Wikimedia MKD/Reports/2025-08
Edit-a-thon "Film"
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On August 18, 2025, an edit a thon on the topic of "Film" was organized, as part of the international initiative #WikiLovesFilm. This event was an opportunity for all lovers of film, culture and free knowledge to contribute their texts and help enrich the content of Wikipedia in the Macedonian language.
The event was open to all active (and new) editors, regardless of their experience. The goal was simple, but significant — to improve the coverage of topics in the field of film: feature and documentary films, prominent figures from the film industry, film festivals, history of cinematography and much more.
During the marathon, a total of 14 editors from different parts of the country joined the initiative, investing their time, knowledge and interest in creating new quality content. Thanks to their enthusiasm and dedication, 23 new articles were written, giving the Macedonian Wikipedia new pages dedicated to the art of cinema.
To encourage motivation and celebrate the contribution of the participants, a prize was planned. The winner was drawn at random on August 21, 2025, and was broadcast on the Wikimedia MKD Instagram account. The winner of the prize – a value voucher is Bojan9Spasovski , for his article “Jan Sverak”.
Initiatives like #WikiLovesFilm are proof that the enthusiasm of individuals can lead to collective success. With each article written, a stronger, more diverse, and more accessible knowledge base in the Macedonian language is built.
Edit-a-thon "Lakes"
[edit]On August 28, 2025, Wikimedia MKD organized an edit-a-thon on the topic of "Lakes" for members of the Wiki Club in Kumanovo. The event was part of the club’s regular program aimed at involving young students in the development of Macedonian-language content on Wikipedia while fostering research and digital skills.
The activity was led by the Wiki Club Kumanovo coordinator, Stojna Arsovska Donevska. A total of 11 students participated in the edit-a-thon. During the session, participants researched information about lakes worldwide and contributed by creating and editing Wikipedia articles in Macedonian.
As a result of the event, 22 new articles were created and edited. The students applied Wikipedia’s editorial guidelines, focused on reliable sources, and practiced the use of verifiable information.
This activity contributed to the students’ development of digital literacy, critical thinking, and content creation skills. It also had a direct impact on improving the quality and quantity of Macedonian-language content available on Wikipedia.
The role of mentorship was essential in ensuring the success of the activity. The consistent guidance and support provided by the club coordinator helped students navigate challenges, adhere to Wikipedia standards, and remain motivated throughout the session.
Wikimedia MKD remains committed to supporting such initiatives and will continue to engage young contributors through similar educational programs aimed at long-term impact, both on individual learners and on the quality of freely available knowledge.
You can see how it went through the photographic material uploaded on Commons, but also some of the photos are bellow:
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Editing on Wikipedia -
Editing on Wikipedia -
Editing on Wikipedia -
Editing on Wikipedia -
Editing on Wikipedia
Wikimania 2025
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Wikimania 2025 was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 6–9 August under the theme “Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability.” Macedonia was represented by Kiril Simeonovski, member of the Executive Board of Wikimedia MKD and an active contributor to the Wikimedia movement.
During the conference, Simeonovski took part in numerous discussions and workshops with Wikimedians from across the globe. He shared experiences from Macedonia, particularly in community development, GLAM collaborations, and education initiatives that integrate Wikipedia into classrooms and academic projects. These sessions provided valuable opportunities to exchange ideas and explore strategies for engaging volunteers, growing local communities, and fostering participation in smaller language Wikipedias.
One of the key topics was the importance of addressing content gaps—especially in underrepresented languages and regions. Simeonovski highlighted how the Macedonian Wikipedia continues to work on improving coverage and diversity of content. He also engaged in technical discussions aimed at improving tools for easier editing and participation by new users.
Volunteering as the foundation of the Wikimedia movement was another central theme. The Macedonian experience, built largely on dedicated volunteers, offered practical examples of how small but committed communities can contribute meaningfully to the global free knowledge system.
Wiki Loves Film – Collaboration with MakeDox Film Festival
[edit]As part of the GLAM program of Wikimedia MKD, we joined the global initiative Wiki Loves Film by establishing a collaboration with the MakeDox Creative Documentary Film Festival in Skopje,Macedonia. This collaboration aimed to document an important cultural event in the field of film and to bring freely accessible knowledge about it to Wikimedia platforms. MakeDox is one of the most recognized and long-standing documentary film festivals in Macedonia, with international reach and an important role in promoting creative documentary filmmaking. This year the film festival was from 21 August till 28 August. Despite its relevance, information about the festival was either limited or missing on Wikimedia projects. Through this initiative, we aimed to address that gap and to enrich the coverage of contemporary cultural events from our country.
During the festival, Wikimedia Macedonia appointed a Wikipedian in Residence who actively participated in the initiative. As part of his activities:
- A new Wikipedia article dedicated to the MakeDox Film Festival was created and expanded on Macedonian Wikipedia, providing background information, historical context, and details about its cultural significance. This ensures that the festival is now documented in an encyclopedic and reliable way.
- A set of photographs from the festival was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, capturing the atmosphere of the screenings, events, and guests. These images are now freely licensed and available for use in illustrating Wikipedia articles and other Wikimedia projects, as well as for the wider public.
- The collaboration served as an opportunity to raise awareness among festival organizers and participants about the mission of Wikimedia and the importance of free knowledge.
This activity proved to be a valuable step forward in strengthening our GLAM partnerships with cultural and artistic institutions. By participating in Wiki Loves Film, Wikimedia MKD not only contributed to the global documentation of film culture but also highlighted the richness of cultural life in Macedonia. We see this as a promising start and plan to continue expanding collaborations with cultural festivals in the future.
You can see some of the photographs of the MakeDox film festival bellow:
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The opening ceremony -
The film festival volunteers -
Photo exhibition of Kiro Urdin, Suli -
Make CoProDox Forum 2025, Presentation of awards -
Kurshumli An before the final festival screenings -
The team
Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos
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Wikimedia MKD continues with campaigns aimed at enriching the content of Wikipedia, but also creating a well-written article, with well-introduced references and good illustrations. The lack of illustrations in the articles leaves room for further editing of the article, and that is exactly what we aimed for this time, that's why we are part of the international campaign "Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos".
The campaign ran from July 1, 2025 to August 31, 2025. The prizes were provided for the most prolific participants, who have added an illustration of at least 100 different articles on Wikipedia in the Macedonian language. Points were calculated according to the principle: one article one point for the illustrations, regardless of how many illustrations were placed in that article. It is important to note that illustrations were inserted on already existing articles, newly created articles for the purpose of inserting photos were not taken into account. There was no limit to the number of illustrations that could be used. The photo that was used had to be uploaded under a free license or in the public domain. Contributors also included the #WPWPMK entry on every save change when they added an illustration, and on every article they added an illustration to. So the award winners are:
- 1st prize - winner is Тиверполник: 758 valid illustrations
- II prize - the winners are the following users:
- Marco Mitrovich: 321 valid illustrations
- Chnitke: 296 valid illustrations
- P. Nedelkovski: 189 valid illustrations
- Bojan9Spasovski: 183 valid illustrations
In total 12 editors participated and 1985 illustrations were added to the existing articles.
Struga and Karaorman Wikiexpedition
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After the official end of the summer activities within the framework of the Wikiexpeditions in August 2025, our team decided to use the weekend before the great holiday of the Great Virgin Mary (August 23-24) for the third Wikiexpedition for 2025, this time on the territory of Struga Field and the surrounding mountain villages of the Karaorman massif. This field expedition aimed to further explore the municipality of Struga, which was first visited as part of a Wikiexpedition in 2018. The team arrived in Struga on Friday, August 22.
Day one began with a revisit to Kalishta, now documented in more detail, including the Elen Kamen settlement and the cave church "St. Athanasius." The team then visited Radožda but couldn’t locate one of its churches. In Mali Vlaj, fewer churches were found than expected, and the absence of locals hindered research. Brief stops were made in Frangovo and Radolišta, where several key sites were documented, including an early Christian basilica. Visits followed to Šum, Zagračani, and Dolna Belica, where previously undocumented churches and a WWI-era Austro-Hungarian memorial were recorded.
The team continued to southern Struga Field, visiting Dobovjani, Tashmaruništa (cut short by rain), Gorno and Dolno Tateši, Poum, Džepin, and Korošišta, ending the day in Ramne as guests of “Pirustija Nedanoski.”
Day two started in Misleševo and continued through Moroishta, Draslajca, Livada (where an old tower-house was found), and Bidževo (where a drone misunderstanding was quickly resolved). In Ložani, the large number of religious sites required a longer stay. After a quick return to Bidževo, the team visited Novo Selo, completing work in Struga Field and moving on to the Karaorman villages.
The mountain portion began in the abandoned village of Toska, followed by Bogojci and Brčevo, where the mislocated church "St. Dimitrij" was eventually found. The new chapel "St. Petka" was also visited. The expedition continued through Mislodežda and Prisovjani, where three churches were photographed, including one with no prior visuals. Drone photography was also conducted. The final villages—Zbazhdi and Ržanovo—were accessed via a difficult dirt road and documented from the air. The expedition ended with dinner at “Kukata na Mijačite.”
In total, 27 new villages were documented and three revisited, with dozens of religious, cultural, and historical sites recorded. Over 600 km were covered, previously undocumented objects photographed, and existing data updated—making this a major contribution to the documentation of Struga Field and Karaorman. You can view all the photographic material from the Wikiexpedition here, but there are some pictures bellow:
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A motorboat closely approaching the endemic plant species of Chara ohridana in Lake Ohrid near the village of Kališta -
A tower house in the village of Livada -
Remnants of an early Christian basilica from the end of the 5th or the first half of the 6th century near the village of Radolišta -
A mosaic depicting the Nativity of the Theotokos above the main entrance of the eponymous church in the Kališta Monastery Macedonia. -
Nativity of the Theotokos Church of the Kališta Monastery -
St. Athanasius Cave Church near the village of Kališta -
The bell tower and the dome of St. Nicholas Church in the village of Moroišta
Editing Days
[edit]Editing days is an activity that lasts for the whole year in organization of Wikimedia MKD. Each Tuesday and Thursday different topics are given and the participants create or improve existing articles. In August 2025 there were in total 8 editing days, where participants edited on different topics in order to enrich the content of Wikipedia. The editing days and the topics were:
- 5.8.2025 - Violence against women
- 7.8.2025 - Cultural tourism
- 12.8.2025 - Prisons in the United States
- 14.8.2025 - Italian actors
- 19.8.2025 - Gold coins
- 21.8.2025 - Perfumery
- 26.8.2025 - Euroscepticism
- 28.8.2025 - Mascots
Cumulatively, 3 different users took part in these calls and edited. In total, 13 new articles were created during the editing days in August 2025.
Editing Weekends
[edit]Editing weekends is another project that is organized during the whole year. During weekends (Saturday and Sunday) user are welcomed to take part in this project activity and improve or enrich Macedonian Wikipedia content. During these weekends, the participants are expected to edit articles on given topics. In August 2025 the following editing weekends were organized:
- 2-3 August 2025 - Cities in the United States by state
- 9-10 August 2025 - Mines
- 16-17 August 2025 - Macedonian expatriate men's footballers
- 23-24 August 2025 - Programming languages
- 30-31 August 2025 - Building materials
In total, during these weekends there were 4 different users editing on the given topics and they created 16 new articles on the Macedonian Wikipedia.
