Event:IDAHOBIT 2026

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IDAHOBIT 2026

Wikimedia LGBT+ warmly invites you to join us in celebrating the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (Q819214) (IDAHOBIT).

Observed annually on 17 May, this is a global day to recognize and counter the violence and discrimination faced by the LGBT+ community. Under the 2026 global theme, "At the Heart of Democracy", we aim to show how LGBTQ+ rights and visibility are essential to a healthy society.

We invite all Wikimedians, allies, and activists to participate in our community panel and edit-a-thon!

Community panel

On 17 May 2026 (UTC 14:00), Wikimedia LGBT+ will host a virtual panel discussion featuring Jack Shoulder and Lucy Hinnie. They will discuss the intersections of LGBT+, GLAM and open knowledge. This panel will be in English, with Spanish live interpretation.

Speakers

Jack Shoulder

Jack Shoulder (Bsky, IG) is a writer, historian and educator who encourages people to see the world in a new way, by sharing stories that have been hidden, glossed over and overlooked.

Although his dreams of being a Blue Peter (Q1247639) presenter never panned out, he has found his audience of art lovers and history buffs through his books Museum Bums: A Cheeky Look at Butts in Art History (Bsky, IG), with callipygian collaborator Mark Small, and the upcoming Hotties in Art, exploring the stories behind our favourite Art History boyfriends as well as his popular tours of museums across the UK and a charming online presence with MuseumBums and #TodayInQueerHistory.

Lucy Hinnie

Lucy (she/her) is Topics for Impact Coordinator at Wikimedia UK, and Wikimedia and Open Research Advisor at the University of Leeds (Q503424). She was previously a member of the Let's Connect Working Group from 2023 to 2025. In 2024 she was a Digital Research Fellow at GLAM-E Lab, at the University of Exeter (Q1414861), seconded from Wikimedia UK. She was previously Wikimedian in Residence at the British Library (Q23308) from 2021 to 2023.

Lucy is a Wikimedian, researcher, and digital humanist. She is interested in gender equity, open knowledge and GLAM. Outside of Wiki she is part of the She Says improv comedy collective, she podcasts about pop culture, and hangs out with her two elderly cats.

Links from the meeting chat

Portrait of James VI and I by an unknown Dutch artist, 1614

Portrait of George Villiers by Peter Paul Rubens, between 1617 and 1628

Rainbow plaques in York, commemorating Anne Lister. A 2018 plaque described Lister as a "gender non-conforming entrepreneur"; it was replaced in 2019 with a new description "lesbian and diarist".

Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse

During the discussion, several links were posted into the Zoom chat:

• Roman Emperor Elagabalus (ca. 204–222)

• 12 Queering the Castalian: James VI and I and ‘Narratives of Blood’, a chapter by Lucy Hinnie in Life at the Margins in Early Modern Scotland, DOI: 10.1515/9781805433279-017

• Mary & George (2024), a dramatisation about James VI and I (1566–1625) and George Villiers (1592–1628), his "favourite"

• Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1546–1567), the father of James VI and I, who may also have had queer relationships.

• Anne Lister (1791–1840), "the first modern lesbian", who was dramatised in Gentleman Jack (2019–2022)

• Before we were trans: A new history of gender by Dr Kit Heyam, who worked with Wikimedia LGBT+, Wikimedia Argentina and Art+Feminism on the publication Wikipedia and the Biographies of LGBTQ+ People, an English-language adaptation of the Spanish-language Wikipedia y las biografías de personas LGBTT+, which has also been adapted into Portuguese as Wikipédia e as biografias de pessoas LGBTQIAP+

• Narcissus, the figure from Greek mythology, who Owen described as an "archetypal himbo". Owen also mentioned the painting by John William Waterhouse, shown above.

• The history behind an absolute unit, from the Museum of English Rural Life

• Two spirit, a term used by some Indigenous North Americans for people who live outside of binary gender

• Mark Fowler, a cis-het male character from EastEnders who had an early HIV/AIDS storyline, and Hayley Cropper, a trans woman character from Coronation Street.

• Queer Welsh History and Wikipedia, the event Owen is running with Gemma Coleman of Wikimedia UK in Cardiff on 16 June. Norena Shopland, Emily Garside, Mark Etheridge and Sara Huws will all be speakers at the event.

• Keira Evans' lightning talk at the Wikimedia UK community celebration

• Transfeminise Wikipedia!, the editathons on 21 and 27 June at The Feminist Library, being organised by Wikimedia UK.

• Queer Britain’s Wikimedian in Residence, Katie Crampton's write-up of the mini-residency at Queer Britain, the national LGBTQ+ museum

• The Log Books, a history of Switchboard, formerly London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard

• Saint Fagan's National Museum of History, near Cardiff

• Baño Revolution, an art activism project in Buenos Aires in 2009 to both draw attention to and combat the discrimination against the LGBT community inherent in the gender binary bathroom system.

• In addition to the editathon links below, Owen also suggested WikiProject AIDS: To do from the English Wikipedia

Edit-a-thon

Following the community panel, we will host an online editing campaign from 17 to 24 May to create, improve, and translate articles related to key milestones in the celebration and recognition of the LGBT+ community.

While the edit-a-thon is primarily asynchronous, we will hold one synchronous session on Friday 22 May from 16:00 to 18:00 UTC to edit together in real-time.

We will focus on creating and improving articles regarding LGBT+ observances. If you would like to add relevant categories in your own language, please feel free to do so below.

We are working within the following categories:

• English Wikipedia: Category:LGBTQ events

• Spanish Wikipedia: Categoría:Eventos LGBT

• French Wikipedia: Catégorie:Événement LGBT

• Igbo Wikipedia: Category:Ḿmèm̀me LGBT

• Other categories to work on English Wikipedia: LGBTQ-related films by genre and 21st-century LGBTQ people by nationality

How to participate

1. Log in to Meta Wikipedia (this website) with your Wikimedia username. If you don’t yet have one, you can create an account here. Whenever possible, link your Wikimedia account to an email address so you can easily receive notifications. If you prefer not to, please write to communitywmlgbtorg to let us know. If your Meta-wiki user is not connected to an email address, you won't be receiving the information properly. Let us know, and we will send the information to you via email.

2. Once logged in, register for the event using the Event Registration Tool at the top of this page. Click the blue button labeled "Register for event". You may register either publicly or privately to preserve your anonymity as participant.

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