Language Diversity Conference/Submissions

Important Dates

Call for session proposal submission: Now open (submissions via Eventyay)
Poster submissions open: Now open
Call for submissions ends: 15th May 2026
Review of submissions: target date 15th June
Notification of acceptance or declination of submissions: anticipated to be late June / early July
Poster submission deadline: 31st August

Our preference is for sessions to be delivered in person to make the conference engaging for attendees. We will however consider limited use of pre-recorded sessions where there is a strong alignment to the aims of the conference and in person attendance is not possible.

Session Types

We are inviting the following applications to the programme through the Calls for Proposals process;

Lightning talks (in person or pre-recorded) – Short 10-minute presentations about anything you feel is relevant.
Workshops and tutorials (in person only) – 50 or 110-minute sessions for group discussions and workshops, or tutorials on a particular topic such as Content Translation or Wikidata. This time includes questions from the audience.
Presentations (in person or pre-recorded) – 20–25 minute presentations. This time includes questions from the audience.
Panel Discussions (in person) – 50-minute panel discussion to discuss a topic. Please feel free to collaborate with others to put a panel together. This time includes questions from the audience.

We are also be accepting submissions for posters in a separate process. For more information visit our poster page.

Session Themes

Presence

Suggested angles include:

Innovative strategies, success stories, and challenges overcome in advancing various language projects and strengthening their presence within the Wikimedia community.
Documentation, revitalization, and content creation, ideally with consideration for how open source, free knowledge, and Wiki tools can advance language revitalization
Strategies for addressing barriers to multilingual content creation
Suggestions for partnerships that extend beyond the conference, ensuring that the work continues in sustainable and inclusive ways

Ethics, advocacy for language support

Suggested angles include:

Suggestions for paths in language advocacy and representation within Wiki communities as we collectively sculpt a shared vision for the future of language preservation and promotion within the Wikimedia landscape.
Ethical ways of digitizing oral traditions.
Working with the Wikimedia Foundation for strategic support of language work within the movement.

Languages in the age of AI

Suggested angles include:

Examination of how emerging technologies like AI and speech-to-text tools can be used responsibly for language revitalization.
Exploration of issues around exclusion from digital spaces.

Submit your session proposal

Submissions for the Language Diversity Conference 2026 are now open. Participants are invited to propose sessions, workshops, and discussions that align with the conference theme “Strengthening Language Communities in the Open Knowledge Movement.”

The Programming Team will review all submissions after the call closes and will communicate outcomes via email to all applicants.

Note: By submitting a proposal, you agree that

Your proposal’s abstract and any associated slides or materials will be released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike Licence 4.0; and

If accepted, your session may be broadcast and/or recorded and made available in audio and/or visual form under the same licence.

If you prefer not to be filmed during your session, please indicate this as a special requirement while submitting your proposal.

Proposal review process

All proposals will be reviewed by the Program Committee of the Language Diversity Conference 2026.

Each submission will be evaluated based on several factors, including:

The potential impact and expected outcomes of the session;

The relevance and connection of the proposal to the conference theme or one of the focus areas; and

The level of anticipated community interest and participation.

Committee members will score each submission, and the average scores will determine which proposals are accepted, based on the available program schedule.

We will consider limited use of pre-recorded sessions where there is a strong alignment to the aims of the conference and in person attendance is not possible. However our preference will be for sessions to be delivered in person to make the conference engaging for attendees.

If there are multiple similar proposals covering the same topic, the Program Committee may suggest merging sessions or collaborative presentations to ensure broader representation and reduce overlap.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us: languagediversitycon@gmail.com