Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/Wikimedia Sverige – Growing communities, engagement and structures to expand access to free knowledge/Yearly Report (2025)
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Part 1: Understanding your work
[edit]Per the recent update on the Wikimedia Foundation Affiliates Strategy process, Wikimedia Affiliates that are General Support Fund grantees will fulfill their affiliate reporting requirements through their final or yearly grantee report.
If you are a Wikimedia Affiliate, you will use this form for your affiliate reporting and to address the affiliate health criteria. You do not need to submit a separate report to AffCom. Follow the guidance in the green boxes to report on how you met the corresponding affiliate health criteria.
If you are not a Wikimedia Affiliate, aligning your responses with the affiliate criteria is optional and not required.
1. Please share to what extent your programs, approaches, and strategies contributed to addressing the challenges you shared in your proposal. If they did not contribute as you believed they would, please share what obstacles you faced and what, if anything, you learned from them? (required)
For affiliates, use this space (Question 1.) to address Affiliate Health Criterion 1.1 (Goal delivery). Describe how you actively delivered on mission goals, e.g. content creation.
Wikimedia Sverige’s programs, approaches, and strategies in 2025 helped address the challenges outlined in our proposal, with varying degrees of progress across different areas. The direction proved relevant and well-aligned with the challenges we had identified. At the same time, the pace of implementation was slower than anticipated due to organizational constraints, which meant that several approaches contributed primarily through foundational progress rather than fully realized outcomes during the year.
A key conclusion from 2025 is that the main limitation was not a lack of demand, relevance, or strategic clarity. On the contrary, interest in partnerships, collaboration, and funding opportunities remained strong from a lot of different stakeholders. The primary constraint was instead that the organization operated in a transition phase, where recruitment, onboarding, and internal restructuring temporarily reduced delivery capacity. As a result, several of the planned activities were initiated and developed, but their full impact will materialize over a longer timeframe.
Overall progress and contribution to the identified challenges
[edit]The proposal positioned WCF funding as flexible core support to enable activities that are difficult to fund externally, including core operations, development of new partnerships and funding streams, community engagement, and strategic experimentation. It was also assumed that 2025 would be a year of renewed growth following a period of downsizing some areas of the association’s work.
In practice, the work during the year aligned well with this logic. Key systems and structures were strengthened, including fundraising processes, partnership models, technical development workflows, and internal coordination. New project funding was secured, fundraising efforts expanded, and important steps were taken to prepare for the next multi-year strategy. At the same time, recruitment processes, onboarding, and internal restructuring required more time than anticipated, which reduced the pace of delivery across several areas.
This created a situation where most of the association's work contributed to strengthening long-term capacity, while some planned outputs were delayed.
Access: content partnerships, structured data, policy, and the Content Partnerships Hub
[edit]The Access program focused on improving and expanding content, strengthening policy influence, and advancing the Content Partnerships Hub.
Work on structured data and content quality contributed strongly to improving access to free knowledge. Efforts to enhance metadata, improve integration across platforms, and support reuse increased the value and visibility of content. This was particularly important in a context where Wikimedia content is increasingly reused in downstream systems, including AI-based applications.
The shift from focusing primarily on onboarding new partners to deepening and scaling existing partnerships proved effective. Work included follow-up with established partners, improving previously uploaded material, identifying new collections, and strengthening collaboration models. This approach contributed to more sustainable and impactful partnerships. The total number of partners involved increased compared to 2024, but only 9 of them were completely new.
Progress on the Content Partnerships Hub contributed to global coordination and scalable support structures, particularly through governance discussions, international collaboration, and continued experimentation with components such as helpdesk functions and shared infrastructure. We were successful in engaging other Wikimedia affiliates actively in the hub work and in building collaboration around joint funding efforts, including co-applying for project funding. This was an important step toward a more shared and sustainable model for international coordination. At the same time, this work faced constraints related to shifting external conditions, complex coordination requirements, and limited internal capacity, which reduced the pace of implementation.
Policy work contributed strongly to addressing the challenge of ensuring that free knowledge perspectives are represented in legislative processes. Continued engagement in national and international policy discussions, network-building, and collaboration with aligned actors strengthened this position and built on long-term efforts in this area.
Use: accessibility and technical development
[edit]The Use program focused on reducing barriers to access and participation through the continued development of Wikispeech. Wikispeech is an open source software solution, a text-to-speech tool created for Wikipedia and the other platforms using the MediaWiki software. The tool is working along the same crowdsourcing principles as Wikipedia, where you can improve the content if you encounter a mistake.
To allow for the text-to-speech to be scaled in a cost-effective way to all of the languages Wikipedia exists in, we will also develop tools for speech data collection. The speech data (lexical resources and speech recordings) will be hugely valuable also for other purposes, including AI initiatives. In 2025, the development improved significantly by combining technical progress with a much more user-centred development process.
A key step forward was the closer involvement of target groups and partner organizations in shaping the work. Rather than mainly providing feedback after decisions had been made, they increasingly influenced priorities, features, and technical choices throughout the process. Qualitative testing and repeated consultations made it easier to identify what was actually needed for the tool to be useful in everyday contexts.
This also strengthened the development methodology. Work became more iterative, with functions being developed, tested, and improved step by step. Staff training in accessibility principles and testing together with Begripsam, a Swedish association of experts in digital and physical accessibility, helped ensure that usability and accessibility were built into the process from the start.
On the technical side, several improvements increased both usability and long-term sustainability. The Wikispeech-player was redesigned to become more intuitive and accessible and new functions were added. We also began enabling the reading of more article elements beyond body text. Accessibility was also strengthened through interface improvements and a more maintainable codebase.
Overall, this work addressed the accessibility challenge not only by improving the tool itself, but by creating a stronger, community based, foundation for a solution that is more relevant, usable, and sustainable over time. At the same time, implementation was slower than planned, and fewer resources were invested than anticipated during parts of the year. This limited the number of immediate outputs, but the work contributed to addressing the challenge by improving the conditions for continued development and scaling in future years.
Community: engagement, participation, and movement-building
[edit]The Community program aimed to strengthen engagement, broaden participation, and build a more sustainable and inclusive movement.
Progress was made in developing structures for engagement, including the implementation of a CRM system that could include volunteer information and the development of training and learning resources. These efforts contributed to building a more organized and sustainable community by improving how individuals can be engaged, supported, and retained over time.
Volunteer engagement increased in terms of activity levels, and new pathways for participation were tested. A participatory strategy process also contributed to strengthening alignment and ownership among members and stakeholders.
At the same time, challenges remained in converting interest into sustained engagement. Barriers to participation in certain activities remained high, and clearer role definitions and onboarding processes are needed to support long-term involvement. This highlights that community growth depends not only on outreach, but on well-designed systems for engagement and retention.
Enabling: financial sustainability and organizational capacity
The Enabling program focused on strengthening financial sustainability, internal systems, and organizational capacity.
Fundraising efforts developed positively, with increased application activity and a strong success rate in securing external funding. This contributed directly to reducing dependency on a single funding source and strengthening long-term financial resilience. The work also demonstrated the importance of WCF funding in enabling co-financing, proposal development, and activities that are otherwise difficult to fund.
The implementation of a CRM system and continued investment in fundraising and engagement structures contributed to building the foundation for more effective donor and member engagement over time. We saw a significant increase in the number of donations and are very optimistic about the continued development of our donor database in the coming years. So far, the investments seem to be paying off.
At the same time, these efforts required significant upfront investment, and the full effects are expected to materialize over a longer time horizon. Recruitment processes and onboarding also took longer than anticipated, which limited the organization’s ability to fully scale activities during the year.
A key lesson is that strengthening financial sustainability and organizational capacity requires multi-year investment, where the initial phase focuses on building systems and processes rather than maximizing immediate outputs.
Cross-cutting obstacles and lessons learned
[edit]Across all program areas, three main challenges affected implementation:
- Staffing transitions and delayed recruitment, which reduced available capacity during large parts of the year
- Somewhat limited documentation and and less clear internal processes, which slowed onboarding and knowledge transfer
- A gap between external demand and internal capacity, where interest from partners and stakeholders exceeded what could be delivered within the available resources
These challenges did not invalidate the strategic approach, but they affected the pace at which it could be implemented.
A central learning from the year is that organizational growth and scaling involve a temporary trade-off between building capacity and delivering results. Investments in systems, staffing, and processes are necessary to enable future impact, but they can reduce short-term output.
Conclusion
[edit]Wikimedia Sverige’s programs and strategies in 2025 contributed to addressing the identified challenges, particularly by strengthening the organization’s long-term ability to deliver impact. Progress was made in fundraising, partnerships, policy influence, technical development, and community engagement structures.
Where results were more limited than expected, the primary reason was not a lack of relevance or effectiveness in the strategy, but constraints in organizational capacity during a period of transition and expansion.
Overall, 2025 should be understood as a year where key foundations were built and strengthened, enabling more effective implementation and scaling in the years ahead.
2. Is there a plan to build on the key successes you had? If yes, please describe the plan and if no, please share the limitations to do so. For instance, did the activities lead to any new priorities, ideas for activities, or goals for the future? (required)
''''Yes. Our 2026 plan is clearly designed to build on the main successes of 2025. While 2025 was affected by staff transitions and a slower-than-planned scale-up, it laid a strong foundation for future growth. Key achievements included stronger structured data work, a more stable foundation for Wikispeech, implementation of a new CRM system, promising fundraising results, strong progress in developing a new 2026–2030 strategy, renewed GLAM partnerships, stronger policy positioning, and new international opportunities through hub and UN-related work. These results are now being carried forward through an Annual Plan for 2026 focused on scaling, professionalization, deeper impact, stronger public visibility, and stronger long-term sustainability.
In practice, this means that successful pilots and early-stage investments from 2025 will now be expanded. Fundraising and membership recruitment will be scaled up using the CRM infrastructure and tested methods such as digital campaigns, Face-to-Face outreach, donor contact, and legacy giving. This is part of a broader effort to build a more sustainable and resilient organization with a stronger membership base, closer integration between fundraising, communications, partnerships, and volunteer engagement, and a reduced dependency on individual funding streams. It also reflects a clearer ambition to build Wikimedia Sverige as a stronger people-powered movement, where members and volunteers are offered more tailored ways to engage over time.
GLAM partnerships will be deepened through renewed agreements, structured data and media uploads, joint funding applications, and new training offers. This includes building further on renewed and strengthened collaboration structures, developing learning materials for future GLAM professionals, and using key milestones such as Wikipedia’s 25th anniversary and 15 years of GLAM partnerships in Sweden to increase visibility, strengthen partnerships, and create new opportunities for outreach and engagement. Policy work will build on the credibility established in 2025 and place greater emphasis on copyright reform, AI, accessibility, and volunteer-supported advocacy.
Internationally, work with the Content Partnerships Hub created new openings that will be developed further in 2026. This includes the further development of the governance structures and clearer roles, scaling of the Helpdesk, further development of Metabase, development of learning resources, development of a WiR training program for IGOs, new partnerships with IGOs, affiliates and other hub initiatives, active communication and community engagement.
The AI components developed within Wikispeech will also strengthen our position in national and international policy discussions on AI. This ensures that Wikimedia Sverige is recognized not only as an advocate but also as an AI stakeholder, allowing us to influence discussions with practical expertise. We will further refine the Wikispeech text-to-speech solution and then switch our focus into developing the speech data collector. When the speech data collector is ready by summer 2026 we will launch a number of initiatives together with our partners to collect speech data. Furthermore, we will build upon the preparations made in 2025 to work actively to create community engagement and to communicate and lobby to improve the understanding of digital accessibility and associated issues amongst the Wikimedia community, legislators and the general public. This means that the work is expanding from technical development into a broader effort around accessibility awareness, policy, and movement engagement. The accessibility work will also be broadened through the Wikimedia Accessibility Academy, combining technical development with learning resources, public events, volunteer engagement, and advocacy around digital inclusion.
The learning modules hosted at Learn.wiki will be expanded upon, to further support and systematize the efforts to support new community leaders emerging in the organization. In 2026, we plan to more actively test, iterate and use these modules and ensure they are used by leaders in spe. The modules will also help us systematize capacity building and make successful approaches easier to replicate over time, both within the organization and together with partners.
The successes of 2025 also led to a clearer prioritization of communications as a strategic function in 2026. In addition to scaling programs and partnerships, we will invest more in communicating results, tailoring outreach through the CRM system, and ensuring that successful initiatives gain broader visibility and stronger long-term impact.
The work in 2025 also generated new priorities for the future. It highlighted the need for stronger internal documentation, better onboarding, clearer support structures for innovation projects, and closer integration between fundraising, communications, partnerships, and volunteer engagement. Several activities that were delayed in 2025 due to recruitment and capacity constraints have not been dropped; instead, they have been moved into 2026–2027, supported by a fuller team and carried-over project funding. In that sense, the main limitation was implementation capacity, not lack of relevance or momentum. Overall, 2026 is planned as a year to consolidate lessons learned, expand what worked, and turn promising experiments into more sustainable long-term programs. The organization enters 2026 with stronger conditions to scale what worked, deepen promising initiatives, and turn early successes into more sustainable long-term impact.
3. Please provide a link to reports that detail the activities that took place in the last year. This can include an annual report, Meta pages, and websites. If there are no links available, briefly describe the implemented activities and programs below or upload any files. (required)
For affiliates, use this space (Question 3.) to address Affiliate Health Criteria 2.1 (Affiliate health & resilience), 4.1 (Internal engagement), 4.2 (Community connection), and 4.3 (Partnerships and collaboration):
- Describe your activities engaging new users, new members for your decision-making body(ies), and developing leaders and organizers (2.1).
- Describe your activities creating or hosting spaces to encourage greater collaboration and engagement among your members (4.1).
- Describe how you engage with the contributing community that you serve and/or support (4.2).
- Describe your partnerships with other affiliates or with non-Wikimedia entities (4.3).
- Annual report (in English): https://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Verksamhetsberättelse_2025/en
- [1]Blog posts from 2024: [2]
- For each project we compile Core Metrics for the events: https://se.wikimedia.org/wiki/Kategori:Globala_mätetal_2025
4. Are you interested in sharing what you achieved or learned this year with the wider community through different peer learning programs (e.g. Let's Connect program, Diff)? (optional)
Yes, we are interested in sharing our achievements and learnings with the wider Wikimedia community through various peer-learning programs, as well as exploring new ways to enhance knowledge exchange within the Movement.
We greatly appreciate WMF’s efforts to facilitate knowledge-sharing through initiatives such as Let's Connect and are keen to continue contributing to the peer learning programs and thereby sharing insights, achievements and learnings with the wider community. Moving forward, we see opportunities to share insights on affiliate collaborations for joint funding applications, building networks for copyright advocacy or batch uploads of heritage data.
Through the Helpdesk within the Content Partnerships Hub, we provide a structured approach to peer-learning and knowledge exchange. This is a novel approach to jointly identify knowledge in the Movement and compile it based on actual direct needs, identified through the requests sent in to the Helpdesk. The insights of what material is available will subsequently be made available through the Metabase platform, ensuring sustainable accessibility across the Movement.
For Diff, we intend to continue sharing updates that we believe are important to the global community, either because they offer opportunities to contribute to the initiative or because others may learn from them. This could, for example, include developments related to the thematic hub for content partnerships, our work with Wikispeech, efforts to improve digital accessibility, and joint funding opportunities for affiliates.
We actively contribute to community learning by sharing our work at various Wikimedia events and networks, such as Wikimania, where we have delivered presentations on e.g. UN collaboration, GLAM, and content partnerships. This makes our expertise widely accessible for the community present at Wikimania.
We are also actively sharing insights through different national conferences and events to engage with the Swedish community and external partners. One example of this is the Wikipedia Day that in 2025 that focused on Wikimedia’s role in civil defence, especially regarding the fight against mis- and disinformation.
We will continue to participate actively in Wikimedia networks to learn about what is going on, to learn from others' work and share our insights. Such networks include the GLAM Wiki Network, public policy networks among such staff members, the Open Science Network currently being established, etc. We also intend to meet and discuss with other hub initiatives, such as VSN, EduWiki Hub, CEE, WikiFranca and ESEAP Hub. We are signing Memorandum of Understandings to that effect.
We see a need to develop even more paths for peer-learning and training in the future. We have started looking into this and two examples where we have initiatives planned are on developing: 1) a training program specially targeted towards WiR positions at UN agencies and 2) an application for the Grand Tour of Wikimedia, as an exchange program for Wikimedia affiliates. Preparatory work has been done in previous years and in 2025 we aim to scale up the efforts.
5. Did you collect feedback from your community or target groups on how the activities implemented impacted them? If yes, please attach/provide information on the results (e.g. community surveys, stories, impact booklets/reports, interviews with partner institutions, etc). Did you collect other impact-specific data? (required)
For affiliates, the response to Question 5. also partially addresses Affiliate Health Criteria 4.1 (Internal Engagement), 4.2 (Community Connection), or 4.3 (Partnerships & collaboration), where applicable.
We have actively sought feedback from our community and target groups on multiple occasions to assess the impact of our activities.
The most significant opportunity for this engagement is our Annual General Meeting (AGM), where a key agenda item is the discussion on the orientation of activities (Swedish: verksamhetsinriktning), which shapes the development of our plans for the coming year. Members thus play a fundamental role in influencing the association’s direction (including to completely change it), ensuring that our activities align with the community's needs. The most recent verksamhetsinriktning decision ([3]) was made at our 2025 AGM.
In recent years, we have increasingly used the AGM as a platform for practical input on operations, incorporating workshops and member meetings while many members are already present. At the 2025 AGM, we organized workshops focused on how the Wikimedia movement could contribute to a positive AI development. This was connected to our advocacy work, and built upon research and networks we had developed during the last years. Guest speakers from the Royal Technical Institute of Technology (KTH), the National Archives of Sweden and the Royal Library all shared insights to frame the discussion. This workshop not only ensured broader member involvement but also strengthened the foundation for our policy response.
Beyond the AGM, we have consistently collaborated with our members to enhance our advocacy efforts. A key strength of our organization in advocacy work is our access to real-world practical examples and insights from our community. Collecting this feedback is essential for demonstrating to policymakers how legislative proposals impact our target groups in practice.
We carried out substantial strategy development during the year and used several methods to collect ideas, reflections, and opinions on the association’s future direction. These included a partner survey, working groups involving volunteers, and a membership survey. Together, these processes helped ensure that both external partners and our own community could shape the strategic priorities and direction of the organization.
In addition to legislative matters, we have worked closely with Wikimedia communities in Sweden and internationally to understand how AI developments affect their work. This includes both how they utilize AI and how AI developers use Wikimedia content to train models. These discussions have been critical in shaping both our Wikispeech project – where we are actively developing AI components – and our advocacy efforts, given AI's prominence on the political agenda. Through workshops, we have explored community perspectives on AI’s opportunities and challenges. This work continued in 2025 and we published reports with the insights gathered, both in academic and Wikimedia community formats.
Similarly, we have interviewed Wikimedians in Residence worldwide to gain a deeper understanding of their needs and priorities. This work is part of our broader strategy to expand opportunities within the IGO system and to provide a positive experience for both the person acting as a Wikimedian in Residence and the hosting organization. In 2025 we published one of our reports ([4]) with insights that will shape the training program.
Within the Content Partnerships Hub work, we also took deliberate steps to ensure that other affiliates could influence the work and future plans. This included developing a concept ([5]) for an international expert community connected to the Helpdesk. The committee ([6]), consisting of volunteers from across the world, was active during the entire year, providing us with insights and guiding the work. We also organized the Berlin Funding and Governance Workshop ([7]) to bring together Wikimedia affiliates from across the world to co-develop the Content Partnerships Hub and submit a joint application for pilot funding from Wikimedia Foundation’s Hub Fund. These structures created opportunities for affiliates from different contexts to contribute perspectives, identify needs, and help shape priorities for the hub’s continued development.
While we have made significant progress in collecting and using community feedback, we recognize that further improvements are needed, particularly in relation to surveys connected to events and activities. Going forward, we intend to strengthen our impact analysis processes so that the feedback collected more systematically informs concrete action. At the same time, we remain mindful that data collection should always serve a clear purpose. Our priority is to gather insights that can lead to tangible improvements, rather than carrying out surveys for their own sake.
6. During the fund period, did your efforts do any of the following? (required):
For affiliates, the response to Question 6. also partially addresses Affiliate Health Criterion 2.2 (Diversity balance).
- 6.1 Bring in participants from the following groups: women, people with disabilities, neurodiverse people, people from lower socioeconomic status, speakers of minority languages, underrepresented geographical regions (ESEAP, LATAM, SSA, MENA, SA)
- 6.2 Develop content about the following underrepresented topics or groups of people: women, LGBTQ+ groups, underrepresented geographical regions (ESEAP, LATAM, SSA, MENA, SA)
- 6.3 Support the retention of: Editors, Organizers, Partnerships, Wikimedians in Residence positions
7. What, if any, effective tactics or approaches can you share that worked well when dealing with the programs under points 6.1-6.3 that you selected? (optional)
Our Wikispeech project has successfully brought people with disabilities into our networks through partnerships with civil society organizations representing the visually impaired. This collaboration, focused on developing a speech synthesis for Wikipedia, has helped build strong alliances with a new audience. While these organizations are now engaged in the project, we continue exploring ways to involve their communities more directly on the platforms. Utilizing grant applications is a powerful tool to quickly identify joint interest and opportunities (as there is a deadline looming both organizations prioritize developing the partnership quickly). People with different types of physical and/or neurodiverse challenges actively contributed with insights into the development process of Wikispeech during the year. In 2025 we expanded the discussions to cover joint communication and lobbying efforts and aim to implement the work in 2026. We also developed plans and an external grant application (which received funding from Microsoft AI for Good Lab) for how we could utilize Wikispeech for speech data collection focusing on minority languages in the EU, starting with the Basque language.
To bring new participants into the Wikimedia platforms and communities, two approaches have proven particularly effective. First, our long-running technology pool allows volunteers and members to borrow technical equipment, thereby lowering barriers to participation for individuals with more limited financial means. This initiative has enabled substantial contributions, including the creation of new articles, proofreading, and other content improvements. In some cases, participants have borrowed computers for extended periods, which has helped deepen both their engagement and their long-term impact. Second, to reduce financial barriers to offline participation, we provide grants and travel reimbursement for meetings and events. This helps ensure more equitable participation by making it possible for people from a wider range of socioeconomic backgrounds to take part.
To reach and empower women and non-binary people we have invested in organizing a Wikipedia camp with national admission to the camp. The camp model has proven to be a very effective engine to engage new volunteers and empower them to take up different roles within the organization.
When it comes to content development, the Helpdesk function of our Content Partnerships Hub initiative has played a key role in bringing in contributions from underrepresented communities. We also carried out strategic data uploads, including structured data on Wikimedia Commons, to enhance the discoverability of cultural heritage content from marginalized communities and regions.
To retain editors, we organize a number of recurring activities throughout the year. Our flagship annual event is Wikipedia Day, which brings together members, editors, and partners to explore Wikipedia from different perspectives. As a well-established and anticipated gathering, it helps sustain long-term engagement by offering thoughtful discussions and new perspectives that continue to inspire experienced contributors.
In addition, our community support program provides press accreditation to major events such as football matches, large concerts, and political fairs. This not only enables the creation of relevant content to Wikimedia projects that reaches millions of viewers annually, but also gives volunteers and members access to unique and motivating opportunities. Many participants return year after year to document prominent events, such as Melodifestivalen, Sweden’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.
We also invest significant time in preparing for the Annual General Meeting to ensure that it offers a clear overview of the association’s work and serves as an important entry point for those who wish to deepen their involvement. In that sense, the AGM is itself an important part of our efforts to retain members. Its role is further strengthened by the annual presentation of the Swedish Wikipedian of the Year award during the meeting.
To strengthen relationships with partners, we focus on working with datasets that provide value to their work, reinforcing their engagement with our initiatives. New for 2025 was that we sent out a newly designed report to our content partners in which we outlined the impact of their contributions to the Wikimedia platforms. The report was sent during the first months of 2026 and was very well received. We also hosted an annual partner meeting at the end of the year to express appreciation for our collaborations and maintain strong, long-term connections.
Regarding our work on content related to underrepresented topics, we had several initiatives that contributed to improving coverage, particularly in relation to women, LGBTQ+ topics, and underrepresented regions.
Two initiatives had a specific focus on increasing the number of articles about women. The first was Kvinnliga huvudpersoner, which aimed to strengthen content about women through targeted content development and community engagement. Volunteers met weekly at in-person edit-a-thons to develop articles about women. The second was our Wikipedia camp, where participants were encouraged and supported to create and improve articles on underrepresented topics, including content about women. All the participants at the camp identified as women. These initiatives not only resulted in new and improved articles, but also helped raise awareness among participants about existing content gaps and the importance of addressing them.
We also worked with uploading the Queerlit dataset on LGBTQ+ literature to Wikidata. This dataset will support the development and improvement of content related to LGBTQ+ authors, works, and literary history. This contributed to addressing gaps in representation both in terms of subject matter and the communities reflected in Wikimedia content.
In addition, through the Helpdesk connected to the Content Partnerships Hub, we supported volunteers from underrepresented geographical regions. This included providing advice, guidance, and practical support to help them develop content partnerships and carry out activities in their own contexts. In this way, our work did not only address underrepresentation in terms of topic, but also in terms of whose perspectives, institutions, and knowledge are included in the Wikimedia movement.
One part of the work with developing a WiR training program for IGOs focused on identifying what needs exists to create an all around successful and positive experience for both the Wikimedia expert working as a WiR, for the host organization and for the Thematic hub coordinating it. We had a very positive and valuable response to this work. Through these fact gathering efforts we have a better opportunity to deliver a successful program and it has allowed us to build relations with WiR experts in the Movement that might be either taking on the WiR positions themselves later on, or mentor new people. In 2025 we developed a report on how to best support WiR positions in the future. We intend to publish the report in 2026.
8. If you developed partnerships, which of the following factors most helped you to build partnerships? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors (optional):
Permanent staff outreach, Staff hired through the fund, Partners proactive interest
Part 2: Metrics for Year 2
[edit]| Wikimedia Metrics | Target (Year 2) | Results (Year 2) | Comments and tools used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of all participants | N/A | 1875 | This target met our expectations. The Access program, as in 2024, was the area that managed to reach the highest number of participants. The Community program shows that the organization has a stable base of engaged members, but also that we need to improve our ability to reach new groups. |
| Number of all editors | N/A | 468 | Number of all editors: This target exceeded our expectations, where our improved monitoring of Community Support captured the large number of active editors. Nevertheless, the figure, which is based solely on existing communities, shows that we need more strategies to engage new communities. |
| Number of new editors | N/A | ||
| Number of retained editors | N/A | ||
| Number of all organizers | N/A | 115 | Number of all organizers: This result slightly surpassed our expectations, despite both Wikispeech not having time to impact the metrics and the hub project not receiving funding. Again the Knowledge Rights 21 funded work impacted here, as did increased engagement by our supported community. |
| Number of new organizers | N/A |
| Wikimedia project | Target - Number of created pages (Year 2) | Target - Number of improved pages (Year 2) | Result - Number of created pages (Year 2) | Result - Number of improved pages (Year 2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 3029 | |||
| Wikimedia Commons | 111540 | |||
| Wikidata | 150495 | |||
| Wiktionary | ||||
| Wikisource | ||||
| Wikimedia Incubator | ||||
| Translatewiki | ||||
| MediaWiki | ||||
| Wikiquote | ||||
| Wikivoyage | ||||
| Wikibooks | ||||
| Wikiversity | ||||
| Wikinews | ||||
| Wikispecies | ||||
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
Tool used and comments (optional):
Note that our metric is defined as "new or improved content", as such the result is reported as "improved" here.
The Wikipedia result exceeded our expectations, if only by a small margin. A large proportion of the edits come from established users, proving that we should continue to explore how best to deliver support to the active community. As in 2024, the figures show that supporting the creation of content on Wikimedia Commons also has a positive effect on Wikipedia when new media content is added to articles.
The result for Wikimedia Commons exceeded our expectations and originated from the enrichment we made of images from the Wiki Loves Monuments and Earth competitions in several countries, including by linking to Wikidata for the objects they depict.
Most of the edits in Wikidata were made to achieve better interoperability of Wikidata with other public registers. The majority of the edits in Wikidata are updated Swedish ancient monuments with new identifiers to make them compatible with the National Board of Heritage's system again. Another part of the edits comes from our collaboration in the linked open data project A Network of Places.
The plan for Wikidata was to have the results coming in from three primary sources: Swedish library data, geographical data through the project A Network of Places and Wiki Loves data through requests to the Helpdesk. Through cut funding and focus changes within the projects none of these initiatives took place. Instead the focus shifted to working with SDC enrichment and supporting GLAM staff in being able to do Wikidata work themselves.
11. Did you set other quantitative and qualitative targets for your project (other metrics)? (required): Yes
11.1. Other Metrics.
In your application, you outlined some other open metrics that you would like to measure. Please fill out the achieved results for each of the open metrics you defined.
| Other Metrics | Description | Target | Results | Comments | Methodology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A | 1273 | A total of SEK 70,720,000 was secured and this year the goal was achieved by a large margin. A major part of the funds for free knowledge is funding for the Horizon Europe project ECHOLOT (SEK 66.1 million). The project aims to make cultural heritage data more interoperable and accessible using open source software developed during the project. Wikimedia Sweden is responsible for 1 of 5 pilot studies within the project. | The total funds raised for free knowledge through Wikimedia Sweden's efforts.
The value is given as the proportion (in %) of WCF funding in relation to all funding raised, which means that each dollar in WCF funding is effectively multiplied by this percentage. |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 | We believe that we have achieved the goal of strengthening and improving knowledge production and free sharing in new ways through political advocacy.
Our public policy advocacy during the year focused mainly on AI, open science, and copyright exceptions and limitations, with the aim of defending and strengthening the legal conditions that enable free knowledge to be produced and shared. We contributed through written statements, consultation responses, debate articles, network-building, and meetings with Members of Parliament and other stakeholders. This work helped ensure that the needs of Wikimedia platforms, volunteers, and partner institutions were reflected in policy discussions, and contributed to defending existing enabling mechanisms while laying the groundwork for future improvements. |
N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | 16562 | The focus was on Metabase where the goal was met with flying colors. This was done with a combination of manual edits and through bot runs after the data was carefully modeled.
Of the set goal of 4,000, 617 came through other chapters, which corresponds to approximately 15.4%. We are pleased with this outcome as the initiative is still in its infancy. This shows that the collaboration with other chapters made a significant contribution and that these collaborations are an important channel for achieving results. |
According to Wikimedia Sweden's statutes, the association is to make knowledge freely available to all people. Although this is mainly done via the Wikimedia platforms, we are not limited to them.
This metric therefore attempts to capture contributions to other platforms, which include, but are not limited to, commits to open source projects, contributions to Metabase, and educational materials shared on open platforms. |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | 64 | The goal was met by a margin. It was primarily through the work on the new strategy that we saw an increase in engagement from various members. Another part that contributed to the increased number was that through the Content Partnerships Hub we see greater engagement from international volunteers in our work. | These are volunteers involving themselves in the chapter by taking on some responsibility within a project, an event or in the chapter itself. The names of the volunteers are reported by the staff member in charge of each project/initiative.
Based on the insights gathered, we started the process of integrating this with our CRM system. However, the work was delayed in 2025 for technical reasons, and we hope to have it in place in 2026. If successful, it should give us a better overview of members who wish to become more involved, as well as of the training received by volunteers. |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | 109 | This year's partnerships include local museums as well as large IGOs and other Wikimedia organizations. We saw an expected increase in the number of partnerships this year, by just under 10 %.
The new partnerships are partly based on large internal Wikimedia projects, such as the Content Partnership Hub, and partly on large European collaborative projects, such as the ECHOLOT project. Some new partnerships also came about through strategic focus on new thematic areas where we see a great opportunity for the association to establish itself as a collaborative partner. |
N/A |
Part 3: Skill Development / Capacity Building
[edit]12. Reflecting on your programmatic (external) and organizational (internal) work, did your grant support you to undergo any skill development that made a difference to your success? If yes, what skill was developed, and how did it lead to success? (e.g. received coaching on public speaking, attended training on nonviolent communication, hosted professional development conversations on leadership, learned and used a new tool for project management, etc.)? Can you share any materials? (required)
For affiliates, use this space (Question 12.) to address Affiliate Health Criteria 2.2 (Diversity balance) and 3.1 (Diverse, Skilled, and Accountable Leadership):
- Describe actions taken to prioritize gender balance in affiliate leadership, as well as any areas of diversity relevant to your affiliate's context (2.2).
- Describe the management, financial, or other leadership skills of your affiliate leaders. If you have a succession plan, please include it here (3.1).
- Describe any training or skill development (as outlined in the question above) (3.1).
- Incorporate into the annual report a disclosure of conflict of interests (if any) from the leadership (3.1).
The grant support has created opportunities for our staff and board members to participate at different Wikimedia events where the peer-to-peer sharing has improved our skills regarding partnerships, tools, project ideation and more. The grant has also allowed us to participate in different expert conferences in Sweden to keep ourselves up-to-date about different fields and improve our external monitoring.
Through our internal training our staff has had multiple opportunities to learn about new tools and techniques that they find to be relevant, this include AI related topics. The staff jointly plan what areas are of interest to them to learn about and then our internal experts provide the training or we invite people from other parts of the movement to share their skills and expertise.
As an organization we continuously join different experimental projects that have the explicit goal of testing or developing e.g. a new method, process or tool. For such projects the reporting and skill sharing are always crucial components.
The grant covers opportunities for staff development, allowing employees to participate in external courses and training during working hours. The organisation covers the direct costs of these activities, within reasonable limits.
13. What is one capacity/skill area that you would like to focus on for the next year? And how do you plan to achieve this capacity? (required)
We will focus on capacity building related to AI, continuing the work from 2024 and 2025. We have held several sessions for staff and members to explain the legal complexities surrounding AI and text and data mining, as these issues were central to our advocacy efforts. In 2026, we will build on this foundation in several ways:
- Staff will investigate how they can utilize different tools in their daily tasks, spanning from reporting and communication to fundraising, to improve their efficiency. We will pay for subscriptions to some tools to experiment with.
- We will organize seminars and other events to gain a better understanding of the current situation in this quickly developing field, not least around different aspects of ethics and transparency. This will be connected to our work around both public policy and digital accessibility.
- Our developers will study different aspects of machine learning, together with our partner organizations in Wikispeech, to better integrate it into the tools we are building.
14. If you have additional information or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here. Use the space below to upload any additional documents that would be useful to understand your report.
For affiliates, also use this section (Question 14) to fulfill the Affiliate Health Criteria requirements.
- Describe and link to any public-facing documentation for affiliate governance, including affiliate leadership and membership with a breakdown of the demographics; how elections are conducted; how conflicts of interest are declared; and how decisions are made and communicated (2.2, 2.3, 3.1).
- Describe and link to any public-facing documentation for activities incorporating, promoting awareness about, or enforcing the Universal Code of Conduct in your affiliate's activities (3.3).
- Describe and link to any public-facing documentation for internal membership engagement, such as notes from your regular meetings and how you communicate to or involve your membership (4.1).
Part 4: Financial reporting
[edit]For affiliates, also use this section (Part 4: Financial reporting) to address Affiliate Health Criterion 3.2 (Financial & Legal Compliance).
| Description | Amount spent (SEK) |
|---|---|
| Personnel costs | 6276329 |
| Operational costs | 1976446 |
| Programmatic costs | 7481251 |
| Total (Year 2) | 4442559 |
| Other revenue | 5015138 |
| Remaining funds (Year 2) | N/A |
15. Please state the total amount spent from this fund in your local currency. (required)
4442559 SEK
16. Please provide an overview of the amount spent from this fund in the following budget categories in your local currency. (required)
- Operational costs: 1976446 SEK
- Programmatic costs: 7481251 SEK
- Staff and contractor costs: 6276329 SEK
17. Did you have any other revenue sources (e.g. other funding, membership contributions, donations)? (required): Yes
- 17.1. Provide the total amount received from other revenue sources in your local currency. (required): 4486163 SEK
- 17.2. Provide the total amount spent from other revenue sources in your local currency. (required): 5015138 SEK
18. Provide a financial report document which will provide the details of funds received and spent in the currency of your fund. (required)
- Upload Documents, Templates, and Files.
- Report funds received and spent, if template not used.
18.2. If you have not already done so in your financial spending report, provide information on changes in the budget in relation to your original proposal. (optional)
WMSE revised its budget during the year, in preparation for the AGM. In the previous document a comparison of the result to both the original and the revised budgets are provided. The revised budget was a result of minor revisions to the ongoing Wikispeech project application.
The budgeted revenue was SEK 11.98 million with a significantly lower result of SEK 8.93 million. The costs amounted to SEK 9.46 million, which was lower than the budget of SEK 9,66 million presented at the AGM. Despite this, the financial year involved an increase in cost compared to the previous year, in line with the planned scale-up. No money was added to the reserves and we had a negative result as we utilized some money from our Strategic Fund, this was planned and in-line with a board decision.
The deviation from budgeted income is mainly due to the fact that the Wikispeech project scaled up later than expected and that the conditions for financing the content partnership hub did not secure funds until the end of the year. The funding from the Swedish Institute for the project Open GLAM Ukraine started later than expected. The project Heritage Guard Network 2 was included in our budget but did not secure funding. The changes to staffing, with key staff members leaving or reducing their time, and the delayed hiring that followed, led to project delays as project grants were underspent as the team was too small.
As a significant share of funding for several externally funded projects was carried over from one project year to the next, our financial reserves did not increase this year. We also reported a negative result, as we used savings from our Strategic Fund following a decision by the Board.
19. Do you have any unspent funds from this funding?: No
20. Final confirmations (required)
- 20.1. Are you in compliance with the terms outlined in the fund agreement? You must be in compliance with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Funds as outlined in the grant agreement. In summary, this is to confirm that the funds were used in alignment with the Wikimedia Foundation mission and for charitable/nonprofit/educational purposes.
- Yes
- 20.2. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?
- Yes
- 20.3. Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Funds as outlined in the grant agreement? In summary, this is to confirm that the funds were used in alignment with the WMF mission and for charitable/nonprofit/educational purposes.
- Yes
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