Wikimedia Language Diversity Hub

From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki

The hubs will not be something that is above or below the existing structures that we have, but they will be this fluid thing, that actually fills the cracks and the spaces between them

— Delphine Ménard, notafish


The Wikimedia Language Diversity Hub is a proposed Wikimedia hub for affiliates and volunteers who are working on new language versions of Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects. These will typically include indigenous, minority, marginalized and under-resourced language communities. The hub is an extension and continuation of the Wikimedia Language Diversity initiative, and is proposed as a result of the Wikimedia 2030 Movement Strategy Recommendations.

Purpose[edit]

The Wikimedia Language Diversity Hub is here to support and connect affiliates and volunteers to new and smaller language versions of Wikimedia projects. The hub will facilitate for sharing experiences, expertise and resources in order to help each other grow and succeed. The hub also want to act as a united front in advocating issues that affect smaller language projects. It will serve as a facilitator for partnerships with external partners working within the relevant fields of linguistics, language technology and free knowledge.

Background[edit]

Contributors to new language versions of Wikimedia projects face very different challenges from those on well established projects, something we know from experience and is also being documented in the ongoing Movement Strategy Implementation Grant project. During conferences like Celtic Knot and Wikimania, the need for more support for the smaller language communities has been surfaced.

The idea for a language diversity hub was first floated by Wikimedia Norge during a November 2020 affiliate strategy meeting, and the idea has gone through several iterations to reach its current state as presented on these pages. We wish for this to be a globally inclusive hub.

Contact[edit]

If you wish to get in touch with the steering committee, you can post a message on the talk page (it helps to ping one or more committee members), join the Wikimedia Language Diversity Telegram group, or send an email to jhsoby@wikimedia.no.

See also[edit]