WikiWomenSummit

WikiWomenSummit (WWS) is a type of convening of WikiWomen⁺). Each convening is unique, dependent on the time and inclination of volunteer organizers who are familiar with the interests of the conference's attendees and can best assess the convening's objectives and outcomes. While the organizers of each WWS are community volunteers, to some extent, Wikimedia Foundation staff also provide support.

WWS 2026 x Wikimania Paris

The WikiWomen+ Summit will return as a key event at Wikimania, continuing its mission to address the gender gap within the Wikimedia movement. Building on the momentum of the 2023, 2024, and 2025 summits, this year's gathering will offer a keynote, a panel, and many small group discussions, on sharing achievements, sharing strategies and envisioning the future. The event will focus on gender equity sessions including empowerment, strategy, and content gaps. Co-designed in feminist solidarity, the summit aims to provide a safe, inclusive space for reflection, learning, and alliance-building among gender equity advocates. Come all day or part of the day. You are warmly invited to join the cadre of wikiwomen+ attendees who'll be participating in this year's Summit. Together, let's make it into the best one ever. See you in Paris!

At a glance

Location: Paris, France
Venue address: forthcoming via email after registration
Date: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Time: 09:30 - 19:00 (local time)
Pre-registration is required:

In-person participation: Click here to register for participants who have already registered for Wikimania and those who specifically wish to attend the WikiWomen+ Summit as a pre-conference session.
Online participation: Click here to register.

Color: In support of the colors chosen by the Wikimania 2026 COT, the theme color of this year's WWS is yellow. We encourage attendees, in-person and online, to wear yellow as some part of their ensemble on this day.
Climate Note: The temperature in Paris is usually around 30C at this time of the year. The air conditioning temperature in France is usually around 25C, so the room can get hot if there are many people inside. Please dress lightly and carry a water bottle at all times.
Annual WikiWomen+ Lunch: Thursday, 23 July

Schedule (Paris-local times)

Turning the program's bold ideas into seamless, unforgettable moments takes creativity, precision, and a lot of passion. It can't happen without you. Want to join a session as a panelist, moderator, etc.? Please contact: Vanj Padilla and Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight.

(under construction)

Session 1

9:30 Welcome and housekeeping
9:50 Ice breaker - Mentimeter survey
10:10 Keynote by E mln e
10:30 Gender content gap
10:50 Generative AI
11:10 tea break

Session 2

11:40 Hackathon
12:00 Readers survey Leila Zia
12:20 The future (WWS & the future) (Futures Lab) Christophe Henner
12:40 WikiWomenCamp 2027
1:00 Group photo
1:20 Lunch

Session 3

2:20
2:40 Women+ in smaller language communities
3:00 French Feminists Free Software Activists panel
3:20 Humaniki and Denelezeh : Wiki Gender Stats the new tool by les sans pagEs
3:40 tea break

Session 4

4:10 Equality, equity, systemic inequality
5:00 Blocking & banning of women+
5:20 Women+ in technical spaces
5:40
6:00 - 7:00 Closing remarks. Staying in touch after WWS. WikiWomenLunch announcement. WWS pledge. Mentimeter survey. Goodbyes.

Commitment

We, the global Wikiwomen, harnessing our collective strength, commit to fostering a community culture embodied by inclusivity, respect, equality and support. We pledge to contribute our talents, time, individual and collective perspectives to drive growth, solidarity and harmony in our common goals as well as the goals of the Wikimedia Movement. We will actively support our community and mentor other Wikiwomen, empowering them to reach their full Wikiwomen potential. Through collaboration and open communication, we will build strong relationships and create a positive volunteer environment where everyone feels valued and supported. By working together and building partnerships, we will strive to create sustainable and impactful change. We also commit that we will support Wikiwomen Summit X Wikimania, making it a traditional gathering of Wikiwomen from across the globe connecting and engaging with each other, in-person or any other such means possible and institutionalizing Wikiwomen Lunch in our respective communities as means to strengthen our commitments. We are dedicated to inspiring and motivating others to join us in our mission to build a resilient, better and stronger Wikiwomen leaving a lasting impact on our communities.

History

WWS was established in August 2023 as a day-long pre-conference at Wikimania Singapore. The co-founders are Vanj Padilla and Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight.

WWS expanded its scope to include convenings of shorter duration, such as being part of WikiWomenLunch at geographic and thematic conferences.

Cost

'No extra cost' to the conference organizers as the venue, meals, etc. are already factored into the budget

Attendees

Whichever WW* have received scholarships to attend the conference.

Documentation

Ask attendees to take photos for historical documentation. Assure that those who don't want to be photographed are not in the photos. Upload photos to Wikimedia Commons.
Add your event to this page.

Recognition

After the event, add it to your wiki CV... you were the facilitator of an international summit. Set aside 'imposter syndrome' thinking... "oh, it's just a lunchtime thing". You deserve the recognition for organizing it.

WWS via WikiWomenLunch at geographic and thematic conferences

Make the request to the organizers to designate one of the lunchtimes as 'WikiWomenLunch' and request that there are enough seats in the designated lunch area for all the WW at the conference to be able to sit together (when possible, a different room is optimal). (Lesson learned: at WikiIndaba 2023 regional conference, the COT didn't understand that all WW would want to attend the WW Lunch, so they put us in a room that had limited seating/tables.)
Advertise/promote: Make sure WW attendees are aware that on [this day] at lunchtime, they are warmly welcome to attend WikiWomenLunch... a special treat... where there will be convened a WWS.
Activities

Some options: In advance, ask one of the WW who you know will be attending to be your keynoter (TEDx-style... <=18 minutes); this will be such an honor for that one person. Alternatives: convene a panel, or a Fireside Chat.
Address this during the lunch: how will this group of WW stay in touch (Telegram? Signal? WhatsApp?) to continue conversations started at this conference.

Budget: The WWS is convened during lunchtime ... and lunch has already been factored in as a cost by the conference organizers... so no extra costs.

Convenings


Event	Location	Date	Photo
SheSaid Campaign 2025 in the Philippines WikiWomen* Lunch	Naga City, Philippines	13 Dec 2025	Attendees
CEE Meeting 2025 WikiWomen* Lunch	Thessaloniki, Greece	28 Sep 2025
Ukrainian WikiConference 2025 WikiWomen* Lunch	Kyiv, Ukraine	11 Oct 2025	Attendees
Encuentro de la comunidad hispanohablante WikiWomen* Lunch	Buenos Aires, Argentina	11 Oct 2025	Attendees
Cebu WikiConference 2025 WikiWomen* Lunch	Mandaue Cebu, Philippines	23 Aug 2025	Attendees
Wikimania 2025 WikiWomen* Lunch	Nairobi, Kenya	8 Aug 2025	Attendees
WikiWomen* Summit x Wikimania 2025	Nairobi, Kenya	5 Aug 2025
EduWiki Conference WikiWomen Lunch	Bogotá, Colombia	1 Jun 2025	Attendees
Central Asian WikiCon 2025 WikiWomen Lunch	Tashkent, Uzbekistan	19 Apr 2025	Attendees
Wikisource Conference WikiWomen Lunch	Bali, Indonesia	25 Feb 2025	Attendees
WikiConference North America 2024 WikiWomenLunch	Indianapolis, Indiana, US	4 Oct 2024	Jamie Flood, keynoter
Wiki Indaba WikiWomen Lunch Event	Johannesburg, South Africa	5 Oct 2024	Attendees
WikiConference Nigeria 2024	Abuja	12 Sep - 14 Sep 2024	Attendees
Wikimania 2024 Lunch	Katowice	10 Aug 2024	Barbara Klen, keynoter
Wikimania 2024 Diff post	Katowice	8 Aug 2024	attendees
WikiWomen* Summit x Wikimania 2023	Singapore	9 Aug 2023	attendees