of Wiki Loves Earth and Wiki Loves Monuments contests in Central Asia. Local support was offered by local Wikimedia Community in Kyrgyzstan. The organizers plan to hold similar trainings in the future in other cities of Central Asia and beyond (if, of course, the relevant communities are interested in this).

Ten years of Macedonian Wikiexpeditions celebrated with exhibition in Skopje
By: Macedonian Wikiexpeditions

On April 26th, a 10-year anniversary event for the Macedonian Wikiexpeditions project was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje.

The project, run by Wikimedia MKD volunteers since 2015, aims to document Macedonian villages through photography and Wikipedia articles. Over the past decade, the team has explored 46 regions, visited 1,083 villages (62% of the country's total), taken over 18,500 photos, and created/improved more than 3,200 Wikipedia articles. The event featured 100 photos from the expeditions, maps, equipment displays, and speeches by team members.

The project highlights the importance of documenting and preserving Macedonia's cultural and natural heritage.

full article...

On April 26th, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Skopje hosted a celebratory event marking the 10th anniversary of the Macedonian Wikiexpeditions project. The event attracted visitors passionate about photography, history, culture, and Macedonia's rural heritage. Attendees had the opportunity to see a unique and authentic depiction of the country.

Macedonian Wikiexpeditions project is a long-standing initiative, entirely volunteer-based since 2015. Its main goal is to systematically document Macedonian villages and their surroundings through photography, local history and culture research, and creating and enriching content on Macedonian Wikipedia. Thanks to this project, many lesser-known settlements and their natural and cultural treasures are now visible and accessible on Wikipedia.

Over the past ten years, the project has involved eighteen different team members. The current team of four has been stable for the last six years, each with a specific role: researcher, photographer, driver, and drone operator.

In the past decade, the project has explored 46 different regions across Macedonia, visited 1083 villages (almost 62% of all villages in the country), and taken over 18,500 photographs. This material resulted in the creation and improvement of over 3,200 articles on Macedonian Wikipedia.

The exhibition featured 100 selected photographs showcasing the team's spirit of exploration, love for the homeland, and commitment to preserving Macedonia's unique qualities. Visitors saw landscapes, architecture, churches, monasteries, cultural monuments, and moments from rural life. Maps, expedition photos, equipment displays, research notebooks, and branded products were also presented.

Team members Toni Ristovski, Kiril Simeonoski, Nino Bogdanovski, Dean Lazarevski, and Nikola Trajkovski spoke at the event. They shared their motivations, challenges, and the importance of preserving Macedonian cultural and natural heritage.

The event highlighted the importance of documentation, research, and preservation of shared heritage, offering a unique perspective on the beauties of Macedonia by those who travel its forgotten roads and discover its hidden gems.

Wikimedia MKD's variety of activities with great success
By: Velkovski.b

Wikimedia MKD continued its activities with great success and dedication to its mission—spreading free knowledge and strengthening the Macedonian-language Wikipedia. Through a series of successful and diverse initiatives, the organization once again demonstrated its leading role in building an open, collaborative, and inclusive digital space for education and culture. From editing competitions to cultural collaborations and workshops, Wikimedia MKD has shown that free knowledge thrives when it is supported by an active community, strong partnerships, and creative engagement. In the previous months, Wikimedia MKD organized and supported a number of events that enriched Wikipedia with high-quality content, encouraged the involvement of new contributors, and strengthened the connection between digital knowledge and cultural heritage. Below are highlights from some of these activities.

full article...
Editing Competition "Chemical Elements and Isotopes"
The official logo for Editing Competition "Chemical Elements and Isotopes"

Wikimedia MKD continuously works to enrich the content of Wikipedia in the Macedonian language by organizing editing marathons, competitions and workshops on various topics. These activities aim to encourage and motivate existing and new editors to create and improve high-quality articles, to research, to connect and to contribute to free knowledge accessible to all.

One of such events was the editing competition on the topic "Chemical Elements and Isotopes", which offered an opportunity to deepen the content in the field of chemistry, but also to engage the community in creating encyclopedic materials with scientific themes. The competition was held from February 10 to March 9.

The prizes for this contest are vouchers, and to win any prize, it was necessary to create or improve at least 25 articles rated with an average rating of at least 2.0 by the members of the Evaluation Board. In total, 9 users participated and 252 articles were written.

Edit-a-thon "Meet Slovenia"
The participants at the awarding ceremony for "Meet Slovenia" edit-a-thon

The editorial marathon Meet Slovenia took place from February 1 to February 28. The project was organized by the Wikimedia MKD in cooperation with the Slovenian Center - Skopje, supported by Slovenian embassy in Skopje. The main goal was to reduce the lack of content related to Slovenia on the Macedonian-language Wikipedia. All members of the Wiki Clubs in Macedonia were welcome to participate and contribute to the enrichment of the Macedonian-language Wikipedia.

On April 15, starting at 12:00 CEST, at the premises of Wikimedia MKD at the Youth Cultural Center (MCC) in Skopje, the official awarding of awards and certificates for the five most successful participants was held. Among those present were the Consul of the Republic of Slovenia in Macedonia, Mr. Martin Glažar, as well as Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in Skopje, Mr. Gregor Presker, who presented the awards and certificates to the five most successful editors and in his address emphasized the importance of digital literacy, free access to information and the joint building of bridges between cultures through cooperation and knowledge. He also expressed gratitude for the efforts of the editing community and the support of Wikimedia MKD.

Memorandum for collaboration with Museum of Macedonia

Wikimedia MKD is constantly expanding its network of partnerships and collaborations. The organization aims to establish contact and establish cooperation with a large number of institutions and organizational units that have the will and potential to help create free content and make access to information free for the entire Macedonian reading and educational-scientific public.

The latest formalized cooperation comes with the Museum of Macedonia. On April 2, Wikimedia MKD and the Museum of Macedonia signed a Memorandum for collaboration. This memorandum confirms the efforts of the two organizations to cooperate together, and more specifically the Museum of Macedonia with its potential to help Wikimedia MKD in achieving its set goals - free access to free content and knowledge. Through cultural, scientific, historical, museum and socio-political materials, the Museum of Macedonia will provide significant assistance and support for achieving the goals of the organization.

Crafts workshops in Veles
Visiting the blacksmith shop

This year, “Crafts and Folk Costumes” is the central theme of the GLAM programme of Wikimedia МKD. Besides decrease the content gap, the programme aims to document, textually and visually, the crafts and traditions that are in danger of being forgotten.

On April 15, Wiki Club Veles, under the mentorship of Professor Lili Arsova, organized an educational workshop at the “Kovač Goce” blacksmith shop, located in the Prevalec neighborhood in Veles. The next day, on April 16, the second workshop was held, this time in Vane’s pottery workshop in the Kojnik neighborhood of Veles.

With these activities, Wikimedia MKD not only strengthens the skills of young Wikipedians and stimulates their interest in cultural heritage, but also actively contributes to its preservation through free and accessible content on Wikipedia. The documentation and promotion of the crafts represent an investment in the collective memory of a society.

International Jazz Day edit-a-thon

On the occasion of International Jazz Day — April 30 Wikimedia MKD organized a one-day editing marathon on the topic of "Jazz". The event was opened to all users of the Macedonian language Wikipedia, who were invited to participate in creating and improving articles related to jazz music.

During the edit-a-thon, a total of 24 editors joined and wrote 26 new articles in Macedonian. The topics covered musicians, albums, styles, festivals, and significant moments in jazz history. As an additional incentive, Wikimedia MKD provided a prize that was awarded to one participant selected by a chance. The winner was selected on 6 May 2025 and was broadcast live on the official Wikimedia MKD Instagram account.

"Lajka" workshop
The participants at the event "Lajka" workshop

On May 8, Wikimedia MKD organized a special editing marathon intended for students from the Wiki Club of the Gymnasium "Josip Broz-Tito" in Skopje. A total of 10 students participated under the mentorship of professor Irena Trajkovska Sterjovska. The event was dedicated to the topic of dogs and aimed to raise awareness about the attitude towards animals, as well as to encourage active civic participation through education and writing articles.

As part of the activities, the students visited the public shelter "Lajka" - the shelter for homeless dogs in Skopje. There, Stole Velkovski, an employee of the institution, gave a short lecture and the students had the opportunity to get acquainted with the work of this institution, to see how the dogs are cared for and treated, and to talk with the staff about the daily challenges and the importance of humane treatment of animals. The visit was educational, but also emotional, as the students got to meet dogs that are currently under the care of the facility up close.

After the visit, an editing marathon was held, where the students, with the support of their mentors at Wikimedia MKD, worked on creating and editing Wikipedia articles related to famous dogs on Wikipedia and similar topics. In this way, they directly contributed to increasing the quality and scope of content available on Wikipedia in the Macedonian language. A total of 11 articles were written.

Journalism students at Aleksandër Xhuvani University explore Wikipedia in Albania
By: Vyolltsa (WoALUG)

Since early March, Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group have closely worked and have met weekly to explore Wikipedia articles with the students from the Journalism Department at Aleksandër Xhuvani University in Elbasan.

full article...

These recurring workshops are part of a continued collaboration with Professor Hektor Çiftja, developed within the Online Media course.

Through practical sessions, students learn how user-generated content is created, structured, and improved. More than just editing, they are gaining practical experience in writing with clarity, verifying sources, and thinking critically about information all key skills for future journalists.

So far, their work has focused on expanding and editing Wikipedia articles related to figures of speech and the Albanian press. The process has encouraged them to reflect on how knowledge is built and why accuracy, neutrality, and citations matter in public communication.

This collaboration highlights how Wikipedia can be used as a learning tool in higher education, helping students sharpen their writing and composing skills while contributing to free knowledge online.

Social media

  • We have a public channel on WhatsApp of Albanian Language if you want to join and discuss Wikimedia projects.

If you want to see more about our activities, you canː

Enhancing the LGBTQ+ content in Albanian Wikipedia
By: Vyolltsa (WoALUG)

Throughout the month of May, Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group in collaboration with the ProLGBT in Tirana, Albania organized a series of 3 productive editathons focused on improving LGBTQ+ content on Albanian Wikipedia.

full article...

These meetings served to connect activists and Wikimedians in a shared effort to increase the visibility of LGBTQ+ terminologies in Albanian, making it easier for the public to understand and engage with these concepts through article translations and improvements. We created 17 new articles and improved 48 articles on Wikipedia and we had 35 total revisions on Wikidata.

This collaboration is a step forward in expanding knowledge on Wikipedia and Wikidata and in building a stronger connection between the Wikimedia community and LGBTQ+ advocates in Albania. It helps close content gaps and promote visibility for underrepresented communities.

Wikimedians of Albanian Language are grateful to Pro LGBT and everyone who took part in making this initiative possible.

Social media

  • We have a public channel on WhatsApp of Albanian Language if you want to join and discuss Wikimedia projects.

If you want to see more about our activities, you canː

WhatsApp of Albanian Language Facebook page, or Instagram

Voices from the Steppe: Kazakhstan at Central Asian WikiCon
By: Amangeldi Mukhamejan

The first-ever Central Asian WikiCon, held in Tashkent on April 19–20, 2025, became a historic moment for the Wikimedia community of Kazakhstan. It served as an important platform for strengthening regional cooperation and building meaningful connections among Wikimedia contributors from across Central Asia.

full article...

The Kazakh delegation included Kaiyr, Batyrbek.kz, Amangeldi Mukhamejan, Nurtenge, and Mheidegger. One of the delegates, Batyrbek.kz, was part of the organizing team, actively contributing to the success of the conference. He also led a session titled “Machine Translation vs. Wikipedia: Friend or Foe?” where he discussed key challenges related to machine translation in the Kazakh Wikipedia and offered potential solutions. The session, along with another language-focused discussion attended by the Kazakh delegation, sparked an engaging and lively debate.

Nurtenge, as a member of the CEE Youth Group, shared its perspective on the group’s initiatives and ongoing activities, emphasizing the importance of youth involvement in the Wikimedia movement.

A poster prepared by Amangeldi Mukhamejan was also presented, highlighting the activities of the Wikimedia Community of Kazakh language User Group and providing visibility for the Kazakh community among Central Asian Wikimedians.

Through this collaborative participation, the Kazakh delegation aimed to be a valuable part of the local wiki ecosystem—and we believe we succeeded. The event showed that our user group is not just a collection of individual editors but a team capable of working together and representing our community on an international stage. We hope this will not be our last opportunity to connect, contribute, and grow within the Wikimedia movement.

Students from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca help enrich Romanian Wikipedia
By: Magda Barascu

A group of 29 students from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, alongside a high school student, took part in a Wikipedia editing workshop organized on May 15th by the French Institute in Cluj-Napoca, in collaboration with Wikimedians of Romania and Moldova. The event aimed to encourage young scholars to contribute to open knowledge and improve Romanian Wikipedia articles.

full article...

Among the participants were 16 students specializing in Norwegian language and literature, showcasing the diverse academic backgrounds involved in the initiative. Over four hours, the workshop provided training on Wikipedia editing principles, ensuring contributors understood how to add reliable sources, refine content, and expand existing articles.

The students brainstormed ideas about missing information on Romanian Wikipedia. From articles about King Mihai I to topics covering Norwegian authors, insects, rivers, and even Nescafé, they identified areas in need of improvement and took steps to enrich online knowledge.

This initiative highlights the vital role that young researchers and university students play in keeping Wikipedia accurate, diverse, and well-documented. The workshop was not only a technical exercise but also a way to promote collaborative learning and encourage contributions to free knowledge.

The Importance of Local Wikipedia Editing

Workshops like this help ensure Romanian-language content remains up-to-date and relevant. By improving articles on a wide range of subjects, students enhance global understanding while fostering a stronger digital presence for Romanian history, culture, and notable figures.

This Cluj-based event demonstrates how academic institutions and community-driven organisations can work together to make information more accessible. Through initiatives like these, knowledge becomes freely available, shaped by those who recognise its importance.

Wikivoyage in Has region, Northern Albania
By: Vyolltsa (WoALUG)

As a series of Wikivoyage workshops, the Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group organized another Wikivoyage activity in Krumë, a northern town in Albania.

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14 students from Skënderbeu High School of Krumë, along with three supporting teachers of ICT and Geography participated in the workshop. They learned about the principles of free knowledge and gained knowledge editing, and contributing to platforms like Wikivoyage and Wikidata.

Throughout the activity, students improved 29 existing articles and created 2 new articles on Wikivoyage. Additionally, they made 12 edits of items on Wikidata, helping to enrich structured data about the coordinates of different travel destinations.

This initiative ensures collaborative editing and digital research skills, while also promoting the visibility of Northern Albania’s attractions through open knowledge platforms.

This activity marks an encouraging first step, and more contributions from the students of Skënderbeu High School are expected to continue enriching Wikivoyage and Wikidata in the future.

Social media

  • We have a public channel on WhatsApp of Albanian Language if you want to join and discuss Wikimedia projects.

If you want to see more about our activities, you canː

Wikivoyage workshop in Bulqiza, Albania
By: Vyolltsa (WoALUG)

On April 19th, 2025, Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group hosted a Wikivoyage workshop organized at the Youth Center of Bulqiza in Albania.

full article...

At this event, a group of high school students from Fushë-Bulqizë Combined High School and Nazmi Rushiti Vocational School took part in this workshop to learn the concept of free knowledge and how they can contribute to the open guide of travel destinations on Wikivoyage.

Students learned how to create and improve travel guide-related content by researching destinations in Albania and structuring their findings on Wikivoyage. They created 3 new articles and edited 22 existing ones, highlighting Northern-Eastern towns and natural attractions from their region.

This collaboration between the Youth Center of Bulqiza and the Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group was a practical introduction to open-source knowledge and digital engagement, while also promoting the visibility of North-Eastern Albania to a broader audience.

Social media

  • We have a public channel on WhatsApp of Albanian Language if you want to join and discuss Wikimedia projects.

If you want to see more about our activities, you canː

Open Science during the Polish community's annual meeting
By: Katarzyna Makowska (WMPL)

During their annual meeting of Polish Wikimedians, Wikimedia Poland organised sessions dedicated to opening science: research presentations, a discussion panel and a moderated community discussion.

full article...

At the end of March, Wikimedia Poland organised Wzlot, the annual get-together of Polish Wikimedians, bringing together about 100 people: volunteers, editors and contributors, staff and invited guest speakers.

This year, we had several sessions related to Open Science, a dedicated area of focus in our activities created about a year ago (see July 2024 issue of the newsletter). This included inviting interesting guests to contribute to the programme:

  • Representatives of the academic community involved in open science,
  • Researchers using Wikidata and Wikipedia in their work, both research and didactic,
  • Experts in the subject of artificial intelligence who took part in a discussion panel.

There was also a discussion about the strategic direction in which the Open Science area in Wikimedia Poland could and should go, moderated by Open Science Manager, Kasia Makowska.

We understand “Open Science” here as the efforts to make research resources (including scientific research and its results, research data, educational resources) as open as possible: accessible, transparent and verifiable, through Wikimedia projects.

Researcher presentations

First up, Dr Maciej Bisaga, Open Science Coordinator at University of Silesia, presented the work towards openness at his institution, including the various challenges they face and good practices in open data management. He also offered a very interesting, broader perspective on open science, listing the many benefits of openness and reminding the audience that a research publication should not be an outcome in and of itself, but is rather a “marketing” step to more real life impacts, which can be facilitated by being open.

Dr Marta Świetlik, Digital Humanities Centre at the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (CHC IBL PAN), spoke about how her team supports researchers in integrating digital tools with traditional humanities methods, with numerous international initiatives as well as work at the intersection of science and the GLAM sector, promoting the creation of valuable, open data and its better use in research. She gave examples of how Wikidata supports their research, including the European Literary Bibliography, enabling new ways of exploring Europe's literary heritage. She argued that similar approaches could revolutionise the way culture is studied, catalogued and interpreted in the future, provided that we ensure the high quality and usability of the data we make available.

Monika Janusz-Lorkowska's presentation

Presentation from Dr Marcin Wilkowski focused on how Wikipedia and sister projects can be used in digital humanities classes. He mentioned several ideas, some of which can be found in his project humanistyka.dev, which has dozens of digital lesson plans at different difficulty levels, including using Wikimedia projects. Some of the scenarios encourage creative use of Wikidata, teach students to create SPARQL queries, use commons repositories, and more. He pointed out the advantages of Wikipedia and sister projects in teaching digital humanities, from secure copyright status, full and open access to content, to open API and knowledge and relationships that can be further studied. Importantly, he also invited the community to work together on open content datasets, tutorials on tools and methods, and cooperation with GLAM institutions in making their collections and data available.

Dr Monika Janusz-Lorkowska from University of Łódź shared her experience of running classes with students where they were tasked with editing Wikipedia articles. She also looked at their level of trust towards Wikipedia and how that changed throughout the process of getting to know Wikimedia projects, by running a “before and after” survey among the students. She admitted challenges such as the amount of work it took to look after a big group of students and their articles, as well as benefits such as the high level of satisfaction among those who had their articles finished and admitted.

Discussion panel
AI and Open Resources - an opportunity or a threat to openness?
Moderator and speakers during the AI discussion panel, sitting in a row
AI discussion panel

The panel, moderated by Kasia Makowska, consisted of five speakers (all pictured from left to right):

  • Marcin Wilkowski (University of Warsaw and humanistyka.dev),
  • Sebastian Kondracki (co-founder of Bielik AI),
  • Natalia Ćwik (representative of Wikimedia Poland at CEE Hub),
  • Kasia Drożdżal (WUD Silesia),
  • Paweł Nowak (WUD Silesia).

During this discussion, the panellists talked about the role of artificial intelligence in shaping the future of open knowledge. They discussed the opportunities offered by the development of AI, but also the risks and challenges it may pose for the Wikimedia movement and the broader ecosystem of open resources. There was also time for questions from the audience. Thanks to having people from different backgrounds and experiences, the panel was nuanced and well-balanced, presenting diverse views in a considerate manner, according to the participants' feedback.

Community discussion about Open Science strategy
Kasia Makowska and Maciej Bisaga engaged in a discussion
Kasia Makowska and Maciej Bisaga during discussion

In the discussion about Open Science, Kasia Makowska presented a brief summary of the current situation, and asked the audience several questions:

  1. What are your current experiences when working with the academic community? What works well, and what needs changing?
  2. What are the most important needs among the editors that can be answered by academic collaboration?
  3. What are the barriers when engaging researchers and universities? (Question to the academics in the room)
  4. How do you find relevant research about Wikimedia projects and movement, and how does that help you make decisions about policy?
  5. How can the needs of editors and researchers meet? What do you think Open Science should focus on next?

We approached the questions one at a time, with various voices from the room. The discussion was very rich, and some parts will need further thinking and follow-up conversations, but some initial conclusions were clear, for example:

  • We need to work on visibility among the academics and researchers, help them understand the Wikimedia movement better and see what it has to offer.
  • While editing Wikimedia projects falls outside the scope of traditional research evaluation, it is becoming increasingly important in the area of impact that research has on society - this is an important need for the academic community.
  • We need refreshed, clear and visible guidance for researchers who want to engage with Wikimedia projects.
  • Polish Wikimedians do not seek out or access research about Wikimedia projects or community often.
  • Wikimedia community and academics often live in separate bubbles, not always aware of the other side's needs. They could benefit from collaborating more closely, but they don’t always overlap - initiatives that would bring them together could be beneficial.

While we did not arrive at final answers to most of the questions, it was very encouraging to see the community take active interest in the discussion. Their contributions are really useful to decide and shape the next steps, and hopefully they will continue to do so as the strategy develops.

Feedback from invited guests

Considering that visibility was one of the needs identified during the discussion, it was great to receive positive comments from the invited guests from the research world. Below are some quotes which they also shared to their professional networks:

“The joint discussions, behind-the-scenes meetings and getting to know Wikimedians more closely during Wzlot convinced me that this community - open, inclusive, engaged - is one of the strongest working to support open access to knowledge.”

“Meetings and discussions during Wzlot are a source of real optimism for me – I believe in such spaces for meeting and critical analysis of progress. With great respect for the diversity of perspectives and experiences. With openness to discussion and exchange of views, even though the topic of LLMs, activities related to their market presence and their impact on various spheres of human life, can cause strong emotions.”

“If there are true social activists somewhere in our digital ecosystem, then it is definitely among the community of Wikimedia Poland.”

Prague became the center of the European free knowledge movement
By: Hynek Kaplan

Prague became the center of the European free knowledge movement. On the evening of Friday, April 25th, a panel discussion titled “Wikipedia meets AI: Online communities and their approaches” took place, organized by Wikimedia Europe and Wikimedia Czech Republic. The debate was held at the Czech Savings Bank Gallery in Rytířská Street from 18:00 to 20:00 CEST.

full article...

Representatives from European Wikimedia chapters and external guests took part in the discussion, focusing on the impact of generative artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs) on community projects like Wikipedia. The topics ranged from the benefits of AI for efficiency and community governance to challenges related to the trustworthiness of information and the support of human creativity. Attention was also given to the European Union’s role in AI regulation and the protection of the public information space.

Confirmed speakers included:

The debate was hosted by Wikimedia Europe in collaboration with Wikimedia Czech Republic as an accompanying event to the General Assembly of Wikimedia Europe, which was held in Prague for the third time. The assembly brought together representatives of European Wikimedia chapters and partner organizations and took place from April 26th to 27th, 2025.

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