Wikimedia Europe/Capacity building
Capacity buildingOur approach to capacity building
Supporting the European Wikimedia chapters is a core task within our mission. We aim to foster collaboration between European Wikimedians to empower individuals and organisations, strengthening the Wikimedia Movement’s impact in Europe. By working collectively, we achieve greater effectiveness than individual efforts alone, thereby advancing access to knowledge in Europe.
Our approach to capacity building is shaped by analysis of needs and network mapping, that informed the Collaborative Community Development framework.
Our activities in capacity building are focused on:
Pillar 1: Ecosystem Sensemaking
Pillar 2: Capacity Development
Pillar 3: Collaboration Facilitation
Below you can find brief explanation of goals and status of work in each pillar. For more details visit subpages dedicated to each pillar.
Ecosystem Sensemaking
Goal: Understand who we are as Network community, what unites us, and what we need to grow and act collectively.
We are currently mapping needs of European affiliates in order to provide tailor made structural support in the future.
Get in touch with us for further information on network mapping and capacity building at (vananh.dam
wikimedia-europe
eu).
Current status & next steps:
- Key info and activities areas mapping completed as of November 2025. Further mapping in process to include activity formats, campaigns etc. and presented during General Assembly in April 2026.
- Monthly Bulletin (shared on Updates mailing list) with overview of network, regional and movement news launched in June 2025.
- Next step: Updating key info mapping after members revision. Network 2025 overview mini-booklet to be shared in first half of 2026.
Feedback to key affiliates ecosystem documents provided:
- Affiliations Committee draft recommendations for the ecosystem - Feedback from Wikimedia Europe available here.
- Global Resource Distribution Committee updates April 2026 - Feedback from Wikimedia Europe on funding principles and funding challenges
Collaboration Facilitation
Goal: Create shared practices and spaces for collaboration within Network community that work across diverse contexts
Current status & next steps:
- Collaborative Community Development Brief created as input to strategy renewal, including guiding values, principles and priorities to be followed in WMEU Network community building.
- First Wikimedia Europe Working Groups piloted.
- First EuroMixer networking event took place and resulted in soft launch of EuroComms task force.
- Next step: Network specialist to draft and propose plans for 2026-2027 activities that facilitate collaboration. Review of pilot activities in 2025/2026
Capacity Development
Goal: Strengthen Network community's collective ability to act, advocate, and sustain impact across the region.
To see how we support our members in fundraising, see this section.
Current status & next steps:
- First capacity building activities introduced, including fundraising bootcamp. Ongoing work on collaborative events playbook - quick guide to shaping wiki events in a way that enhances networking opportunities.
- Next step: Continued planning of activities, including creation of onboarding toolkit in collaboration with CEE Hub.
Everything you can join or use as member
- Join our mailing lists to be well informed
- Join our in person meetings: General Assembly and Big Fat Brussels Meeting
- Join our online meetings: EuroMixer
- Join our working groups
- Learn from our resources
- Learn from our trainings
- Ask for fundraising consultations
- Check our network mapping to better understand the European wiki ecosystem
- Schedule a call with Network specialist to get individual advice / connections