Communications/WikiCelebrate

Celebrating the pillars of our movement

WikiCelebrate

The Wikimedia movement exists because of the contributions of countless volunteers and other Wikimedians from around the world, people from diverse backgrounds and life experiences contributing to the sum of human knowledge. The sheer magnitude of this global collaboration baffles most outside our movement. Many editors have long contributed independently without much acknowledgement, and some like it that way. For others, love and recognition from peers can go a long way to encourage and uplift. We are here to celebrate the exceptional people of Wikimedia, the pillars of our movement, the puzzle pieces of our ever-expanding universe of knowledge.

Celebrating Wikimedians

Barnstars are a beloved way of expressing gratitude for each other in the movement, but often without further public attention. We have no shortage of amazing contributors to celebrate and we are dedicating this space to them. WikiCelebrate is an easy, collaborative way to spotlight Wikimedians and their amazing work throughout the year. Each month we will celebrate a different Wikimedian and invite your help in further celebrating them! If you know them, share a great anecdote about your work with them. If there are others we should celebrate, please nominate them. In addition to your love and gratitude of course, the Celebrated Wikimedians will receive a limited edition barnstar, a small gift, and posts on Diff and social media.

We plan on presenting the Wikimedians of the Year in this space as well and will soon create an in memoriam page as we mark the passing of fellow Wikimedia friends and colleagues.

Mea Hanohano

The word 'wiki' is at the root of our nomenclature. That’s Hawaiian for quick. Honouring this quintessential term, we are calling this section hanohano for honour, distinction, and prestige, and adding mea to create mea hanohano, an honourable person. So, we are here to celebrate honourable Wikimedians of the highest distinction and prestige, Wikimedians of exceptional commitment and contribution.

This month we celebrate...

Penny Richards

Finding joy in what she contributes to Wikimedia and how she accomplishes that is fundamental for Penny Richards (userpage). Penny loves that she can make connections with folks around the world and join efforts with a large global project like Wikipedia all the while from home and in her pajamas.

It’s a chance to use my research and writing skills every day. I don’t have an academic job and I don’t have space in my life for a big independent research project right now, but a daily biography is manageable and satisfying. [...] My usual project on Wikipedia is WikiProject Women in Red; that’s where I put most of my energy and find most of my community.

Read more about Penny!

Nomination box

We would love your input. If there’s an outstanding Wikimedian you know, please...

nominate them!