Wikimedia CEE Hub/Youth Group/Reports/2023
Introduction
[edit]In May 2023, Klára Joklová, the Executive Director of the Wikimedia Czech Republic, and Barbara Klen, the CEE Hub Coordinator, came up with the idea of creating an informal group of young Wikimedians under the age of 26 from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The CEE Youth Group focused on strengthening youth engagement and supporting capacity building across the region.
This report presents an overview of the group’s activities, work, and events carried out between May and December 2023.
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Prehistory
[edit]The first step toward formally creating the group was the “CEE Catch Up - youth edition” that was organized by the CEE Hub on 16 May, 2023. During this Catch Up meeting, four young Wikimedians from four different countries - Armenia, Poland, Turkey, and Cross-Project Cooperation Initiative - shared their experiences as young contributors and their communities’ efforts in engaging the younger generation.
After this initial step, a form of registration was shared to join the CEE Youth Group. Moreover, to encourage youth engagement in the wider movement, the CEE Hub announced that it will award one scholarship to participate in the Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2023 event in Tbilisi.
On August 3, 2023 the CEE Hub organized the CEE Youth Group initial planning meeting, the purpose of which was to get to know each other better and to discuss the plans of the group for 2023. The first more organized and formalized meeting of the CEE Youth Group members was organized on 28 August, 2023, for planning and preparing the group’s representation at the CEE Meeting 2023.
CEE Youth Group statistics
[edit]The average attendance of the meetings during 2023 hovered between 8 and 12 people, owing to the limited, though growing, size of the Youth Group.
The first five members came through the earlier Catch Up in May 2023. Shortly after, members from Greece, Ukraine, Turkey, and Slovenia joined, with more interest and engagement following the CEE Meeting 2023 in Tbilisi, and as the CEE Hub promoted the Youth Group to the communities through their contacts in various communities.
By 31 December 2023, the Youth Group had grown to include 26 members from 14 countries:
| N | Country | Member |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Czech Republic |
5 |
| 2 |  Turkey |
4 |
| 3 |  Greece |
2 |
| 4 |  Georgia |
2 |
| 5 |  Ukraine |
2 |
| 6 |  Armenia |
1 |
| 7 |  Denmark |
1 |
| 8 |  Uzbekistan |
1 |
| 9 |  Kazakhstan |
1 |
| 10 |  Croatia |
1 |
| 11 |  Kyrgyzstan |
1 |
| 12 |  North Macedonia |
1 |
| 13 |  Slovenia |
1 |
| 14 |  Poland |
1 |
Though many of these members later stopped being active in the Youth Group and are considered inactive members according to our internal governance statute, many of the members who joined in 2023 are among the core members who are responsible for much of the group’s work.
Bimonthly meetings
[edit]The bimonthly meetings, which are a key feature of the Youth Group’s work and traditions, began in August 2023. Since then, they serve a role of bringing the group together, informing the Youth Group members about the members’ activities, the CEE Hub opportunities, and other things relevant to them.
In 2023 and 2024, the timing between the meetings wasn’t fully established. For example, 2 meetings happened in August, and the next one was in November.
Each meeting was supported by at least one staff member from the CEE Hub, who was responsible for the agenda and organising the meetings. Meeting dates were chosen by the CEE Hub staff. All meetings were held via Google Meet in the evening and lasted one hour.
CEE Meeting 2023
[edit]
For the first time, the CEE Hub introduced the CEE Youth Group to the wider movement in a regional conference - the CEE Meeting 2023. Furthermore, some members of the CEE Youth Group met each other in person for the first time during this meeting.
The group had a session titled “Meet the CEE Youth Group,” during which Klára Joklová and Barbara Klen presented the idea of the group and the recent developments. Afterwards, five CEE Youth Group members shared their personal experiences, as well as the local work of their communities with young Wikimedians and newcomers.
During a hybrid meeting at the CEE Meeting, it was announced that the CEE Youth Group will have its first in-person gathering in Prague in late November to discuss the future plans of the group.
The slides of the presentation can be found here. Also, in anticipation to the CEE Meeting, Nikos and Caner contributed an article to the CEE Newsletter about the Youth Group.
First CEE Youth Group Meeting in Prague
[edit]
After the CEE Meeting 2023, the group began preparations for its first-ever in-person meeting, which took place on 24-25 November 2023, in Prague, Czech Republic. The Wikimedia CEE Hub opened the scholarship process, and members of the group were invited to apply. During October 2023, recipients of the scholarships were announced.
The Prague Meeting was attended by 15 participants from 8 different countries, of which 4 were female participants. Four organisers were present at the meeting: 2 staff members of the CEE Hub and 2 staff members of the Wikimedia Czech Republic.
In those two days, the participants had a chance to get to know each other, as well as discuss a range of questions related to the future and formalization of the CEE Youth Group. Some of the topics covered and goals defined during this meeting were:
- bi-monthly meetings
- hybrid/in-person meeting
- Wikimania 2024
- Youth social networks
- Creating guidelines for the group
- Internships
The meeting was very impactful, as it set the foundation for the social media working group, which has been pretty successful as of 2026.
A full report about this meeting is available here, written by Toni Ristovski from the CEE Hub.
