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Wikimania

From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki

Wikimania is the annual, global conference for the Wikimedia movement. It features presentations on Wikimedia projects, other wikis, free/open-source software, free knowledge and free content, and the social and technical aspects which relate to these topics.

  • The next Wikimania, Wikimania 2025, will be held in Nairobi, Kenya 6 to 10 August 2025.
  • The most recent, Wikimania 2024, was held in Katowice from 7 to 10 August 2024.

A list of all Wikimanias is below and the story of Wikimania is here.

What do people do at Wikimania?

Wikimania group photo, Hong Kong, 2013

Wikimania attracts Wikimedia project participants from around the world, including writers, editors, programmers, and photographers; Wikimedia Foundation staff; and members of the 40+ country-based Wikimedia chapters. Many researchers also attend and present. Attendance has ranged from 380 to 2,000 people, with representation from more than 80 countries. The conference is typically held on a different continent each year, and has taken place in thirteen countries on five continents to date.

Wikimania is organized by local volunteer teams, with support from international volunteers, the Wikimedia Foundation and other sponsors. The conference's location is determined by an international jury of community members, who review location bids submitted by teams from different locations. Guidelines for interested communities who wish to host Wikimania, and information about past bids, can be found below.

The conference program consists of presentations and workshops from community members, speakers from related projects, and wiki researchers, as well as social activities and informal discussions. Some formal research is presented, in addition to "best practice" knowledge sharing and presentations of ongoing work. Wikimania also features formal reports from Wikimedia Foundation board members and staff, renowned keynote speakers, and opportunities to interact with dedicated Wikimedia contributors from all around the world.

See also Wikipedia coverage of Wikimania in dozens of languages.

Past Wikimanias

Location of Wikimania in different years
Location of Wikimania in different years.
Presentation on Meta Organization summary Location Conference wiki Feedback and suggestions
(general discussion at Wikimania talk page)
Bid pages Budget Scholarships
2024 2024 Katowice, Poland and Online (Hybrid) wm2024 Bid 2024 Scholarships
2023 2023 Singapore and Online (Hybrid) wm2023 Evaluation 2023 Scholarships
2022 2022 Virtual wm2022 2022 Scholarships
2021 2021 Virtual wm2021 Evaluation 2021 Scholarships
2020 2020 Cancelled
2019 Stockholm,
Sweden
wm2019 2019 Scholarships
2018 Cape Town,
South Africa
wm2018 2018 Scholarships
2017 Montréal,
Canada
wm2017 2017 Scholarships
2016 Esino Lario,
Italy
wm2016 wm2016:Suggestions 2016 Bids 2016 Budget 2016 Scholarships
2015 2015 Mexico City,
Mexico
wm2015 Feedback 2015 Bids 2015 Budget 2015 Scholarships
2014 2014 London,
United Kingdom
wm2014 Feedback 2014 Bids 2014 Budget 2014 Scholarships
2013 2013 Hong Kong SAR,
China
wm2013 Feedback and Brainstorming 2013 Bids 2013 Budget 2013 Scholarships
2012 2012 Washington DC,
USA
wm2012 Feedback and Suggestions 2012 Bids 2012 Budget 2012 Scholarships
2011 2011 Haifa,
Israel
wm2011 Wikimania 2011 lessons, Feedback and the private wikimaniateam 2011 Bids 2011 Budget
2010 2010 Gdańsk,
Poland
wm2010 Wikimania 2010 lessons (also scholarships survey) 2010 Bids
2009 2009 Buenos Aires,
Argentina
wm2009 Conclusions 2009 Bids
2008 2008 Alexandria,
Egypt
wm2008 Comments, Wikimania 2008/Wishlist 2008 Bids
2007 2007 Taipei,
Taiwan
wm2007 Comments 2007 Bids
2006 2006 Boston,
USA
wm2006 Comments, Talk 2006 Bids
2005 2005 Frankfurt,
Germany
wm2005 Improving on Wikimania 2005 2005 Bids


Future Wikimanias

Most generally, the decision in where to hold the conference is based on proposals that are vetted by the WMF and Wikimania Committee. The WMF Event Manager works closely with interested people and groups in exploring that possibilities and drafting a proposal. There has also been a strong effort in the past to ensure that conference locations are distributed fairly evenly around the globe from year to year.

The Wikimania Steering Committee runs the selection of venue several years in advance. The location is rotated around areas of the world.

Historically the selection of the venue was done using bids and a jury; this was scrapped in 2015.[1]

Getting involved

Documentation

See table above, #Past Wikimanias, for feedback from specific conferences.

Discuss general concerns on this page's talk page.

Notes