Talk:Wikimedia Futures Lab/Program

Share your input on the program design

The event’s core team has developed an initial set of tracks and sub-themes that we believe reflect the most pressing global issues for Wikimedia. To make the program design participatory and include different Movement’s perspectives and expertises, we invite you to:

• Comment on the proposed tracks and sub-themes: highlight priorities, add context from your expertise, and suggest refinements or alternative formulations.
• Share research that could enrich the discussions.
• Suggest external experts working on these trends who could help shape or contribute to the event.

Eva Martin (WMDE) (talk) 09:11, 1 August 2025 (UTC)

General

Differences between regions / continents

General suggestion: It would be good if the event was, by design, explicit in considering differences between the different regions. It's often easiest, thinking about trends, to focus on the situation in key countries like USA or China. And in turn it's hard to consider all the different local conditions. But at least keeping in mind differences between regions / continents is important. (South America - North America - Africa - Europe - Asia shouldbe the minimum level of granularity). Tarkowski (talk) 11:32, 14 August 2025 (UTC)

@Tarkowski actually I think level of development and capacity (including access to infrastructure and state of human rights) as well as if it is primarily metropitan-urban population or less-so (including what is the Wikimedia presence in that country) is more relevant then existing regional and continental division IMHO. This is also why whole regional distribution of resources (without in-region balance) is just highly toxic and perpetuates and extends existing content and participation gaps. Zblace (talk) 20:45, 4 September 2025 (UTC)

Suggested extra bullet point for each Track

I suggest that another bullet point be added to the end of the list for each track, along the following lines:

• The effect of these matters on the various Wikimedia projects (ie not just Wikipedia)

Bahnfrend (talk) 06:17, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

@Bahnfrend +1 also to not consider Wikipedia as one project but at least make distinction between large (sustainable comunities), medium (border-line cases for self-governace/development) and small (unsustainable but kept for cultural support). Zblace (talk) 06:47, 20 October 2025 (UTC)

Track 1 - Knowledge Consumption

- It would be worthwhile to think of both human and machine consumption of knowledge - this broader frame would help understand changes caused by AI. Tarkowski (talk) 11:32, 14 August 2025 (UTC)

Track 2 - Knowledge Contribution

- Policy impacts, there are more policies on deleting or refusing new content than retaining content. Gnangarra (talk) 04:00, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Consider this example of the complexities between keeping and deleting - The subject should be considered notable (in the historical sense) because of what she did, but has not been considered notable (in a narrow, significant coverage sense). Alas, that is not what we look at. There isn't any policy or guideline for this person did something critical that changed history. [1] So we have a subject can change history but we delete/merge, isnt changing history the very definition of what knowledge we want to share. Gnangarra (talk) 04:12, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

- User traits, we attract, encourage, even reward contribution styles that focus on the pedentry and to the letter inerprations of the "rules" to the exclusion of content creative contributors who find stories that should be in the sum of all knowledge. While gradual over the years the shift has recently been more siesmic especially in the flagship Wikipedia projects. The going investments by affiliates and individuals in attracting content creators is a huge portion of time and budgets. We should looking at why its easier to attract and retain people who want to delete content, they are doing harm to the movement even when acting in good faith. One critical factor is its easier to recognise those doing harm through being good. Gnangarra (talk) 04:00, 31 August 2025 (UTC)

Track 3 - Knowledge Infrastructure

- In Track 3, 3rd point: Apart from the internet regulations, there is also surge in the cost of internet bundles and decline in the quality of the internet services in some developing regions like in Nigeria, for example.

- In Track 3, 5th point: Limits of openness goes beyond AI's impact, cutting across freedom of panorama for image-related projects like the Wiki Loves Monument campaign, in which photos uploaded on Wikimedia Commons get deleted due to the laws regulating FoP in some countries (e.g., Nigeria). Kambai Akau (talk) 00:20, 3 August 2025 (UTC)

- It would be good to include in this track an ecosystem perspective. The issues listed relate to Wikimedia as Knowledge Infrastructure, but also to the bigger ecosystem that Wikimedia is part of, and ultimately the web as such. An ecosystem perspective will help understand major shifts happening right now, for example a shift away from search platforms that disrupts the balance for many web entities. This is an additional topic that I would add: Shifts and disruptions to the open web. This can also be framed in terms of a digital public space. Tarkowski (talk) 11:32, 14 August 2025 (UTC)

- It would be great to discuss the relationship between Wikimedia (and free knowledge / digital commons more broadly) and commercial companies - how does Wikipedia coexist with the largest digital platforms? It would be good to consider both problematic cases of exploitation of common knowledge, but also cases where there is some form of cooperation / synergy / symbiosis. Tarkowski (talk) 11:32, 14 August 2025 (UTC)

@Tarkowski this aspect is the least processed in community (and was for a long time semi-tabu) so I think it should be done in advance (with invited experts) and as online pre-physical event. That could potentially set the stage for more informed discussion in-person. Maybe a WIKIMOVE episode on this (as well as other niche topics) is due @Eva Martin (WMDE) - No? --Zblace (talk) 06:52, 20 October 2025 (UTC)

@Zblace, WIKIMOVE has been discontinued and we don't plan to record new episodes. If you'd like to host a podcast and interview guests to discuss global trends, we would be happy to link these ressources on this page. Eva Martin (WMDE) (talk) 15:41, 21 October 2025 (UTC)

Collaborative notes from the event

Wikimedia Futures Lab:Program/Notes - for those who can't join in person! –SJ talk  10:55, 30 January 2026 (UTC)