Education/News/June 2025/Wikipedia meets 2500 Ukrainian educators at the country’s biggest education festival

Wikipedia meets 2500 Ukrainian educators at the country’s biggest education festival

Author: Anton Protsiuk / Wikimedia Ukraine

Summary: In June 2025, Wikimedia Ukraine had the opportunity of presenting the Wikipedia Education Program at “Teachers of the Future,” Ukraine’s largest education event held in Lviv by Osvitoria, a Ukrainian education nonprofit. The festival brought together over 2500 educators, students, and thought leaders, including Ukraine’s Prime Minister and Minister of Education. As an official partner, Wikimedia Ukraine engaged with hundreds of participants through an interactive booth and a practical workshop, sharing how Wikipedia can be a powerful tool for teaching media and information literacy in Ukrainian schools.

Our team ran a booth on the “Partnership Alley” and hosted a workshop as part of the festival program. Throughout the event, we had the chance to speak with hundreds of teachers – some of whom were new to Wikipedia and learned for the first time that it is a volunteer-driven project open to contributions from educators and their students. Others were already familiar with our work, having taken part in the “Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom” course.

About 300 people took our Wikipedia quiz during the two-day festival, and all attendees received a printed leaflet explaining how to use Wikipedia effectively in education. The workshop led by Maryna Chala, a certified “Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom” trainer, was a valuable addition to our presence, giving educators practical tools to bring Wikipedia into their classrooms.

At our interactive booth, we introduced participants to interactive activities like “Wiki Cards” and our Wikipedia quiz. The cards helped demonstrate how Wikipedia’s infobox templates can be used to spark students' interest in historical figures, concepts, and events. The quiz not only tested knowledge but helped participants better understand how Wikipedia works – for example, how anyone can fix an error and how the platform is funded. To make things more fun, we offered small souvenirs for those who took the quiz.

It was exciting to see not just teachers, but also high school students, university applicants, and undergraduates showing interest in Wikipedia and asking great questions.

The festival also offered a great chance to forge new partnerships, as well as reconnect with our existing allies. We can’t announce everything just yet, but a few exciting collaborations are already in motion – stay tuned for more updates soon.