Changes in the team

At the start of January, we were thrilled to welcome Mohammad as our new Program Specialist. Many of you probably already know him, as he has been around in the Wikimedia movement for 17 years. He’s already rolling up his sleeves, working with communities to make programs easier to run and repeat, ensuring that great ideas don’t just happen once, but can grow and spread.

Meanwhile, Toni stepped into a new role as Grants Specialist, supporting community projects across the region with Microgrants and very soon also Rapid Funds.

Rapid Funds in CEE — we are bringing global support closer to your local activities

From 1 April 2026, the CEE Hub will start reviewing and supporting Rapid Funds applications for Central and Eastern Europe, together with the Wikimedia Foundation.

This means the process will feel closer, easier to navigate, and more responsive to the region’s needs. It’s new for us too, so we’ll learn and adapt as we go. We share more details in a separate article in this newsletter — check it out if you want to dive deeper.

Microgrants for 2026 are open!

The 2026 round of Microgrants Programme started in February. With a total budget of 12,000 EUR, the program continues to support small, practical, and local projects. They may be modest in size, but their impact is often significant — helping communities experiment and grow.

At the same time, we published the Annual report of the CEE Hub Microgrants Programme 2025, if you would like to discover the projects funded past year.

Governance and upcoming elections

We’ve now finalized the internal governance framework and Steering Committee election model, which are available on Meta.

The next step is preparing the first elections under this new model. The Electoral Commission is in place, and we are discussing voting tools and timelines.

If you plan to apply for the CEE Hub Steering Committee elections, please keep in mind that attending the CEE Hub Status Meetings — held online on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:00 PM CEST (UTC+2) — is a mandatory requirement. The upcoming Status Meeting is on April 15 in our regular Google Meet room.

New regional programs

• CEE Women Campaign 2026

This year we launched the CEE Women campaign, and the response has been wonderful!

Running from March to May, around International Women’s Day, the campaign focuses on improving content about women and gender-related topics, while encouraging broader participation. Ten projects were selected through an open call, with 4,000 EUR in small grants distributed across the region. Activities range from edit-a-thons and writing contests to workshops for newcomers and documenting women-related public events on Wikimedia Commons. Some communities are even combining work across Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Commons — which is exciting to follow.

• CEE Wiki Peer Learning Exchange

At the end of February, we kicked off the CEE Wiki Peer Learning Exchange — a hands-on way for communities to learn from each other.

Instead of traditional workshops, this program pairs newer or developing groups (Mentees) with experienced ones (Mentors) for in-person collaboration. By working side by side on real projects, participants exchange knowledge, share challenges, and build lasting connections.

We’re now reviewing applications and looking for the best mentor-mentee matches.

• Tech development fund

The Tech Advancement Working Group opened a call for small technical projects that can benefit communities across the region and Central Asia. The total budget is 1,500 EUR, with individual grants up to 700 EUR. These are meant for practical ideas: tools, small improvements, or experiments that communities can use in real life. Two projects — “Java-based transliteration API library” and “Makammatik” (focused on Turkish Makam music) — were funded with 500 EUR each and are currently in the early implementation phase.

CEE Youth Group updates

The CEE Youth Group refreshed their Meta page, published their first Annual Report summarizing 2025, managed to have two bi-monthly online meetings and welcomed six new members.

CEE Spring 2026

CEE Spring 2026 has just kicked off, running from 21 March to 31 May. This is the annual international article contest focused on Central and Eastern Europe, bringing communities together to create, improve, and translate articles. It’s also a great excuse for local meetups and collaborative activities. This year’s sub-contests include: CEE Women, CEE Youth, CEE for Human Rights, Coordinate Me, and Quote Me.

Events and gatherings

We’ve also co-hosted several online gatherings, and experimented with meetings formats:

• EuroMixer: Comms – initiated by Wikimedia Europe for communication peers across Europe, sparking new connections and ideas.
• CEE Catch Up – focusing on Contributors and Readers, linking local perspectives with the Wikimedia Foundation’s Annual Plan.
• Workshop about photo campaigns by Nikolai Bulykin – a first Russian Language Event this year. And looking ahead, we are supporting an online conference for Russian-speaking contributors, planned for 16 May.
• After testing different versions, we’re updating Office Hours. Starting in April, they’ll happen twice a year, providing updates on grants, programs, and events — while leaving room for questions, discussion, and informal chats. We hope this new format will make it easier to connect and stay informed.
• We've started Community Check-in meetings (previously called 1:1 meetings), a space for communities to share what’s happening, what’s working, and what could use support. Thank you to everyone who has joined so far — hearing your perspectives helps us improve our work and stay connected.

Preparing for the CEE Meeting 2026

Preparations for the CEE Meeting in Romania are moving along. Wojciech from the CEEM Working Group and Barbara, the CEE Hub Regional Coordinator, visited the site recently, running a workshop for the local organizing team.

Cluj-Napoca is clean and walkable, and the venue, hotels, and airport are all conveniently close. We're pretty sure that you will love the city!

CEE Hub Annual Feedback Survey 2025

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in our first annual feedback survey! We received 48 detailed responses from 28 communities, and 35.4% of respondents are active in the CEE Youth Group.

Here’s what stood out:

• Microgrants Programme, valued as quick, easy, and a real enabler for local projects.
• CEE Newsletter for helping small groups get visibility internationally.
• CEE Youth Group, as a success story in leadership development and cross-border friendship.
• Staff accessibility, described as friendly, welcoming, open, and responsive.

On average, communities gave us a 4/5 satisfaction score (see the chart on the right). Thank you! These insights are already helping us think about how to improve and support communities even better in 2026.

CEE Hub at the events

• Futures Lab participation – Our Regional Coordinator, Barbara, took part in the Wikimedia Futures Lab. This was a great opportunity to explore long-term trends, ideas, and experiments shaping the future of Wikimedia projects.
• Wikipedia 25 celebrations in Warsaw – Our Community & Communications Specialist, Karo, was invited to join the Wikipedia 25 birthday celebrations in Poland, organised by the Wikimedia Foundation. It was inspiring to connect with contributors from across Europe and celebrate the amazing work communities are doing.

Steering Committee Annual Meeting in Malta

The CEE Hub Steering Committee will meet on 27–28 March in Malta. Together with invited staff and guests, they will revisit the Hub’s vision, clarify mission areas, and check which communities the Hub currently supports. The meeting will also cover elections, planning for Year 4, and alignment on strategy and communication. It’s an important step to make sure the Hub stays focused and useful for communities across the region.

Stay updated — You can follow CEE Hub announcements on

• Mailing list (sign-up is always open)
• Telegram announcements chat
• Regional Facebook group

Curious to hear more about the CEE Hub staff updates? Follow our News & Updates page, where we share our monthly highlights!

Those who follow the work of the CEE Hub are already familiar with the central role of its Steering Committee (SC). The SC consists of 10 members who operate collectively, making decisions through discussion, with the goal of reaching consensus whenever possible. In some cases, decisions are made by majority vote.

Working Groups at Wikimedia CEE Hub

SC members bring diverse areas of expertise and, depending on their interests and the needs of the Hub, take the lead in specific areas of work. Currently, the Hub’s activities are organized into six working groups: CEE Community Grants Management (Rapid & Microgrants), CEE Hub Governance, Technical Advancement, CEE Meeting (budget, program, logistics), Community Capacity Building, and Communication.

Each working group is led by one SC member, while its members may include other SC representatives and interested volunteers from the region. Unless otherwise approved by the SC, working groups typically consist of 3–5 members. CEE Hub staff also participate in working groups to ensure coordination, efficient processes, and the achievement of defined goals.

Chair and the Vice Chair

Although the SC operates without a formal hierarchy, in March 2025 it introduced the roles of Chair and Vice Chair. This decision was made by a vote of SC members serving at the time, in response to the need for stronger coordination and a more structured communication flow, particularly to support the Regional CEE Hub Coordinator in engaging effectively with the full committee.

Following this decision, elections were held, and Toni Sant was appointed as Chair, with Basak Tosun serving as Vice Chair. Their initial mandate lasted until the 2025 SC elections, at which point both were unanimously reappointed for an additional term.

The Chair’s responsibilities include holding regular weekly coordination meetings with the Regional CEE Hub Coordinator. These meetings focus on ongoing issues, operational matters, working group activities, and collaboration with other hubs and the Wikimedia Foundation. In addition, the Chair prepares the agenda for the monthly SC coordination meetings, where SC members review key topics, address requests from staff and external stakeholders, and discuss the overall direction of the Hub. During these monthly meetings, the Chair also serves as moderator and timekeeper, ensuring that discussions remain focused and that all agenda items are adequately addressed. Vice Chair duties are the same as Chair’s in case of Chair’s absence.

Steering Committee elections coming soon

The CEE Hub is currently preparing for its first-ever regional Steering Committee elections. More detailed information about the process will be published soon, with community and affiliate voting expected to take place in late June to early July 2026.

Individuals considering candidacy are encouraged to engage with the CEE Hub in advance by contacting the Hub staff and participating in the regular monthly CEE Hub coordination meetings. Please note that active participation in these monthly meetings is one of the criteria for eligibility in the election process. You can read more about the internal governance and elections on the CEE Hub’s Meta page.

It would be pointless to go into the details of each session, but I strongly encourage you to explore them yourself. The keynote speech by Malka Older, Executive Director of Global Voices, set the tone of the event. For me, it played a key role in unlocking a few inner doors I had deliberately kept closed. As the name suggests, Wikimedia Futures Lab was about the future of our movement, about the impact of AI on our work, trends in content creation (which sits at the core of what we do), and how that content is consumed. The conference was less about predicting what comes next, and more about understanding how these shifts are already affecting us, and how they might continue to do so in a world that is constantly changing, and increasingly difficult to predict, even in the short term.

Futures Lab event provided a space for learning and discussion, but also for reflection and personal decision-making. It was about taking small, concrete steps that can shape the future. It was not about making decisions for the entire movement.

My biggest takeaway is something quite simple — yet something I rarely give myself time to reflect on while rushing through daily tasks and obligations. The event gave me the space to pause, to think, to connect with others, and with my own thoughts. It made me more aware of how much time we spend trying to predict the future (even though we know we cannot), and trying to fully understand every detail (even though we know that’s impossible) before we allow ourselves to act. Out of a very human fear of uncertainty, we become vulnerable. We cling to confident voices that offer clear, simplified visions of the future. But that is both dangerous and misleading. The future belongs to no one—and to everyone. In fact, it is less about “the future” and more about what we do now, and how we do it. It is about us and now.

If we want to shape what comes next, we need to embrace uncertainty and accept that we are already enough as we are. It is okay to be wrong. It is okay to feel, to act, and to learn as we go. Not everyone will think like us, and that is precisely the point! Different perspectives will enrich our work and strengthen our decisions. It is okay to try, to collaborate, to fail, and to try again. No matter the trends, no matter what new AI tools emerge tomorrow, it is people who matter. Coming together, staying curious, being inclusive, and creating collectively—that is what endures.

This event reminded me to accept that doing my best is enough. It is not about perfection, it never was. It is about trying, about taking small steps, and having the courage to actually take them, instead of waiting or hesitating. There will always be ups and downs, that is part of the process. But do not let anyone convince you that they have more ownership over your future than you do.

The gender gap is still visible on many Wikimedia projects. On many Wikipedia editions there are fewer articles about notable women than about men. Community campaigns such as edit-a-thons, writing contests, training sessions, and outreach events are commonly used to address this issue.

As part of the CEE Women Campaign 2026, the CEE Hub opened a call for community proposals. In total, 12 applications were submitted from different communities across Central and Eastern Europe and the Central Asia.

During the review process, some proposals were merged in order to strengthen collaboration and simplify project structures. Two proposals from Uzbekistan were combined into a single project, and two initiatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia were also merged into a joint activity.

In the end, 10 projects were approved for funding, with a total budget of 4000 EUR distributed through small grants.

The funded projects include a variety of activities organized by local Wikimedia communities. These activities include online and offline edit-a-thons, writing contests focused on biographies of women, training workshops for new contributors, and documentation of women-related public events for Wikimedia Commons. Several initiatives also combine work across different Wikimedia platforms such as Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Wikimedia Commons.

During the evaluation process, the CEE Hub also worked with some applicant communities to improve the structure of their proposals. In several cases, discussions were held with organizers to refine project plans, clarify budgets, and strengthen the overall design of the activities before final approval.

To introduce the campaign and share information about the funding opportunities, the CEE Hub also organized an online event where communities could learn more about the program and discuss possible project ideas. More information about this event can be found here: Event:CEE Women Campaign 2026.

The CEE Hub will share the results of the funded projects later in the year, including outcomes such as articles created or improved, images uploaded, and community participation in the campaign activities.

How the renewed process will work

With the new setup, the CEE Hub becomes your first point of contact. The goal is not to redesign everything, but to make the existing process more accessible, more understandable, and more connected to the realities of our communities.

You will still submit your application through the same system (Fluxx, the Wikimedia Foundation Grantee Portal). At the same time, the application form has been adjusted to better reflect the types of activities and challenges common in Central and Eastern Europe. The review process will now happen within the CEE Hub, with the aim of providing feedback and decisions more quickly.

Get support before you apply

One of the key differences is the possibility to speak with the CEE Hub Grants Specialist before submitting an application. We strongly encourage this step. A short conversation at an early stage can help clarify ideas, avoid misunderstandings, and make the process smoother for everyone involved. It also allows us to better understand what communities are trying to do, not only what is written in the form.

What is not changing

It is important to be clear about what is not changing. The Wikimedia Foundation remains part of the process and will continue to handle contracts and fund transfers. Rapid Funds will also remain open throughout the year, without fixed deadlines. There may be slower periods for transfers, particularly in June and December, and we already encourage you to submit your applications in advance to avoid long waits.

For Central Asian communities

We recognize that our colleagues in Central Asian communities are an integral part of the broader regional network, and they are eligible for the CEE Hub Microgrants Programme. At the same time, please note that this change does not affect the Rapid Grants process for Central Asia.

If you are a contributor from a Central Asian country:

• Your process remains the same: You should continue to apply for Rapid Funds directly through the Wikimedia Foundation.
• You can find all the relevant information and the standard application portal on the WMF Rapid Grants Meta page.

Moving forward together

We see 2026 as a transition period. Not everything will be perfect from the start, and some parts of the process will likely need adjustment. What matters to us is to build this together with you, based on real experiences and feedback.

This step is part of a broader intention: to make the financial support feel closer, more human, and more grounded in the context in which communities work. We hope it will make it easier to ask questions, to develop ideas, and to move from plans to action.

If you are considering applying for Rapid Funds this year, we invite you to get in touch and start the conversation. For more information or to schedule a meeting, please visit the CEE Hub Rapid Funds Meta page or contact our Grant Specialist, Toni Ristovski, at toni.ristovski@wmceeehub.org.

Rapid Funds Q&A sessions

To help communities understand the renewed process and answer questions, we are organizing two online Q&A sessions. Both sessions cover the same information and are offered on two dates for better accessibility:

• Thursday, 2 April 2026 at 17:00 CEST (UTC +2; register here)
• Wednesday, 8 April 2026 at 19:00 CEST (UTC +2; register here)

These sessions are an opportunity to ask questions, clarify doubts, and get guidance on preparing Rapid Funds applications.

Here is a look at the major themes the CEE community wants to focus on this September.

1. Community sustainability and governance A resounding theme across the survey is the urgent need to address volunteer retention, leadership burnout, and the sustainable growth of smaller and language-specific communities. Many respondents noted that while content metrics are growing, the core groups of active administrators and editors are often overworked.

What you want to focus on:

• Honest strategic conversations: Closed-room discussions about community health, establishing rules, and conflict resolution.
• The future of the CEE Hub: Discussions on the permanent structure, governance, and institutionalisation of the CEE Hub.
• Leadership succession: Concrete succession planning, youth engagement, and leadership development for the next generation of Wikimedians.

2. Information integrity in the age of AI The rapid influx of generative AI and the threat of political disinformation were highlighted as critical challenges. Communities are bracing for an era of AI-assisted stubs that disrupt the nuances of local languages (often resulting in "translationese") and facing the challenge of maintaining neutrality during sensitive election cycles.

What you want to focus on:

• AI ethics & usage: Creating local "Human-in-the-Loop" workflows to use AI for repetitive tasks while reserving prose for human editors.
• Protecting neutrality: "War game" simulations and real-time media literacy workshops to protect encyclopedic integrity from coordinated disinformation.
• Regional advocacy: Developing cross-border advocacy strategies for digital rights and Freedom of Panorama.

3. Less "talk," more "do": A shift to practical collaboration

You told us loud and clear: standard presentations are helpful, but the real value of an in-person meeting lies in interactive, hands-on collaboration. The community wants to use the time in Cluj-Napoca as a tactical space to build, negotiate, and solve problems together.

What you want to focus on:

• Soft skills & capacity building: Interactive workshops focused on conflict resolution, mediation, grant writing, and cross-cultural communication.
• Working groups: Dedicated time for project co-creation (like regional GLAM digitization), where participants can design cross-border initiatives, sign Memorandums of Understanding, and assign real follow-up responsibilities.
• Mentorship spaces: "Train-the-Trainer" bootcamps and mentorship corners where experienced organizers offer focused consultations to smaller communities.

4. Better onboarding, inclusivity, and safety Ensuring that new attendees, minority languages, and smaller user groups feel welcome is a top priority. Respondents pointed out that regional conferences can sometimes feel overwhelming or disconnected for first-timers.

What you want to focus on:

• Structured onboarding: Introductory sessions, active ice-breakers, and mentorship opportunities specifically designed for new attendees to understand how the regional community works.
• Safety & well-being: Transparent Code of Conduct enforcement, visible safety teams, well-structured schedules with adequate rest, and the provision of designated quiet spaces.
• Meaningful social connections: High prioritisation of informal networking, thematic meetups, and local cultural tours to build the vital trust that sustains online work.

Looking ahead

The data from this survey paints a picture of a community ready to mature from simply "re-establishing presence" to actively "scaling impact." When asked how to prioritise time, you overwhelmingly chose Strategic Conversations, Community Building, and Capacity Building as the most critical aspects of the conference.

The organising team of Wikimedians of Romania and Moldova and the CEE Hub will use these direct insights to shape the program structure—prioritising interactive formats, safe spaces, and deep-dive working sessions over standard lectures.

A big thank you to everyone who contributed their voice to this survey. We look forward to seeing you in Cluj-Napoca to build a stronger, more resilient CEE community!

April, May & June contests & campaigns

• Wikimedia CEE Spring 2026 ― Our signature regional contest is now in full swing! Running from March 21 to May 31, this is the perfect time to write about the culture, geography, and history of our neighbors. This year, we also have exciting sub-contests like CEE Women, CEE Youth, CEE for Human Rights, and Quote Me. Whether you are a local coordinator or an editor, let us make this edition the biggest one yet!
• Wiki Loves Earth ― The world’s largest nature photography competition returns! Running primarily from May 1 to June 30, this contest invites you to document protected natural areas. It's a fantastic way for CEE communities to showcase our region's unique biodiversity on Commons.
• 1Lib1Ref ― The second round of the "One Librarian, One Reference" campaign takes place from May 15 to June 5. This is the perfect opportunity to engage with local libraries and archives to improve the reliability of Wikipedia.
• Wikipedia Pages Wanting Photos (WPWP) ― Starting July 1, this annual challenge encourages editors to add images to articles that are currently text-only.

Upcoming international meetings & conferences

• Wikimedia Hackathon 2026 – The international technical community will gather in Milan, Italy, from May 1 to 3, 2026. Organized by the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia Italia, the event focuses on MediaWiki development and technical infrastructure. For those who can't travel, the opening and closing showcases will be live-streamed.
• Wikimania 2026 – The 21st edition of Wikimania will be held in Paris, France, from July 21 to 25, 2026. This special edition coincides with the 25th anniversary of the pioneer Wikipedias and is themed "Liberté, Équité, Fiabilité" (Freedom, Equity, Reliability).
• Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2026 – Our regional meeting will be held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, from September 18 to 20, 2026. Hosted by the Wikimedians of Romania and Moldova User Group, the event will bring together contributors from across CEE and Central Asia at the Babeș-Bolyai University.
• Open Knowledge: Wikimedia & Research in the CEE Region – Taking place in Katowice, Poland, on October 9–10, 2026, this conference bridges the gap between our community and researchers. Call for submissions and scholarships are active in April and May, keep an eye on it!

Past international & regional highlights

• Wikipedia 25 – We successfully wrapped up the global celebrations for Wikipedia's 25th birthday in January! Thank you to all CEE communities that organized local events. Media related to Wikipedia 25 activities at Wikimedia Commons
• Wikimedia Futures Lab ― In person meeting hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia Deutschland in Frankfurt, Germany on January 30–February 1 about global trends and potential movement-wide responses. Media related to Wikimedia Futures Lab at Wikimedia Commons
• All the contests and events celebrating women within the Women's History Month (and many even beyond!) See them listed on the Celebrate Women page.
• Wiki Workshop 2026 – The virtual forum for researchers exploring Wikimedia projects took place on March 25–26, showcasing the latest academic insights into our movement.

This month in Education

• Celebrating 25 Years of Wikipedia in Uzbekistan, February 2026, Wikimedians of the Uzbek Language User Group
• Wikimedia MKD's activities: New Wiki Club and training workshops, February 2026, Wikimedia MKD
• Wikipedia Turns 25: Young Voices, Big Future, February 2026, Wikimedia Serbia
• Great and productive final activities of 2025 Wikimedia MKD education programme, January 2026, Wikimedia MKD
• Greetings from the Jeronim de Rada WikiClub in Elbasan, Albania, January 2026, Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group
• Transforming Education Through Wikimedia in Kosovo: 2025, December 2025, Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group
• New WikiClub with the Dibra Youth Center in Albania, December 2025, Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group

This month in GLAM

• National Library of the Czech Republic: Events and important guests, February 2026, Wikimedia Czech Republic
• GLAM and Education News from Wikimedia Poland, February 2026, Wikimedia Poland
• Serbia’s GLAMorous highlights from February, February 2026, Wikimedia Serbia
• Macedonian GLAM activities report, January 2026, Wikimedia MKD
• What's up in GLAM in Poland, January 2026, Wikimedia Poland
• January highlights from Wikimedia Serbia, January 2026, Wikimedia Serbia
• GLAM news from Albania and Kosovo, December 2025, Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group
• What's up in GLAM in Poland, December 2025, Wikimedia Poland

Connecting communities across borders – CEE Hub's impact

In 2025, the CEE Hub was working hard to help communities meet, share ideas, and get projects off the ground. This article tells the stories of volunteers, microgrants, and initiatives that brought people together across countries in real, tangible ways.

• Read more: Connecting Communities Across Borders: The CEE Hub’s Impact in 2025

Movement events move to Meta-Wiki

To make global coordination easier, the Diff event calendar is transitioning to Meta-Wiki. This change ensures that all Wikimedians have a single, central place to find and share upcoming conferences, edit-a-thons, and community meetups.

• Read more: Movement events on the move: Diff event calendar transitions to Meta-Wiki

Engaging and re-engaging Wikipedia readers

How do we turn casual readers into lifelong knowledge seekers? This piece explores new strategies for making Wikipedia more interactive and welcoming for audiences who are just beginning their journey with free knowledge.

• Read more: Engaging and Re-engaging Wikipedia Readers

Wikimedia Foundation Bulletin – March 2026

The latest Bulletin is out! It covers everything from the ongoing Wikipedia 25th-anniversary celebrations to the newest rounds of conference grants and global community consultations.

• Read more: Wikimedia Foundation Bulletin 2026 Issue 5

Tech News – Alpha-sorting and CodeMirror updates

The recent technical update brings a highly requested feature: the ability to sort search results alphabetically. Additionally, the new syntax highlighting system is nearing its final rollout phase for all wikis.

• Read more: Tech News 2026, week 12

WikiClubs for sustainable development

WikiClubs are proving to be one of the most effective ways to sustain local communities. Learn how these local hubs, especially in smaller towns, are creating a permanent presence for Wikimedia and fostering new generations of editors.

• Read more: WikiClubs: A Guarantee for Sustainable Development

Central Asian youth at GLAM

This article shares the personal experience of a young Wikipedian from Uzbekistan attending the GLAM conference in Lisbon for the first time. It’s a quiet, honest story about feeling out of place at first, finding friendship, and how small moments, like offering halva or sharing a smile, helped build confidence and connections across borders.

• Read more: Central Asian Youth at GLAM

A birthday song for 25 years of Wikipedia

What’s a 25th anniversary without a song? Check out this creative celebration of Wikipedia's quarter-century milestone, featuring community-led artistic tributes to the world's largest encyclopedia.

• Read more: A birthday cake song for 25 years of Wikipedia

CEE Youth Group – 2025 in review

The CEE Youth Group had an incredibly active year! From internal governance milestones to international meetups, this article summarizes how young volunteers are taking the lead in our regional movement.

• Read more: CEE Youth Group in 2025: A Year in Review

Wikimedia Ukraine’s biggest projects of 2025

Despite challenges, Wikimedia Ukraine continues to innovate. This post breaks down their 10 most impactful projects and 5 new initiatives from the past year, showcasing resilience and dedication to free knowledge.

• Read more: Wikimedia Ukraine in 2025: 10 biggest projects, 5 new initiatives

• [GRANTS] RENEWED Rapid Funds for CEE from April
  • From 1 April 2026, CEE Hub will begin reviewing and supporting Rapid Fund applications for communities in Central and Eastern Europe. Read more about this change in a dedicated article.
  • The application remains open throughout the year, without fixed deadlines: LEARN MORE & APPLY

• [GRANTS] Rapid Funds Q&A session
  • A meeting for everyone interested in the new process of Rapid Funds for Central & Eastern Europe; to ask questions, clarify doubts, and get guidance on preparing your Rapid Funds application. Choose the date that works best for you and register to get the meeting link:
  • April 2, 5:00 PM CEST (UTC +2; local time) REGISTER
  • April 8, 7:00 PM CEST (UTC +2; local time) REGISTER

• [SURVEY] WMF Affiliate Feedback Survey
  • Global Advocacy team prepared a form for affiliate organization staff members to provide feedback on their activities.
  • Share your opinion by April 3: SUBMIT RESPONSE

• [ONLINE MEETING] CEE Hub Status Meeting
  • Monthly session where the CEE Hub staff and Steering Committee share updates on ongoing projects, report on progress, and discuss upcoming activities. Everyone interested in learning more about the Hub’s work is welcome to join, and we especially encourage prospective Steering Committee candidates to attend, as participation in a status meeting is one of the requirements for candidacy.
  • Every third Wednesday of the month at 6:00 PM CEST (UTC +2).
  • The next Status Meeting: April 15 (local time), MEETING LINK
  • Send us a message to info@wmceehub.org to be added to the Google Calendar event and get reminders every month.

• [ONLINE MEETING] REVAMPED CEE Hub Office Hours
  • Come to learn about ongoing and upcoming opportunities (such as grants, programs, contests, and events), ask questions, share feedback, and connect with Wikimedians from the region.
  • April 28, 5:00 PM CEST (UTC +2; local time) REGISTER

• [GRANTS] Microgrants Programme is open!
  • Small, quick funding (50 - 700 EUR) to support short-term, low-cost Wikimedia projects proposed by individuals, groups, or affiliates in CEECA, enabling community-driven initiatives and local impact.
  • We accept applications until the funds are exhausted: LEARN MORE & APPLY.

• [SUPPORT] Request a meeting with the CEE Hub Staff
  • Connect with the CEE Hub staff team via our contact form. You can ask for support, schedule a meeting, share requests, ideas, questions, or feedback, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
  • CONTACT US

• [SAVE THE DATE] Wiki-conference for Russian Speaking Contributors
  • An online event supported by the CEE Hub, held in Russian, open to all editors of Wikimedia projects, with sessions on technical aspects of Wikimedia software, a panel on editing Wikipedia in challenging contexts, GLAM collaborations, and more.
  • Mark Saturday, May 16 in your calendars and make sure you are following the CEE Hub communication channels to not miss the invitation!

The 11th edition of the Wikimedia CEE Spring contest begins in 21 March. So far, according to the participants page, almost 30 Wikipedias have stated their intention to participate, including 6 languages outside of the CEE region.

The contest features a lot of subcontests who ensure the higher impact of the editathon, by giving special care to thematic units who have less coverage. These include:

• CEE Youth, which is targeting to increase the presence of content related to youth of the CEE region,
• CEE Women, to increase the coverage of notable women of our region in the participating languages and bridging the gender gap,
• CEE Human Rights, which is concerned with human rights issues, activists, movements, and historical events, aiming to increase the coverage of human rights content in Wikipedia,
• CoordinateMe, a geodata-based Wikidata editathon.

And one more new subcontest is debuting this year: Quote me, to add quotations from famous people, books, films and provers from the CEE region.

The 2026 contest is coming with small changes, including the arrival of Mohammad Heidarzadeh who will support the international team from his position as a staff member of the CEE Hub, and the expansion of the international team of the contest with new members.

We hope that the Wikimedia CEE Spring 2026 contest will be a very productive contest with high impact.

Wiki Loves Earth is an annual international photography competition celebrating natural heritage worldwide. Participants capture stunning images of local nature in their countries and upload them to Wikimedia Commons. Each participating country hosts its own competition, organized by local teams.

When? As always, WLE will take place from May 1st to July 31st, 2026. Local organizers have the flexibility to choose their contest dates within this international timeframe.

How can you participate this year?

• As an organizer: If you're already a local organizer or interested in hosting a contest in your country, check out our detailed guidelines for local teams, add your country to the list of participants, apply for rapid funds if needed, and start preparing!

• As a participant: Eager to showcase your images or videos? Review the contest rules, prepare your submissions, and get ready to submit them!

• As a volunteer: If you are interested in volunteering for the contest this year as a regionar ambassador, translator or communication specialist, please text as at wle-team@wikimedia.org.ua with your ideas.

Want to learn more? Visit our main page!

Have questions? Contact the international team at wle-team@wikimedia.org.ua.

Start planning now and bring your unique perspective to protecting and celebrating our planet’s heritage!

Check the final results and stunning images from the Wiki Loves Earth International in 2025.

“Open Knowledge: Wikimedia & Research in the CEE Region” will take place on 9-10 October 2026 in Katowice, Poland, with possible satellite events on 8 October. The conference will be both in person and online. We’ll open programme submissions in April and registration in May; scholarships for the CEE community will also be available.

Wikimedia Poland and Wikimedia Ukraine co-organise the conference, in collaboration with the University of Silesia in Katowice and with support from the CEE Hub. It is supported by a Conference Fund grant from Wikimedia Foundation.

WikiSeniors 2026 will take place between February and December 2026 and aims to continue editing activities with groups formed in previous editions while also integrating new participants. The program focuses on practicing basic Wikipedia editing skills, developing digital abilities, and building the capacity for critical evaluation of information. From the very beginning, the collaboration between Wikipedia and the Onești Library was encouraged by the library manager, Ionuț Tenie, who facilitated training sessions for members of the local community (senior learners and librarians) by providing qualified staff and the necessary spaces and logistics for online training sessions. This led to beneficial interaction both for seniors and WMROMD, as well as promotion of program-related materials and events within the library community and the public space.

“The story of WikiSeniors at the Onești Library began before the project actually existed in our community. While the library was already involved in the Code Kids program, a question came from the WMROMD group: did we have seniors who would like and be able to contribute their knowledge in a particular field? The idea stayed somewhere in our minds — as a possibility for the future. After the opening of the new library building in April 2024, we resumed the discussion, this time in the presence of the director. I told them about several seniors to whom I had already explained what Wikipedia is and how anyone can correct or improve the information there. It seemed important for them to understand that their experience could become useful to others, not just to themselves.

Then the first WikiSeniors workshop took place in 2024 — the moment when the idea became reality. The project spread quickly within the community, especially among participants in the NAVIGATOR 50+ program. We discovered people eager to do something meaningful and useful, people who did not just want to learn technology but to use it to leave something behind. Therefore, I proposed organizing a workshop dedicated to advanced seniors, people who already had digital skills and were ready to take the next step: actual editing on Wikipedia. The proposal was accepted and the activity took shape.

Thus we arrived in 2026 at a new edition of WikiSeniors, with a group formed both from previous participants and newcomers to editing. For us, it is no longer just a workshop — it is a growing community, people learning together and contributing together to knowledge.”

— Olivera-Lida Gîșfan, WikiSeniors coordinator

After the first two years, seniors shared their impressions:

• I didn’t know much about Wikipedia and I was very glad this course showed me the work behind the articles.
• It is very interesting, especially because knowledge keeps expanding each time with new information.
• A highly useful and interesting interactive course.

This year we also aim to discover new things together and share information on topics of interest, proud to be part of a unique project: Wikipedia, the largest free online encyclopedia, created exclusively by volunteers from all over the world. Activities are structured as monthly in-person sessions held at the “Radu Rosetti” Municipal Library and combine theoretical instruction with assisted practice. Learning materials consist of editing courses developed by the WMROMD community, adapted for beginners and structured to encourage participants to independently explore other educational resources.

Participation requires intermediate computer skills, internet navigation ability, and creating a Wikipedia user account. Meetings are facilitated locally by librarian Olivera-Lida Gîșfan and coordinated online by Elena Damian, WMROMD member. Seniors work on freely chosen topics according to their interests (local history, personalities, traditions, institutions, or cultural themes), and at the end of the year the contributions will be reported.

As early as 2020, the Tatar Wikipedia community launched the "Smart Tatarstan" project, designed to engage various sectors of the population in documenting their interests within the Wiki ecosystem. A key outcome of this initiative is a script that automates the upload of high-quality images from free-licensed regional sites to Wikimedia Commons. It is worth noting that the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Tatarstan adopted a free license specifically following outreach and advocacy by members of the former Tatar-language User Group.

• 
  Chuvash cultural festival in the city of Nurlat
• 
  Reopening of the historic Maskara village mosque, an 18th-century monument of Tatar religious architecture
• 
  Ceramic crafts in the Yelabuga historical settlement
• 
  National Tatar archery tournament in the city of Yelabuga

The bot features specialized logic to handle site-specific constraints: if a website displays compressed thumbnails, the bot searches for the original high-resolution file and only proceeds if the quality meets Wikipedia standards. The transfer process is efficient, performing approximately 30 edits per minute, resulting in an average of 20 high-quality uploads every 60 seconds.

Because the source sites are in Tatar and Russian, while Wikimedia Commons prioritizes English descriptions for discoverability, a small manual template is used before each run. The operator provides the album link, a base filename (which the bot auto-enumerates), the event description, the specific event date (to distinguish it from the upload date), and the relevant categories. This script can be adapted for any free-licensed website. By the start of 2026, it had successfully migrated over 2,500 files, significantly improving the visual quality of articles related to Tatarstan.

The CEE Youth Group did its first bi-monthly meeting in 20 January 2026. In this meeting, new members joined, and the new staff member of the CEE Hub, Mohammad Heidarzadeh (Darafsh) also joined the meeting, due to his responsibility as the coordinator for the Youth Group ever on. In that meeting, the main topics included the report prepared by Caner, Mari, Kamola and Nursultan, the updates from Youth-related events in the CEE region, as well as updates from the Social media working group and other topics of interest to the members.

The CEE Youth Group also had a revamp of the Meta page. The idea started during the annual in-person meeting of active members in Yerevan in late November, where Mari, Kamola, Caner, and Nursultan volunteered to completely update the group's main Meta-Wiki page and its subpages. On 3 December, the team held an online call to discuss what needed to be improved, brainstorm ideas, and organize the page into clear sections. They sorted these sections into two categories: ones that only needed a one-time update, and ones that require regular maintenance.

Everyone chose the sections they wanted to work on. Mari took charge of "Goals", "Working groups", and "Reports". Kamola updated the "Introduction" and "Announcements". Caner focused on the "Header", "Outreach", and "Branding" (which included redesigning the pages). Finally, Nursultan handled "How to participate?", "Members", "List of events", and "Reports". As part of this work, Mari and Nursultan co-wrote the 2025 annual report — the very first annual report for the CEE Youth Group since it was founded in 2023.

The team set a deadline for 20 January. That evening, during the regular bi-monthly online meeting, they presented the newly revamped pages and the results of their hard work to the rest of the group.

The Social media working group, which has been working with 9 people since December (supported by the CEE Hub staff member for communications, Karolina Gruszczyk) had two monthly meetings in January and February. In January, the members discussed why the Social media group exists and continued the division of tasks to the members. Meanwhile, ideas were proposed for the next meeting to create new content. In February, the meeting included the discussion of ideas for the creation of videos, posts and reels for various topics of importance (gender gap, importance of Wikimedia for youth), while Nikos and Nal proposed a talk about the working group in Wikimania in Paris.

Also, in February, the members of the CEE Youth Group, Nikos and Dawid had a call with Hannah Clover, the Wikimedian of the Year in 2024, where they explained how the CEE Youth Group is working, its working groups and other activities. They also explained how the youth is working on the CEE region, and the call happened on request by Hannah. That call is an example of the increasing relevance of the CEE Youth Group globally, as more people around the world develop interest to study or to emulate the Youth Group model in other parts of the world.

Finally, various task groups that were activated after the Yerevan meeting begin their work. Members of the Youth contests and Building leadership skills task forces are beginning gradually to work on the targets of these groups.

The campaign by the numbers

In just three weeks, an incredible documentation marathon yielded results that exceeded all expectations:

• 4,418 edits made
• 1,902 pages checked and improved
• 108 active contributors from 12 cities
• First-ever new articles created specifically during a 1lib1ref campaign

The librarians of the internet

Long before search engines, librarians were doing what we now call "fact-checking." During this campaign, professionals from county, municipal, and—for the first time—school libraries brought that meticulous work into the digital world. By transforming catalogue cards into history pages and reading recommendations into internal hyperlinks, these volunteers didn't just become Wikipedians, they became the librarians of the internet.

Without librarians, Wikipedia risks providing superficial information. Without Wikipedia, library resources risk remaining invisible. This campaign showcased their perfect symbiosis.

Voices from the community

The impact of the campaign was felt deeply across the region, from documenting local sports history in Onești, Romania, to community editing efforts in Zagarancea, Moldova.

"Contributing to Wikipedia is a natural continuation of our work: supporting access to accurate and verified information," shared Oana Bălănescu from Petrila.

Iulia Irimia from Buzău highlighted the campaign's role as a gateway to open knowledge: "Librarians have resources, they know how to document... and through Wikipedia, they put it to the benefit of everyone."

The 2026 campaign was more than just adding citations—it was about taking verified knowledge off the local shelf and sharing it with the world.

Among the reasons for leaving cited by Leokand himself were a sense of the pointlessness of the work against the backdrop of developing generative models capable of writing texts as well as humans, and the inability to work effectively on Wikipedia from a mobile phone.

Lvova draws attention to the second argument. According to her, during the same period, she edited Wikipedia exclusively from a phone for several weeks and, in this mode, took first place in one of the marathons for processing "articles for improvement" (AFIs). While checking the nominations, she discovered that a significant portion of them were submitted outside the rules or had long lost relevance after the article was improved, yet remained open for years. For nearly a hundred articles she improved, there were even more cases where the result was the closing of illegitimate or outdated nominations. In Lvova's opinion, this experience shows that many problems discussed in the community are not so much related to technical editing capabilities (or lack thereof), but rather to how the processes of working on articles and discussions themselves are structured; however, it should be remembered that what does not stop one participant may be a significant obstacle for another.

Opened 25 years ago, the Russian Wikipedia, with over two million articles, is among the ten largest issues. Only seven are larger — and two of them, Cebuano and Swedish, consist largely of stubs mass-created by bots. Russian Wikipedia has an institutional structure typical of large Wikimedia projects: over fifty administrators, four bureaucrats, several bots with administrative rights, and an Arbitration Committee elected every six months. Dozens of new articles are created daily, thousands of edits are made, and hundreds of messages appear on talk pages. At first glance, especially in comparison with small language issues, the situation looks quite healthy; however, statistics show a less optimistic picture. The number of active participants is steadily declining: while from 2014 it held in the range of 3,500–4,500 people, the drop that began in 2022 has led to the fact that now only 2,500–3,000 editors are considered "active" monthly. The influx of new participants is shrinking even more noticeably: instead of the former 10,000–15,000 registrations per month, about 5,000–7,000 are now recorded, and this indicator continues to fall.

Красный attributes this primarily to global causes. In his opinion, the development of generative models trained on internet texts (largely on Wikipedia's own materials) is gradually pulling away the audience. Since readers have traditionally served as the main source of new editors, their outflow inevitably affects the dynamics of the community. The departure of some experienced participants whose political views conflict with the principle of neutrality also plays a role.

However, in Lvova's opinion, part of the problem is more local in nature and related to the specifics of the rules and practices of the Russian-speaking community, which require a thoughtful search for consensus even in the absence of discussion and nominations for deletion or renaming requests with almost no justification. Such rules are often justified by the desire to "be better than English Wikipedia," but in practice, they lead to an accumulation of an increasing number of unclosed discussions.

This is particularly noticeable on the discussion pages for deletion (AfD), restoration, merging, and other decision-making platforms. There, one can see a huge volume of requests that have not had a resolution for years: some discussions have been open since 2017, and the total number of pages nominated for deletion, for example, has exceeded twelve thousand. To imagine the scale of the problem: to clear just this "backlog," every administrator would have to close one discussion daily for about a year — provided that no new requests appeared during that time.

According to Красный, this situation is exacerbated by the atmosphere within the community. Administrators and closing editors regularly face strong pressure, sometimes escalating into outright harassment. This reduces the motivation to engage in closing discussions and administration in general. Administrator Megitsune-chan, who announced her departure from the project on January 28, described the situation in a similar way:

The community is trying to respond to the problem with a series of campaigns without changing the general organizational principles. Edit-a-thons are periodically held to clear accumulated requests in those nominations where an administrative flag is not required to close the result. For example, the marathon to clear "articles for improvement" has been held thirteen times. According to participants' estimates, over ten plus years, such actions have allowed for the preservation and improvement of just over three thousand articles, but at the time of writing this note, more than thirteen thousand requests for improvement are open, the oldest of which have been hanging for more than four years.

Another problem Красный points out is the practice of blocking so-called open proxies. Today, such a proxy server can be created in minutes, sometimes on a home computer. In a few hours, its IP address can end up in databases and be blocked for six months by a bot of administrator Q-bit array. Since such addresses are often used by dozens or thousands of subscribers at once, the block also removes the ability to edit for well-intentioned participants. Formally, the problem can be solved by obtaining an IP block exemption flag, but many users, seeing a message that editing is prohibited, simply leave the project.

Thus, the discussion of one administrator's departure became an occasion for a conversation about a deeper crisis in the Russian Wikipedia. Красный sees the main problem in a combination of global changes in the information environment and the project's internal atmosphere, while Lvova draws attention primarily to the consequences of the community's own institutional decisions. Although the causes are seen differently, the recognition of the problem and the attempt to describe it is seen as one of the steps toward starting the search for a solution.

Find full text on Diff.

Wikimedia Ukraine, in cooperation with the MFA of Ukraine and Ukrainian Institute, is launching the sixth edition of writing challenge "Ukraine's Cultural Diplomacy Month", which lasts from 1st April until 30th April 2026.

The campaign is dedicated to prominent Ukrainian artists, significant cultural phenomena, and events that are part of the world’s cultural heritage and deserve to be represented on Wikipedia. The campaign encourages contributors to the online encyclopaedia to expand existing articles and create new ones in foreign languages, making reliable information about Ukraine accessible to audiences around the world.

The most active contesters will receive valuable prizes.

Follow the main page of the campaign!

If you are interested in coordinating long-term community engagement for the campaign and becoming a local ambassador, we would be glad to cooperate! Please let us know your interest at info@wikimedia.org.ua

We invite you to take part and help us improve the coverage of Ukrainian culture on Wikipedia in your language!

Check the results and highlights of the previous year's campaign.

On March 14, within the framework of the CEE Women Campaign 2026 and in celebration of International Women's Day, an educational Wikipedia training session was organized for women by the Azerbaijani Wikimedians User Group.

The training was led by Aida Aslanova, Deputy chair of the Azerbaijani Wikimedians User Group. The main goal of the event was to encourage greater participation of women in open knowledge platforms, contribute to closing the gender gap on Wikipedia, and strengthen participants' practical editing skills.

During the session, participants were introduced to the fundamentals of Wikipedia editing, including creating new articles, improving existing content, adding categories and templates, selecting reliable sources, and properly citing references. The training was conducted in an interactive format, allowing attendees to combine theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience by working directly on real Wikipedia articles.

At the end of the event, participants were provided with recommendations on how to continue their journey as volunteer contributors to Wikipedia. Certificates were also awarded in recognition of their participation in the training. Participants were also presented with small gifts in celebration of International Women's Day.

Read more on the Diff

We talked about Wikipedia as a free knowledge source, how it started, and how it has grown over the years. We also discussed why Wikipedia is important for free knowledge and for people who want to learn and share information.

One main topic was: “Can Wikipedia be trusted?” We discussed that Wikipedia becomes more reliable when articles have good sources, verifiable information, and when the community checks and improves the content over time.

We also shared ideas on how anyone can help by adding references, fixing small mistakes, and improving articles step by step.

Social media

• We have a public channel on WhatsApp of Albanian Language if you want to join and discuss Wikimedia projects.

If you want to see more about our activities, you canː

• Like our Facebook page, follow us on formerly Twitter or X or Instagram.

On January 24-31, Wikimedia Armenia held its Winter Youth WikiCamp. This time, the camp had a specific thematic focus: it was a Medical WikiCamp.

Wikipedia Training for Newcomers

Before the WikiCamp, special training courses were organized for newcomer participants on January 8–18. Overall, 204 people registered for the WikiCamp. Considering the medical focus of the camp, the registrants were either students studying medicine and pharmacy or experts. Out of the 204 registrants, 38 were experienced Wikipedians, while the others were newcomers. The training was organized for these newcomers.

The newcomers were divided into four groups for the training courses: three online groups and one offline group. In total, 71 newcomers joined the training courses. They registered on Wikipedia and learned about the basic rules, the Five Pillars, and editing tools. After learning the basics, they began choosing articles from a special list of medical and pharmaceutical topics prepared by the organizers and started translating them from the English Wikipedia. Each group participated in three training sessions.

During the 11 days of training, 33 newcomers created 87 articles with 4,372,972 bytes of content. All articles were checked and graded by expert doctors. In total, 105 articles were created; however, 18 were deleted because of poor quality.

The 28 newcomers who achieved the best results during the training earned the right to participate in the Medical WikiCamp 2026.

The edit-a-thon began with an event at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana, where participants gathered for an introductory session and a short editing workshop. The Italian coordinator joined the meeting, marking the start of a collaborative effort between the two communities.

The event brought together contributors from Slovenia and Italy to expand Wikipedia's coverage of the twin border cities of Gorizia and Nova Gorica. It also marked the first international collaboration for both the University of Ljubljana Wiki Student Club and the Slovenian Wikimedia community.

The Slovenian community made a strong contribution: 13 participants created 58 articles, adding more than 30,000 words to Wikipedia.

Overall, 25 participants created 140 articles during the edit-a-thon. The success of the initiative has already inspired plans for further international collaborations between the two communities.

The Tajik Wikimedians User Group began its Wiki25 activities with an edit-a-thon held from 15 to 25 January 2026. The campaign focused on contemporary topics such as artificial intelligence, digital and media literacy, science and education, culture, and the role of digital platforms in the modern information environment. Nine participants took part in the campaign and collectively created and improved more than 100 articles.

Following the edit-a-thon, the community celebrated the 25th anniversary of Wikipedia with a gathering in Dushanbe. The event, held at Technohub, brought together experienced editors, new contributors, and representatives of academic institutions. It opened with welcoming remarks by Zinhor Nasri, followed by reflections from long-standing contributors. Shohrat Sa’diev shared insights into the early development of Tajik Wikipedia and its growth over the years.

Shortly after, on 29 January, the community also celebrated the 22nd anniversary of Tajik Wikipedia. The event highlighted the achievements of the local community and its increasing contribution to free knowledge.

Saidjalol Husayni, Editor-in-Chief of the Scientific Editorial Office of the Tajik Encyclopedia, emphasized the importance of closer cooperation between academic institutions and the Wikimedia community and announced plans for a high-level academic event in March.

Dustomurod Said highlighted the growing institutional support for Wikimedia initiatives, stressing the importance of collaboration between experts and volunteers in ensuring reliable knowledge online. Discussions also addressed the role of artificial intelligence, underlining the importance of human editorial responsibility.

A notable part of the program was the presentation of the results of the Wiki25 edit-a-thon. Zolfeqar Fatihzadeh summarized the outcomes and presented symbolic prizes to the winners. The event concluded with the presentation of certificates of appreciation to active contributors.

In parallel, from 26 January to 26 February 2026, the Tajik Wikimedians community collaborated with Uzbek Wikimedians in the joint campaign “Wikipedia Loves Olympic Games.” The campaign resulted in the creation and improvement of more than 300 articles between the two languages, strengthening cross-community cooperation and expanding sports-related content.

In addition, a training session for Wikipedia editors was organized at the Main Directorate of the Tajik Encyclopedia. The training introduced participants to modern editing practices, community standards, and practical tools for improving content quality, while also strengthening collaboration between professional encyclopedists and volunteer contributors.

Overall, these activities demonstrate the continuous development of Tajik Wikimedians User Group, combining local engagement, institutional partnerships, and regional collaboration to further develop free knowledge in Central Asia.

Most of them are recipients of prestigious awards, professors or associate professors whose work has a significant impact on Czech and international science. The list will continue to be updated with additional names and serves as inspiration for creating new articles or expanding existing ones.

This initiative is part of the Women’s Month on Wikipedia 2026 campaign, which highlights the still low representation of women on Wikipedia. The goal is to jointly add articles about notable women from both the present and the past.

Of course, the number of women who could be written about is much larger – it is entirely up to you which one you choose. Articles can be created or expanded in any language edition of Wikipedia. Do you know a notable woman who is missing from Wikipedia or whose article is still very brief? Start editing.

The contest runs from March 1 to April 8, 2026. When you create a new article or expand an existing one, mark your edit summary with the hashtag #WikiGap.

All information about the challenge can be found at zeny.wikimedia.cz.

For several years now, the Tatar-speaking Wikimedian community has been organizing contests not only in the Tatar Wikipedia but also across other active language editions. In 2025, we organized contests in the Bashkir, Chuvash, Tuvan, and Crimean Tatar languages, while in November, Sakha-language Wikipedians joined the Asian Month initiative.

From November 1 to 30, during the Asian Month marathon—dedicated to enriching Wikipedia with articles about the countries, peoples, and cultures of Asia—7 participants contributed 27 articles to the Tatar Wikipedia. In the Chuvash language, 28 articles were written by the three most active participants, with the highest quality articles focusing on Uzbekistan. This is only the second year the marathon has been held in this language edition; in 2024, 16 articles were written, showing the section's increasing engagement in international marathons.

Unfortunately, since 2023, the Bashkir-language section has shown decreasing activity, not only in marathons but in general; this year, only 1 participant took part, writing 1 article. This is a significant shift from 2022, when they were among the leaders with over 100 articles. For the first time, the marathon was held in the Tuvan section, where 14 articles were written, with the most active participants surprisingly being from Japan.

Additionally, after a long hiatus since 2017, activists from the Sakha (Yakut) Wikipedia participated in Asian Month and wrote 31 articles. Participants included both long-time volunteers and newcomers, hailing not only from Russia but also from Kazakhstan and Vietnam. The vast majority of both Sakha and Tuvan speakers live in Siberia, located in North Asia, which fueled their interest in the theme. Encouragingly, the Sakha community did not stop after the month ended; they continued to enrich their section with articles about Asia. Currently, the Sakha Wikipedia is one of the fastest-growing editions, with hundreds of new articles written in December and January, mostly related to Southeast Asia and the Sakha Republic.

Hillfort and church in Voronich, Pskov Oblast

― created article (86)   ― improved article (60)   ― collaboration (2)

If our Winter edit-a-thon was just a little internal entertainment for its participants, it would not be worth talking about. However, the usefulness of this edit-a-thon for Wiki projects is beyond doubt, just look at the results. Last year, for example, 193 articles in Russian Wikipedia were created and improved during the edit-a-thon. This year, we did not reach this impressive figure, but 148 articles is also a significant result. Especially considering that this time some of the members of the user group could not join the edit-a-thon for various reasons, and as a result, what was done was done with a minimum of nine people (and in fact seven, since two participants were able to write only one article each).

Our edit-a-thon is also interesting because although its topic is chosen collectively and in advance, and this topic is usually quite broad, it is never possible to predict what exactly the participants will actually do. This time, the topic was "Village and its people", and since there are as many as 6 northwestern regions in our area of interest, we could expect a more or less even distribution of efforts across these regions. But no — for some reason, almost everyone, without agreeing, rushed to write about rural temples in Pskov Oblast. There is nothing wrong with this, quite the contrary — the temple architecture of the Pskov Oblast in Russian Wiki used to receive clearly insufficient attention, and we have partially filled this annoying gap. However, religious buildings, as well as various civil buildings and structures of the other five regions, were also not ignored: we wrote and improved articles about former manor houses and museums, windmills and barns, monasteries, fortresses and monuments.… But the personalities, the very people of the village, unfortunately remained almost untouched by the participants. However, "almost" does not mean "at all": six significantly improved articles about people (two Heroes of the Soviet Union, three storytellers and one saint) is also a good result.

It is also worth noting two features that were outlined at the previous edit-a-thon and developed at the current one. First, the participants created entire cycles of articles. For example, Красный wrote about the former fortresses (now hillforts) of Pskov Oblast, Lvova described almost all the exhibits of the Museum of wooden architecture in Vitoslavlitsy, and This is Andy — all the towers of the Izborsk fortress. Secondly, the edit-a-thon again became an occasion for the participants to go beyond the usual topics — this applies to the three mentioned, and all the others too. Mark Ekimov usually writes about people, not churches, Wagon also specializes mainly in civil buildings; Екатерина Борисова delved for edit-a-thon into the history of ancient villages in Pskov Oblast — by her own admission, also unexpectedly for herself. However, it is always interesting to try yourself in something new, and the result, again, speaks for itself: quite a lot of what has been written has been also promoted to the Recommended Article status, and several articles have already received it.

One of the key objectives of our Winter edit-a-thon has always been to strengthen creative ties between the participants (especially now that it is not possible to see each other offline so often). This is not so much a competition (although there is certainly an element of healthy excitement) as a collaborative effort where everyone can join forces with their friends. This year, there were only two articles written in full-fledged co-authorship (compared to 15 in 2025), but this does not mean that everyone worked alone. Every day there were active discussions in our chat about everything that was written or was just being written, everyone helped everyone, gave the necessary advices and shared sources, so it's safe to say that these 148 created or improved articles are one big collaboration between all the members of the user group.

Finally, some statistics. Pskov Oblast is the leader in terms of geographical coverage (62 articles), followed by Novgorod (33), Leningrad (20) and Vologda (14) Oblasts, the Republic of Karelia (11) and settlements within Saint Petersburg (8). As already noted, churches, monasteries and chapels became the most popular theme of the edit-a-thon (64 articles), with fortresses and archaeological sites in second place (19).

Overall, we are very pleased with the edit-a-thon itself and its results, and, of course, we will try to continue. Moreover, active participants of the Winter edit-a-thon receive books on local history as a prize, which they can use in the future as authoritative sources for new articles.

"Krib" pumping station, Kazan, Tatarstan, is one of the photos that won the main nomination. Author — Mike1979 Russia

Statistics from the Russian part of WLM show that this competition is still dear and interesting to the participants, despite all the difficulties and dangers associated with photographing in Russia now. Moreover, there is something to photograph: for 2025, the lists of Russian cultural heritage monuments numbered more than 226 thousand items! Of course, a significant part of the uploaded content is always made up of pictures of popular attractions from "tourist" locations, but the contestants are not lazy to climb into the most inaccessible corners of the country, whether it's the remote villages of the Arkhangelsk Oblast or the rarely photographed locations of Siberia and the Far East.

At the same time, the condition of many Russian architecture and history monuments — in towns and villages, in popular places or God-forsaken corners of the country — can only be described as depressing. Abandoned estates, ruins of churches, half-demolished factories and public buildings, broken sculptures — this is what we see everywhere all the time. In a desperate attempt to preserve, at least in photographs, the disappearing history and beauty, the organizers of the Russian part of the competition constantly appoint a special nomination "Cultural Heritage under threat", for which photographs of crumbling buildings and structures are selected from all downloads. There are always a lot of such photos sent, and the scale of the disaster can be estimated at least by the long list of this special nomination. In addition, this nomination is one of the ways to draw everyone's attention to the appalling state of Russia's cultural heritage. There is no certainty that it will be possible to save something in this way, but this is not a reason not to try.

The Russian WLM also has another traditional special nomination. It is appointed by North-West Russia Wiki-Historians User Group. The members of this user group actively participate in the photo contest themselves every year: for example, in 2025, 7 participants uploaded 3,846 images to the Russian part of WLM, which is 17.7% of all downloads. They usually choose the topic of their special nomination in order to fill in certain gaps in the categories of Wikimedia Commons related to the Northwest (after all, not everything can be done on their own). This time, the user group chose a theme that was also promoted by the organizers of the Russian WLM: architecture of the Soviet period. But if the organizers emphasized Soviet modernism, then Wiki-Historians decided to include both constructivism and Stalinist neoclassicism in their special nomination. The idea looked promising, but the results were rather disappointing. Yes, a lot of great photos were sent to the competition (by the way, more than 800 of them have already received the Quality Image status), but these were mostly temples, palace and park ensembles, fortresses and kremlins, and the like — that is, anything except architecture of the XX century. It was photographed a little, and unfortunately, most of these photos were of poor quality. The initiative part of the user group had to work hard to select potential winners in this special category (and, of course, not including their work among them). But it was still possible to find a number of decent-quality images of Soviet architecture, and as a result, the photograph of the Druzhba Hotel in Vyborg received the most votes — almost a postcard view showing an elegant modernist building in the most advantageous way.

All the winners have already received their prizes, and the organizers of the Russian part of WLM hope that they will be able to continue their useful and interesting contest in the future. After all, there are never too many good photos on Wikimedia Commons.

Within the Education Program, Wikimedia Serbia organized the Edu Wiki Camp, held workshops with university and high school students, continued student internship activities, and developed new partnerships, including cooperation with the Embassy of Finland and preparations for the “Education in Finland” edit-a-thon. Wikimedia Serbia also strengthened its international presence in education through active participation in the Edu Wiki Hub and resource development activities. The GLAM Program focused on strengthening partnerships and increasing the visibility of culture and heritage through Wikimedia projects. This period included the completion of residencies with the National Library “Vuk Karadžić” in Veliko Gradište and Lepenski Vir Visitor Center, the establishment of cooperation with What Could Should Curating Do and additional cultural institutions, active involvement in the global Content Partnerships Hub, and strong results in the global #1Lib1Ref campaign, where the Serbian Wikipedia community ranked first worldwide.

Within the Diversity Program, Wikimedia Serbia launched and completed several important initiatives, including the Food and Drink article-writing competition, the #SheSaid campaign, the edit-a-thon marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, and preparations for the ninth WikiGap campaign. The organization also celebrated major anniversaries, including 20 years of Wikimedia Serbia, 25 years of English Wikipedia, and 23 years of Serbian Wikipedia, while continuing to support volunteer engagement through microgrants and new project opportunities. Organizationally, this period was also marked by Assembly sessions, board-related processes, and the continued development of local and international partnerships.

This year's WikiMărțișor competition was particularly impactful, hosting special events that served as an integral part of the broader international CEE Women campaign. This joint effort was also proudly supported by funding provided by the CEE Hub.

Our mission: Bridging the gender gap

The primary goal of WikiMărțișor 2026 was to actively reduce the gender gap in the online environment. We aimed to bring into the spotlight the fascinating stories of women who have shaped history, science, arts, and society, but who often do not receive the recognition they deserve. Every new article written and every page edited throughout March brought us one step closer to this goal of equitable representation.

Outstanding 2026 results

The response from the community was phenomenal. Thanks to the dedication of our editors, the 2026 edition wrapped up with fantastic numbers:

• 70 dedicated participants
• 119 new articles created
• 514 pages improved and updated
• 1,131 valuable total contributions

A big thank you to Our Volunteers!

We want to extend our deepest gratitude to all the volunteers—both our experienced Wikimedians and our enthusiastic novice editors—who dedicated their time and expertise to this campaign. Your efforts are making the internet a richer, more accurate, and more equitable place. Because of your hard work, remarkable women now have a much stronger voice on Wikipedia!

To learn more about the project, the events, and the articles created, please visit our project page: WikiMărțișor 2026

As organizers, we hoped to gather as many Wikimedians as possible. We actively shared announcements on social media and invited both experienced contributors and newcomers. Even though this was already the second event I had organized together with my young colleagues, we still felt a bit nervous. Would people be interested? Would they make time to attend? All our doubts disappeared on the day of the event. More than 50 participants joined us, filling the large conference hall. Throughout the sessions, the atmosphere remained lively and engaging, and most importantly, full of positive energy. While we had hoped to see more experienced, long-time Wikimedians among us, they were unfortunately unable to attend. However, seeing more than 50 young Wikimedians, university students, and young researchers together in one room felt incredibly inspiring. In many ways, this was a powerful reminder that the future of Wikipedia in Uzbekistan is bright.

At the beginning of the event, active community members PanPanchik, Javohir, and I shared an overview of Wikipedia and spoke about our ongoing local projects. We encouraged participants to become more involved and explained how our local community, together with the CEE Youth Group, continuously supports active young contributors. I also had the opportunity to share my impressions from the CEE Youth Meeting in Yerevan and speak about the group’s mission and vision.

Many of the participants were members of the TSUE Wiki Club, which played a key role in hosting and organizing the event. Currently, this is the only active Wiki Club in Uzbekistan, and its members demonstrated outstanding dedication and teamwork. Together with young Wikimedians from different regions of the country, we managed to organize this event in a truly collaborative spirit. Since many attendees were newcomers, and as I personally heard in conversations during the event, their main goal was to learn more about Wikipedia, we organized a 1.5-hour workshop. The session provided practical guidance and space for questions, making the experience both educational and interactive.

After the workshop, we distributed special anniversary stickers, Wiki-themed chocolates, and small gifts prepared for the occasion. The highlight of the celebration was, of course, our “Wikipedia 25” birthday cake, which we enjoyed together before the event naturally transitioned into an informal youth gathering filled with conversations, networking, and laughter. I strongly believe that more offline meetings and workshops like this should be organized for young people. This is not just a general statement, I saw the curiosity and enthusiasm in their eyes. I felt their genuine interest.

And I truly believe this is only the beginning. For young people like us, the journey with Wikipedia is still long, and full of possibilities.

You can view the full collection of photos from the meeting here.

During the campaign and the editathon, our community worked to improve public institutions in Albania and Kosovo on Wikidata. The key focus was on making the data clear, complete, and easy to reuse in different Wikimedia projects.

The main activity was the hybrid editathon, where participants joined both in-person and online. Everyone showed interest in this project and contributed to structuring the database. We had 15 participants, many of which were new to Wikidata. We now have decent project pages, we'll continue to recommend this wikiproject during our teaching editathons, do some bulk editing work from the sources we have identified and rerun this activity again next January.

In total, we worked on 2700 total revisions on Wikidata where we created 124 items, added 418 labels, 333 descriptions etc. The highlight of the editathon was the participation of Jan Ainali, who joined the editathon and discussed the wikiproject and how it helps the community with shared work.

People helped in adding missing details, improving descriptions, linking items correctly, addresses, etc.

Social media

• We have a public channel on WhatsApp of Albanian Language if you want to join and discuss Wikimedia projects.

If you want to see more about our activities, you canː

• Like our Facebook page, follow us on formerly Twitter or X or Instagram.

In accordance with the established comparison criteria, all important articles are divided into three categories: short (length < 8,000 characters), medium (8,000 < length < 16,000), and long (length > 16,000). The main goal of the project will be considered achieved when all articles on the list become "long."

The four-week marathon brought together authors working on creating missing entries from the "List of articles every Wikipedia should have." As a result, participants wrote and improved 63 articles. Notably, 58 of these did not previously exist in the Tatar language at all and were created from scratch. An unexpected intrigue emerged at the very end of the contest: an experienced "Wiki-grandmother" from Bashkortostan using the pseudonym "Banyū" (author of 17 articles) lost the lead to a young participant from Moscow, biologist Dina Abdullina (author of 20 articles).

It is worth noting that the work was not limited to the contest list alone. In parallel, participants performed other valuable tasks for the Tatar-language environment outside of the official competition—contributing to other articles, uploading original photos and other media materials about Tatar culture for free-license use worldwide, and developing valuable technical, phraseological, and terminological solutions that are not reflected in the statistics.

The organizers have now begun evaluating the work, calculating points, and determining the winners. Authors can look forward to diplomas, certificates, and prizes. The organizers also announced future plans: the next "Spring Tümen" is scheduled for May. Moving forward, the contest will become a regular event, taking place in August (Summer), November (Autumn), and again in February.

Meet the winners

The jury faced a tough choice, but ultimately selected the following outstanding contributors who won over the panel in their respective categories:

• General Images: Adrian-Andriasi (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Astronomy: Lauren Stephan (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• People in Science: Paul Dutescu (CC BY 4.0)
• Wildlife & Nature: Florin Done (CC BY 4.0)
• Microscopy: Korinna (CC BY 4.0)

A direct contribution to global education

The true victory of the WikiScience competition goes far beyond a collection of beautiful photographs.

All of these images have been uploaded under free licenses, ensuring they can be used to illustrate Wikipedia articles across multiple languages. By doing so, these photographers are making scientific knowledge more accessible, engaging, and visually accurate for the whole world. Their work is a direct and lasting contribution to global education.

A massive thank you goes out to the dedicated jury members and every single participant who shared their vision and made this incredible selection possible!

• 
  European garden spider (Araneus diadematus)
• 
  A romanian teacher in Erasmus program in Izmir, Turkiye
• 
  A leaf and 3 drops of water
• 
  Microscope view of a bacteria and fungi colony growing in fractal pattern structures

Explore the full gallery of the winning images here: commons:Commons:Wiki Science Competition 2025/Winners/Romania

Once again, students were tasked with writing entries for the Czech Wikipedia about female creators and other women working in Czech film. Among other things, new entries were created about authors such as Jaroslava Havettová, Johana Ožvold, Marta Nováková, and Maria Procházková. In addition to prominent creative personalities, students also focused on women in less prominent professions, such as producers, sound designers, and casting managers. The new entries include screenwriter Lucie Bokšteflová, casting director and producer Maja Hamplová, costume designers Irena Greifová and Lída Novotná, and editor Janka Vlčková. Articles about Drahomíra Vihanová and documentary filmmaker Erika Hníková have also been expanded. This student article-writing initiative is part of Women’s Month on Wikipedia, which has been running since March 1, 2026.

To sign: Russia-Iran Wiki Collaboration/Words of support

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