Movatterモバイル変換

You asked. You waited. You stayed patient. Now it’s here:
Tabbed browsing is now available on theWikipediaApp for iOS!

For years, readers on iPhones and iPads have been asking for away to open multiple articles at once, just like you can onAndroid. It’s one of our most requested features ever, and we’rethrilled to finally bring it to life.

• My suggestion is to add multiple tabs so that you can havemultiple articles open at once…I like to have multiple topics openat a time and switch through them to read various sections atdifferent times…
• Why don’t you add Tabs feature to iOS app in order to easeour access to many articles at the same time?
• Provide the app with tabs, like chrome or safari, so userscan have multiple wiki pages open, again, to conduct meaningfulresearch. One page open at a time is unusually limiting, comparedto using wiki in a browser.

Tabs will let you keep more than one article open at a time,making it easier to explore complex topics, follow links withoutlosing your place, and pick up where you left off. Whether you’rediving deep into a historical event or researching a scienceconcept, the ability to open and switch between articles freely canmake all the difference.

Here’s what toexpect

• Open links in new tabs via long-press on an article link
• Preview content (title, lead image, text snippet) for each opentab
• Never lose your place: Tabs remember exactly where you left offin the article 
• Support for up to 500 tabs
• Access your open tabs throughout the app, across Explore,Search, History, and Saved views

Creating this feature aligned with theWikimedia Foundation’s 2024-2025 Annual Plan to make it easierto browse and discover content on our platforms, so people don’thave to rely as much on outside search engines. Many reviewersmentioned that they preferred Safari or Google Chrome over the app,simply because the App didn’t support multiple tabs of Wikipediaarticles.

Building Tabs Together

Every step of the way, we used user feedback to build tabs. Ourdesigner categorized and drew recommendations from every iOS userwho had written in requests to our support emails, app storereviews and in app surveys. We also drew inspiration from ourAndroid users, who have given us rich feedback on the existing Tabsfeature in the Android app. Below are a few examples of how userfeedback shaped our work:

• A reader noted that Safari frequently refreshes their tabs,causing them to lose their place in the article. This input led usto require Tabs to remember a user’s last scroll position in thearticle.
• Many users lamented the 100 tab limit on the Android App. Weadded support for up to 500 tabs on the iOS app, and tested toensure it doesn’t slow down performance of the app.
• Another reader noted that their workflow includes opening linksin background tabs, so they can save things for later while stillreading the current article. We built both options to open articlesin a new tab and in a new background tab.

Once we had an initial prototype of the feature, we immediatelyput it into the hands of our users by running usability testing. Wegot even more actionable feedback from users trying it out, andincorporated that into the feature. 

Once Tabbed Browsing was ready for the world, we ran an initialA/B test with a limited audience. We saw 10% of users engage withTabs, and the feature had a 93% satisfaction rate. 

Even after release, user feedback continues to shape thefeature. We’ve seen positive feedback from users after release, andalso requests to improve the experience for closing tabs. We’readdressing these issues in follow-up releases and a secondA/B test within the feature. 

This feature wouldn’t have been possible without the persistenceand clear feedback from our iOS readers. Your voices shaped this,and we are very grateful for the spirit of your collaboration thathelped bring tabbed browsing to iOS. 

Do you want to learn more about tabbed browsing and how to useit? Check out theprojectpage. If you have feedbackon the feature, please share it withiOS-support@wikimedia.org.

TheDagbaniWikimedians User Group joined the global Wikimedia movement tocelebrateWikidata’s 13th birthday on Sunday, 19thOctober 2025, with an educative event held inTamale.

The celebration brought together experienced community members,volunteers, and new participants all passionate about contributingto free and open knowledge.

The program focused entirely onWikidata,one of the keyWikimediaFoundation projects that provides structured data to supportWikipedia and many other platforms.

Team members,FuseiniMusah (Musahfm) andFuseiniMohammed Kamal-Deen (Dnshitobu) led a session with abrief overview of Wikidata, explaining its purpose, how it connectsdifferent languages, and its importance in preserving and sharinglocal knowledge.

Participants were introduced to exciting Wikidata tools andgames such asThe Descriptor,Mix’n’Match,Pywikibot, andWiki ShootMe.These tools showed how data can be linked, cleaned, and improved infun and practical ways.

After the overview, participants were guided byAlhajDarajaati on how to edit on Wikidata, learning each stepinvolved in adding, modifying, and improving data items.

There was  a question-and-answer segment, where editorsdiscussed their experiences, shared ideas, and raised practicalconcerns. The discussions also emphasized teamwork and peerlearning as a key solution to sustaining contributions onWikidata.

The event concluded with a joyful cake-cutting ceremony to markWikidata’s 13th anniversary. Participants networked and took groupphotos to commemorate the day.

The celebration reminded everyone of the power of collaboration,community effort, and the importance of making informationavailable in local languages on global platforms.

The Dagbani Wikimedians User Group expressed gratitude to allvolunteers, community members, and partners for their support andto theWikimediaFoundation for continuously promoting open knowledgeacross different languages and cultures.

Read more at:

Event registration page

Event Dashboard

We’ve all seen Git commit hashes—the hard-to-rememberhexadecimal strings that refer to Git commits.

But it’s rare to see Git commit hashes spark joy:

$ git log--onelinedeadbeef(HEAD-> main)Dead beef is beef. Live beef is cow. 🥁c0ffeeee Late night debugging ☕defacedd Fix vandalismfacade00 Provide simple interface classc0deca11 Add function call

Creating memorable Git hashes is hard. Git creates hashes withSHA-1 or SHA-2, which are one-way functions—there’s no way topredict a hash.

So, to spread joy with Git history, we need to:

1. Brute-force funny Git commit hashes.
2. Keep Git usable – Git commit messages and metadata should stayusable by humans and machines.
3. Be fast – I need to find commit hashes quickly, withoutchurning forever for a bit of silly fun.

What can I spell with a git commit?

With hexadecimal we can spell any word containing the set ofletters{A, B, C, D, E, F}—DEADBEEF (aclassic) orABBABABE (forMama Miaaficionados).

This is because hexadecimal is a base-16 numbering system—asingle “digit” represents 16 numbers:

Base-10: 0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 16 15Base-16: 0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  a  b  c  d  e  f

Git hashes use lowercase letters and the numbers 0–9. Somenumbers look like lowercase letters, which expands our palette ofwords—substituting0 forO,1 forl, and5 fors.

I created ascript that scours word lists for valid words and phrases.

With my script, I found some masterpieces:dadb0d(dad bod),bada55 (bad ass),0ff1oad(offload),0ddba11 (oddball), and the famous lastwords:fee155afe (feels safe).

$ < .git/objects/b8/da4201321b5d73297c353a36e09492d6abcdf2 zlib-flate -uncompress | cat -vcommit 195^@tree 66dd8a515582fba80ca1e1137a6763f3759ebd65author Tyler Cipriani <REDACTED> 1760808267 -0600committer Tyler Cipriani <REDACTED> 1760812806 -0600Initial commit

commit [Length of commit message in bytes]\0[Commit message]`

$ < .git/objects/b8/da4201321b5d73297c353a36e09492d6abcdf2 zlib-flate -uncompress | sha1sumb8da4201321b5d73297c353a36e09492d6abcdf2  -

$ mkdir /tmp/git-repo && cd /tmp/git-repo$ git initInitialized empty Git repository in /tmp/git-repo/.git/$ echo > README.md && git add README.md && git commit -m 'Initial commit'[main (root-commit) 68ec0dd] Initial commit 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)  create mode 100644 README.md$ git log --oneline68ec0dd (HEAD -> main) Initial commit

$ git cat-file -p 68ec0dd > commit-msg$ COMMIT_SIZE_BYTES="$(wc -c < commit-msg)"$ printf 'commit %d\0' "$COMMIT_SIZE_BYTES" | \    cat - commit-msg | \    sha1sum68ec0dd6dead532f18082b72beeb73bd828ee8fc  -

#!/usr/bin/env bash# git-hash-fiddler.sh# ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~git cat-file-p HEAD> commit-msgCALC_HASH(){COMMIT_SIZE_BYTES="$(wc-c< commit-msg)"printf'commit %d\0'"$COMMIT_SIZE_BYTES"|\cat- commit-msg|\sha1sum|awk'{print $1}'}CURRENT_HASH=$(CALC_HASH)SPACE_CHARS=$'\u0020\u0009'# Check if the commit hash starts with 00while[[!"$CURRENT_HASH"=~^00]];dogrep-o .<<<"$SPACE_CHARS"|shuf-n1>> commit-msgCURRENT_HASH=$(CALC_HASH)done# Add the modified commit to the git object store< commit-msggit hash-object-w-t commit--stdin# Update the current commitgit update-ref HEAD"$CURRENT_HASH"

$ git log --oneline68ec0dd (HEAD -> main) Initial commit$ time bash git-fiddler.sh00ba5924057452af287a2be151061f973862b811real    0m2.618suser    0m3.130ssys     0m1.430s$ git log --oneline -100ba592 (HEAD -> main) Initial commit  

$ time bash git-fiddler.sh00000a2195aa3d9e85bc5b70e70807e23f2f64fbreal    118m37.577suser    133m54.613ssys     72m51.337s

$ time lucky_commit 00000real    0m0.103suser    0m0.323ssys     0m0.037s$ git log --oneline -100000e9 (HEAD -> main) Initial commit        

$ cat > .git/hooks/post-commit && chmod +x .git/hooks/post-commit#!/usr/bin/env bashWORDS=(    babb1e    # BABBLE    bada55    # BADASS    badc0de   # BADCODE: not even sorry.    c0ffee    # COFFEE    0ddba11   # ODDBALL    5adface   # 😿)lucky_commit "${WORDS[RANDOM%${#WORDS[*]}]}"printf '✨ %s ✨\n' "$(git log --one line -1)"

$ git commit --amend --no-edit✨ 0ddba116 Initial commit ✨[main bd256a9] Initial commit Date: Mon Oct 20 17:58:32 2025 -0600 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) create mode 100644 README.md$ git commit --amend --no-edit✨ badc0de9 Initial commit ✨[main facd923] Initial commit Date: Mon Oct 20 17:58:32 2025 -0600 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) create mode 100644 README.md$ git commit --amend --no-edit✨ babb1e6 Initial commit ✨[main 441ec61] Initial commit Date: Mon Oct 20 17:58:32 2025 -0600 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+) create mode 100644 README.md

I revisitedmy Wikipedia userpage. On it I have several subpages that are regularlyautomatically updated when things change on Wikidata. One of themis about the "PrixRoger Nimier", I had not looked at it for years. I updatedWikidata from the data on the French Wikipedia and to make itinteresting, I added the Listeria template to my French Wikipediauser page. It updated and the English and French article are nearlyidentical. The difference is in the description.

There are many personal project pages that are automaticallyupdated from Wikidata. The point that I wanted to make: topics arenot universally maintained. As I had another look after a fewyears, I found that many have had regular updates. The qualityhowever is not that great. From a Wikimedia perspective, it seemsthat we have not one audience but many. When we allow for automaticupdates, we will be able to share the sum of all our knowledge witha much bigger audience.

Thanks,

       GerardM

16/10/2025-22/10/2025

About us

• This week we celebrate seven consecutive yearsof weeklyOSM in Portuguese!
  That’s right! UsersElizabete andNunoMASAzevedobegan this weekly adventure of translating and reviewing thearticles that make up the weekly edition of this weekly newspaperwithweeklyOSM No.431. Congratulations!

Mapping campaigns

• AE35 hascreatedapproximately 6,911 new MapRoulette challenge tasks aimed at addingand improving roads and paths across Zealand, Denmark. The taskswere generated using around 430,764 address points and 209,605highway geometries. The data processing was performed in PostgreSQLfollowing a download of Danish OpenStreetMap data fromGeoFabrik.
• Tobias Jordansannounced►the addition of a newview on theTILDA map that displays traffic signs identified by Mapillary’sAI-based image recognition. The feature wasdeveloped during the OSM Hack Weekend 2025.

Community

• CoMaps contributor Jean-Baptisteshared howtaginfo can be used toidentify OSM errors, so they can be fixed to improve routing.
• Joost Schouppediscussedthe challenges of classifying significant places of worship inOpenStreetMap for risk management, proposing a method using tagsincludingbuilding,place_of_worship, andservice_times to filter relevant locations in Belgium.He suggested improving tagging quality and invited communityfeedback to help refine the approach.
• MHF Hasnagave atalk titled ‘Mapping for Impact: Introducing Open Mapping to CivilSociety in Sri Lanka’ at the State of the Map 2025.
• Scruss hasfoundblue-coloured road markings (road_marking:colour=blue)in The Meadoway, Toronto, Canada.
• Andy Townsend hasoutlinedthe benefit of vector tiles that support multilingual names. Heshowed how this is useful for rendering Irish townlands, which arewell-mapped in both Irish and English.
• The Department of Geography, of the Universityof Philippines Diliman (UPD), hasbloggedabout the State of the Map 2025. The three-day conference was heldby the UPD with a hybrid format and with open live streaming of thesessions in the main rooms, with more than 50 presentations.

OpenStreetMapFoundation

• Next monthly video-meeting of the OSMF board,takeplace on Thursday 30 October 2025 at 13:00 UTC, unlessrescheduled.
  • Video room(opens ~20′ before the meeting)

  The topics are:

  • Chairperson’s report
  • Secretary’s report
  • Treasurer’s report
  • Fundraising
  • Investigate moving OSMF out of the UK, and into the EU
  • GoFundMe was using the OpenStreetMap trademark to fundraisewithout permission
  • Any other business
  • Guest comments or questions

Events

• GeoCamp/SoTMes 2025 is an annual, free andself-financed ‘un-conference’ for the Spanish OpenStreetMapcommunity and the Geoinquietos (Hispanic section of OSGeo), whichwilltake►place on 13 December in Zaragoza. The meeting, which promotes theexchange of geomatics, free spatial data and tools, emphasisesdiversity, youth participation, and environmental awareness.
• Marcannounced a callfor contributors to support the OpenStreetMap stand at the upcoming39C3 Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg. Those interested areinvited toadd their names to the project’s wiki page.
• SotMNigeria2025,themed ‘Open Mapping for Change, Community Empowerment, andSustainable Development in Nigeria’,starts on Tuesday 28 October andruns until 31 October. It will be held at the University ofNigeria, Enugu-Nigeria. The event, organised by the Unique MappersNetwork, will highlight the critical role of open mapping practicesand geospatial information in promoting change and empowering localcommunities. Its aim is to strengthen the networking of the mappingcommunity and contribute to Nigeria’s sustainable developmentthrough open geospatial data.

Education

• The Virtual Institute for SustainableDevelopment has madeavailable,in Zenodo, the content of its training course on mapping withOpenStreetMap, which has already trained around 400 people. Bycompleting the activitiespresented►on the training portal, participants can receive a 60-hourcertificate. The complete course is alsoavailable for download as a PDFfile.
• The RSU Newbie Mapathon Orientation was athree-day training programme (14 to 16 October) for new members ofthe Unique Mappers team at Rivers State University,introducing them to digital humanitarian mapping. Participantslearnt practical skills in using open source tools such as HOTTasking Manager, JOSM, and iD so they could contribute to disastermanagement and sustainable development projects.

OSM research

• A study of the 28 March 2025 Myanmarearthquake hasintegrated OpenStreetMaproad data with ALOS-2 SAR imagery to spatially quantifyearthquake-induced damage, mapping over 39,000 km of affected roadsand extensive building destruction across central Myanmar.

Humanitarian OSM

• OSM USannouncedthat the American Red Cross has asked the OpenStreetMap communityto assist in mapping buildings and roads in settlements throughoutthe Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta, following the impact of Typhoon Halongon Alaska’s southwest coast on 11 October.

Maps

• DataCenter Map is a worldwide mapusing an OSM backgroundlayer.

Software

• ^[1] Tobias Knerr haspublished a style for JOSM which displays direction and similartags as cones. The style was inspired by the similar renderingalready available in iD.
• Frédéric Rodrigoexplained how to reconstruct OpenStreetMap’s semantic objecthistory from technical diffs, enabling better data quality analysisand change review. This approach has beenimplementedin OpenStreetMap Logical History. This project also provides an APIthat calculates the semantic history of an area between two datesby retrieving OSM data from an Overpass or Ohsome instance.
• MapTiler hasreleased a beta version oftheir GeoSplats, which offers photorealistic 3D models.
• Vizsim hasdeveloped►‘OSM Mapillary Missing Streets’, a map highlighting roads inGermany where street-level imagery is missing on Mapillary. Withthis map, you can more easily plan routes that cover as many roadsas possible where new photos are needed.
• Over 14% of the phone numbers mapped in Polandare invalid or missing a country code, but for the United Kingdomit’s only 0.27%. What about your region? confusedbuffalo hasmadea website to help find invalid phone numbers in OSM data, to makeit easy to find and fix them, since lots of the issues can be fixedautomatically from suggestions. Data is available for a fewcountries at the moment, but more can easily be added. View thecode andsubmit issuesat the repository.
• Christian Questreported thatthe October Panoramax newsletter is currently being distributed,covering the following topics: GoPro Max 2 and suction cup testing,Ciril Group’s integration into GEO, ‘Panneauramax’ (traffic signs)in Panoramax, IGN’s panoramax of Mayotte, SDIS88’s measurement offorest road widths, and more!Read ► more atInfo Panoramax.

Programming

• Yotsuda hasshareda PowerShell module for OpenStreetMap visualisation (PowerShell.Mapv1.0.0). It can open interactive maps in your browser directly fromsimple PowerShell commands and more.

Did you know that …

• … that there’s amobile appversion of MapCompleteavailable onF-Droid? It’s significantly faster in terms of responsivenesscompared to both the web and progressive web app versions.
• … TrailRouter makes it easier todiscover new running routes?According to its own statement, the algorithms favour natural pathsthrough parks, forests, and along bodies of water, and avoid busyroads wherever possible.

OSM in the media

• Robin Ahrens, fromHeise, haspublished an article aboutStreetComplete, a user-friendly Android application designed tohelp contributors fill in missing data on OpenStreetMap.

Other “geo” things

• Strava has voluntarilydropped its lawsuit against Garmin for alleged patentinfringement (heatmaps and Strava Live Segments) after just 21days. The short legal battle, which was considered technically andstrategically risky, was speculated to have severely damaged theextremely important partnership between Strava and Garmin, asGarmin is the main data and customer supplier for Strava’s paidsubscriptions.
• The FLOSS/fund has completed its first yearand has nowannouncedthe second and final instalment for 2025 amounting to US$675,000,bringing the total allocation to global open source projects toUS$1 million. They reflected on the experiences of the first year,highlighted the challenges in allocating funds due to bureaucratichurdles, emphasised the need for better financial transparency inFOSS projects, and discussed the vision of an Indian Sovereign FOSSFund.

Upcoming Events

Country	Where	Venue	What	When
			Missing Maps : Mapathon en ligne – CartONG [fr]	2025-10-27
	Stadtgebiet Bremen	Online und im Hackerspace Bremen	Bremer Mappertreffen	2025-10-27
	Saint-Étienne	Zoomacom	Rencontre Saint-Étienne et sud Loire	2025-10-27
		University of Nigeria ,Enugu Campus,Enugu State	State of the Map Nigeria 2025 Conference Enugu	2025-10-28 – 2025-10-30
	Kiel	Mango’s, Kiel	Kieler Mapper*innentreffen	2025-10-28
	Vogtei	Online BigBlueButton	OSM Radinfra-Mapathon #4	2025-10-28
	Berlin	Online	Transmission Grid Mapping Together (Online)	2025-10-29
	Düsseldorf	Online bei https://meet.jit.si/OSM-DUS-2025	Düsseldorfer OpenStreetMap-Treffen (online)	2025-10-29
			[Online] OpenStreetMap Foundation board of Directors – publicvideomeeting	2025-10-30
	Siliguri	Panitanki More, Siliguri	7th OpenStreetMap West Bengal Mapping Party	2025-10-30
	Halle (Saale)	Coworking am Klaustor	OSM/GIS-Meetup Halle (Saale)	2025-10-30
			UN Mappers Mappy Hour	2025-10-31
			OSMF Engineering Working Group meeting	2025-10-31
		Château-ferme de Courrière	OSM-stand @ International Day Les Scouts	2025-11-01
	Braunschweig	Stratum0	Braunschweiger Mappertreffen im Stratum0 Hackerspace	2025-11-01
	नई दिल्ली	Jitsi Meet (online)	OSM India – Monthly Online Mapathon	2025-11-02
	Oslo	Mesh Nationaltheatret	Mapathon – Monthly Missing Maps w/ EWB Norway	2025-11-04
	Salzburg	Bewohnerservice Elisabeth-Vorstadt	OSM Treffen Salzburg	2025-11-04
	Derby	The Brunswick, Railway Terrace, Derby	East Midlands pub meet-up	2025-11-04
			Missing Maps London: (Online) Mapathon [eng]	2025-11-04
			iD Community Chat	2025-11-05
	Stuttgart	Stuttgart	Stuttgarter OpenStreetMap-Treffen	2025-11-05
	Catania	Isola Coworking Catania	itWikiCon	2025-11-07 – 2025-11-09
	Karlsruhe	Geofabrik, Amalienstraße 44, 76133 Karlsruhe	Karlsruhe Hack Weekend November 2025	2025-11-08 – 2025-11-09
	Salzburg	TriBühne Lehen	Maker Faire Salzburg	2025-11-08
		Cafe Bella Rosa	Social Mapping Saturday: Long Park	2025-11-08
	Bolzano – Bozen		Mapping NOI Techpark in OpenStreetMap	2025-11-08
	København	Cafe Bevar’s	OSMmapperCPH	2025-11-09
			Missing Maps : Mapathon en ligne – CartONG [fr]	2025-11-10
	臺北市	MozSpace Taipei	OpenStreetMap x Wikidata Taipei #82	2025-11-10

Note:
If you like to see your event here, please put it into theOSM calendar. Only data which is there,will appear in weeklyOSM.

This weeklyOSM wasproduced byMatthiasMatthias,PierZen,Raquel Dezidério Souto,SeverinGeo,Andrew Davidson,barefootstache,derFred.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue viathisform and look forward to your contributions.

Welcome to “Don’t Blink”! Every month we share developments fromaround the world that shape people’s ability to participate in thefree knowledge movement. In case you blinked last month, here arethe most important public policy advocacy topics that have kept theWikimedia Foundationbusy.

The Global Advocacy team works to advocate laws and governmentpolicies that protect the volunteer community-led Wikimedia model,Wikimedia’s people, and the Wikimedia movement’s core values. Tolearn more about us and the work we do with the rest of theFoundation: visit ourMeta-Wikiwebpage; follow us onLinkedIn,X (formerlyTwitter), andBluesky;and, sign up for ourquarterlynewsletter orWikimedia public policy mailing list.

________

PLEASETAKE OUR SURVEYTO HELP US IMPROVE“DON’T BLINK”!

We want to hear from you, our readers! Do you have a literalminute to spare? Your answers to thismultiple-choice shortsurvey about our monthly advocacy recap will help us share thenews that is most relevant to you in the format that best meetsyour needs.

For more information about how we will use your feedback, pleaseread oursurvey privacy statement.

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Publishing the Foundation’sMachine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Human Rights ImpactAssessment
[Learn more about the report in ourblog postand read the full reportonMeta-Wiki]

The Foundation recently published a human rights impactassessment (HRIA) focused on how artificial intelligence (AI) andmachine learning (ML) interact with the Wikimedia projects. As apart of ourcommitmentto protect and uphold the human rights of all those whointeract with Wikimedia projects, the Foundation has conductedseveral of these impact assessments, including anorganization-wide assessment and one which addresseschildren’s rights. Our latest HRIA report analyzes the impacts,opportunities, and risks emanating from the use of AI and MLtechnologies in the Wikimedia ecosystem.

The report does not identify any actual observed risks and harmsthat have resulted from the use of ML or AI technologies onWikimedia projects to date. It does, however, consider severalpotential risks associated with generative AI (GenAI) that couldhappen in the future—including the risk that GenAI could increasethe scale, speed, and sophistication of harmful content generation,which could be used to spread disinformation in many languages onthe projects and/or attack individual Wikimedia volunteers orcommunities. It also considered risks that could result fromcontent from Wikimedia projects being used to train GenAI models,including the risk of those models being used to cause harmdownstream of our projects. Finally, the report also considered theFoundation’s own development of AI tools, concluding that theycould have a positive impact on rights such as freedom ofexpression and to education, while cautioning that such tools maystill present risks similar to those associated with anyAI/ML-enabled tools.

The report contains recommendations for addressing the potentialrisks it identifies and notes that the Foundation and the Wikimediacommunity have already implemented a number of strategies andprocesses to mitigate these risks.

Learn more about the report in ourblog post and read the full report onMeta-Wiki.

Supporting libraries,archives, and museums by signing a statement to protect memoryinstitutions
[Readthe DigitalRights Statementand the InternetArchive’sblog postabout oursupport]

The Foundation recently signed a statement as a part of the“Our Future Memory”campaign led by theInternetArchive, which supports the legal rights of memory institutionsto continue preserving and sharing important information online.Memory institutions—that is, galleries, libraries, archives, andmuseums (GLAM)—provide a vital public service, preserving andproviding access to important cultural, artistic, and scientificknowledge. However, as the work of these institutions has partiallyor wholly moved online, the protections that allow them to do sooffline have not fully extended to the digital world. The DigitalRights Statement calls for policymakers to recognize the value ofthese institutions by making sure the legal environment protectsand encourages their ability to: collect materials in digital form;preserve digital materials; provide controlled access to digitalmaterials; and cooperate with other memory institutions by sharingand/or transferring collections.

Readthe DigitalRights Statement and the Internet Archive’sblog post about our support.

Representing Wikimedia andfree knowledge at important international forums
[Learn more about the United Nation GeneralAssembly’sWSIS+20 reviewand read more about therole of theEU-LAC Digital Alliance]

This September, members of the Global Advocacy team attended twoimportant events dedicated to international cooperation anddialogue around pressing internet policy: the United NationsGeneral Assembly (UNGA) and the European Union-Latin America andCaribbean (EU-LAC) Digital Alliance Political Dialogue.

The80th Session of theUNGA provided an opportunity to share Wikimedia’s experienceand insights as a community-led, public interest platform withrepresentatives from governments and key international bodies. Italso marked an important anniversary that will affect the future ofinternet governance: 20 years ago, theWorld Summit on Information and Society (WSIS) brought togetherUN Member States to draft a recommendation for global developmentonline. Throughout this year, 2025, the UN is conducting a reviewof these recommendations— called WSIS+20—with the aim of adaptingthem to a changing world and technological landscape. It is crucialthat civil society input is considered in this review, and we werethankful for the opportunity to provide that input on behalf of theWikimedia Foundation and volunteer communities at the UNGA. We willcontinue engaging with the WSIS process until its completion, inDecember 2025.

The EU-LAC Digital Alliance is a collaboration between LatinAmerican, Caribbean, and EU countries that aims to harmonizedigital policies and regulations. Its most recent PoliticalDialogue brought together representatives from these states, alongwith representatives from regional organizations and civil society,to discuss priority topics around digital cooperation. At thedialogue, we emphasized the importance of creating a legalenvironment that fosters the growth and success of community-ledprojects, and advocated the inclusion of open source models andhuman rights impact assessments (HRIAs) in theLatin American AI Index used to assess the development ofartificial intelligence in the region. 

Learn more about the United Nation General Assembly’sWSIS+20 review and read more about the role of theEU-LAC Digital Alliance.

Sharing how AI can supportfree knowledge at the Open Technology Institute’s 15th anniversarycelebration
[Watch Tajh Taylor’s talkonYouTube]

The Open Technology Institute (OTI) recently marked its 15thanniversary with an event celebrating the past 15 years of shapingtechnology policy and imagining what the next 15 years might bring.The event featured lightning talks addressing cutting-edge issuesin the fields of technology and policy, including artificialintelligence (AI) and evolving privacy expectations online.

Tajh Taylor (Special Advisor to the Chief Product and TechnologyOfficer at the Wikimedia Foundation) presented a lightning talktitled “AI in Defense of Free Knowledge,” where he shared some ofthe risks and opportunities that AI presents to the free knowledgeecosystem. Tajh described how AI makes the production ofdisinformation easier while not reducing the burden offact-checking that information. He also explained the Foundation’sapproach to AI, which centers on people, developing tools to helpvolunteer contributors to perform their work more effectively anddevote more time to offering their local expertise to the contenton Wikipedia.

Watch Tajh’s talkon YouTube.

Celebrating “Wiki Week” at theUniversity of Illinois Chicago
[Learn more aboutWikiWeek]

The University of Illinois Chicago celebrated “Wiki Week” thispast September, an event dedicated to celebrating the connectionbetween the Wikimedia projects and universities. At the event, StanAdams (Lead Public Policy Specialist for North America) andCostanza Sciubba Caniglia (Anti-Disinformation Strategy Lead) spokeon a panel titled “Information (and) Justice: How Wikipedia and theWikimedia Foundation shape Knowledge Equity.”

In their talk, Costanza and Stan explained the Foundation’sapproach to public policy and the legal challenges that Wikimediaprojects face around the world. They also highlighted how theWikimedia communities of volunteers work to promote informationintegrity and reduce systemic bias, and discussed opportunities forresearchers who work on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.This event was an important celebration of the relationship betweenthe Wikimedia projects and educational institutions, emphasizinghow the world can benefit from these collaborations dedicated tofree and open knowledge.

Learn more aboutWiki Week.

Appealing a Portuguese lawsuitto the European Court of Human Rights 
[Read ourblog postabout thecase]

After a long and complicated legal process, the Foundation hasbeen handed a disappointing result in the César do Paço lawsuit inPortugal, which we intend to contest in theEuropeanCourt of Human Rights (ECtHR). We believe this case issomething called astrategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP), meaningthat it is an attempt to use the courts to censor information thatis important for the public.Since 2023, we have been fighting a preliminary order in thiscase that sought to delete information from the English andPortuguese versions of the Wikipedia articles about do Paço as wellas reveal information about the volunteers who contributed to thearticles so do Paço could sue them for defamation.

Most recently, the Portuguese Constitutional Court rejected ourrequest to suspend the order that required these deletions anddisclosures on procedural grounds. This decision left us with nofurther avenues of appeal within Portugal, which meant we needed tocomply with the order. However, this is not the end of the do Paçocase. The preliminary order was meant to prevent harm to do Paço’sreputation while the courts considered the case. The case stillneeds to proceed to a main trial where the main trial court willfully determine whether the content of the articles is accurate andwhether Paço’s rights were violated. We have also decided to lodgea complaint to the ECtHR about the case, arguing that the orderviolated the rights of Wikipedia users and that the procedure didnot adequately respect our right to a fair hearing. We hope thatthe ECtHR will recognize the need for stronger protections againstSLAPPs like this, especially those that seek to identify good faithvolunteer contributors sharing well-sourced information.

Read ourblog post about the case.

Check out the latest issue ofthe Global Advocacy quarterly newsletter! 
[Readthe newsletterandsubscribe for quarterly updates]

The seventh issue of our Global Advocacy newsletter featuresthe Wikipedia Test, a tool that can help policymakers, civilsociety, and platforms hosts consider whether a proposed law orregulation can cause an unexpected negative impact on online spacesthat serve the public interest. Among various topics, thenewsletter also provides an update on our legal challenge to a partof the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act (OSA), explains thecontinued stalemate with our application to be an official observerat the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), andcelebrates the volunteer contributors from across the world whowere recognized as Wikimedian of the Year at Wikimania 2025.

Read more inthe newsletter andsubscribefor quarterly updates!

________

Follow us onLinkedIn,X (formerlyTwitter), andBluesky;visit ourMeta-Wikiwebpage; sign up for ourquarterlynewsletter to receive updates; and, join ourWikipedia public policy mailing list. We hope to see youthere!

The Fellowship continues to empower young people with theknowledge and tools to contribute effectively to Wikimediaprojects. October was another exciting month for theAfricanWikipedian Alliance (AWA)DigitizeYouth project. This month’s activities focused on deepening newparticipants’ understanding of Wikipedia, Wikidata, and relatedopen knowledge platforms.

We hosted two engaging training sessions for participants and introduced new fellows to the basics of contributing toWikipedia and expanding the existing knowledge of returningmembers. These sessions provided hands-on guidance on articlecreation, editing and expanding, also on WIkidata contribution.

To foster ongoing mentorship and support, we held our OfficeHour on October 12th, where participants joined to discuss theirprogress, ask questions, and share challenges encountered whilecontributing to Wikimedia projects.

This month, our collective efforts led to the creation andimprovement of significant content across Wikimedia projects:
This month’s outcomes reflect the hard work and commitment of ourparticipants, these impacts include;

• 30 contents worked on across Wikimedia projects.
  
• 6 new Wikipedia articles created and 8 updated.
  
• 9 new items added to Wikidata and 7 existing onesimproved.

Highlights of the articles created are;

DanielCabou

MalickGakou

Ministryof Youth and Culture

In addition, 7 new participants joined our mentorship group,expanding our community of young  volunteers who are willingto learn and grow during the fellowship. 

Reflections and Next Steps

This journey is not just about ticking boxes or completingtasks, it’s about the effect of updated knowledge, freedom ofexpression, and digital empowerment across Africa especially inEthiopia and Senegal.
As we approach the final phase of the fellowship next month, I’mexcited to deepen our training efforts, strengthen collaborationswith experienced editors, and continue supporting the newbies thatwere recruited during the  fellows in every way possible.Together, we’re shaping a generation of vibrant digitalparticipants committed to sustaining the spirit of open knowledgein our communities even beyond the fellowship.
Want to be a part of this community?

Kindly do well to fill the Needs Assessmentform and Join ourWhatsappCommunity. 

 “Together, we are not just digitising, we aretransforming the African narratives”

.

On October 19, 2025, the Dagbani Wikimedians User Group officein Tamale was busy with a training on Common Voiceand the Wikidata 13th Birthday celebration. Wehosted a dual-purpose event: a pre-celebration of Wikidata’s 13thbirthday and a hands-on training session for Mozilla Common Voice.The goal was simple but powerful: to equip our community with theskills to contribute to both structured data and spoken languagepreservation.

User:Musahfm opened the day with a warm welcome, settingthe stage for a collaborative and productive gathering.

Session 1: Moving into the World ofWikidata

The first training block, led by Mr. Fuseini Kamaldeen(User:DnShitobu), focused on building a strong Wikidatafoundation.

Wikidata Basics & AccountCreation: DnShitobu began with a clear overview ofwhat Wikidata is and why it matters. For our newest members, heprovided a step-by-step guide on creating a Wikipedia account, avery important first step to getting a unique identity andcontributing information across Wikimedia projects.

Navigating Your New Toolbox: Once accountswere created, the session moved to practical user skills.Participants learned how to add Babel boxes to their profiles toindicate language skills, change their interface language, managetheir watchlists, and use talk pages for communication.

Session 2: Editing and Playing

With the basics covered, we moved on to active contribution,blending serious editing with fun.

Fuseini Abdul-Rafiu (User:Alhaj Darajat) took theparticipants through creating a new Wikidata item. Using the name“Nawabzada Muhammad Ali Khan Hoti” as a live example, hedemonstrated the entire process, making it feel simpleand achievable for everyone.

Learning Through Play: To solidify thesenew skills, DnShitobu continued the sessionwith Wikidata Games. This hands-on session was ahighlight, as participants played games to add missing descriptionsto items and find images for unillustrated entries,turning the challenges of editinginto more fun for both newcomers and experiencededitors.

Session 3: Connecting Projects and Introducing a NewTool

After a short break, User:DnShitobu introduced the coreteam of the Dagbani Wikimedians User Group. This was followed by aninspiring address from our Executive Director, Sadik Shahadu, whoconnected the dots for participants, explaining the big picture ofWikipedia and its sister projects.

Giving Dagbani a Voice: The focus thenshifted to a crucial tool for language preservation: Mozilla CommonVoice. DnShitobu explained its mission and how it is used tocollect and donate voice data, which helps build open-source speechrecognition technology for under-resourced languages likeDagbani.

Hands-On with CommonVoice: User:Musahfm then took the lead, walkingeveryone through the process of creating a Common Voice account.The training covered the entire contribution workflow: how tonavigate the main page, record and uploadvoice recordings, contribute sentences, andreview submissions from others.

Wikidata Birthday Celebration

We concluded the day with a joyful pre-celebration of Wikidata’s13th Birthday. Although the official birthday is on October 29th,we seized the opportunity to share a cake and celebrate theplatform that helps structure the world’s knowledge. It was aperfect, sweet ending to a day dedicated to building skills,strengthening our community, and contributing to the globalopen-knowledge ecosystem.

Key Takeaways from the Event

Dual Skill Development: Participants leftequipped with practical skills for two major platforms: editingstructured data on Wikidata and contributing to speech technologyfor the Dagbani language via Mozilla Common Voice.

We’re saving the sound of ourlanguage: Learning about Mozilla Common Voice waspowerful. It’s not just about writing our language down anymore;we’re also preserving the way it sounds for future generations.

It’s not as hard as it looks: Creating anaccount and making our first edit seemed scary, but thestep-by-step guide made it easy. Everyone, even complete beginners,left feeling like they could actually do this.

Celebration keeps us going: Cutting theWikidata birthday cake was a fun reminder that we are part of aglobal community. It feels good to celebratewhat we all help to build.

They say you go to Wikimania for the sessions, but you stay forthe people. In Nairobi this year, that truth came alive. OurWikimedians of UAE delegation returned with packed notebooks,countless new friends, and a renewed fire for all things freeknowledge. What follows isn’t just a recap; it’s our story of whatwe learned, shared, and built together, and how it points to thefuture of our movement.

Building Bridges ThroughCollections

This year, we leaned into one of our community’s biggestpassions: GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums). Ahighlight was leading theExchangeCorner for collectors—an annual Wikimania tradition we wereproud to host. The space was alive with laughter, stories, and therustle of stamps, coins, and artifacts being shared. Collectorsfrom every corner of the globe connected over their treasures, andin those conversations, we felt the heartbeat of a community thatthrives on curiosity and care.

On the very first day, our user group hosted a specialmeetup—informal, warm, and buzzing with energy. We gathered peoplearound the love of collections, but we also used the moment to makean exciting announcement: theWikiCollection Campaign2026 is going global.
After the success of our competition, it was time to dream bigger.The response was instant hands went up, voices chimed in, andpeople wanted to join the global committee on the spot. It was oneof those moments where you realize the idea has grown beyond you;it belongs to the movement now.

Our delegation also highlighted the Million Wiki Project, aninitiative powered by one of our strongest partners in the UAE, theEmirates Literature Foundation. The session was buzzing withcuriosity—attendees wanted to dive deep into the project’s scopeand explore how its principles could be adapted for their owncommunities. The Q&A quickly turned into a lively exchange ofideas, with participants debating what should count as “relevant”for a two-year project and how to scale impact. The energy in theroom was a clear sign of the hunger across the movement forambitious, large-scale projects.

Learning, the Fun Way

We’re especially proud of Serine, our community member and MENAliaison forLet’sConnect, who played a role in the program. She co-facilitatedseveral sessions that transformed learning clinics and connectathoninto engaging, practical, and genuinely enjoyable spaces.Participants walked away with a renewed belief that collaborationcan be as impactful as it is joyful.

Special Thank You

Wikimania 2025 wasn’t just a conference; it was a reaffirmationof why we do this work. Nairobi gave us ideas we’re already puttinginto action, partnerships we’re nurturing, and stories we’ll carryforward. Most importantly, it reminded us that the Wikimediamovement is as much about people as it is about knowledge.

And we’re not done yet. Big things are on the horizon:

• Learn more about theMillion Wiki Projecthere.
• Read Reda Kerbush’s take on his session atWikimania.
• Apply to be part of theWikiCollection GlobalCommittee and help us shape the future of thiscampaign.

Wikimedians from Central and Eastern Europe gathered inThessaloniki at theWikimediaCEE Meeting 2025, which was held in the period26–28 September under the slogan “Crossroads ofKnowledge”. A total of around 130 participants from more than 35communities and affiliates, as well as partnering educational andGLAM institutions, exchanged knowledge and discussed plans on theirfuture collaboration. The conference took place at the Grand HotelPalace.

What was new this year?

The main novelty at this year’s event was the introduction ofthe problem solver as a new session type, which was inspired by theincreasing need for mutual collaboration and discussions with clearconclusions that could be easily put into action. A problem solverwas devised as a 45-minute session in which a problem is introducedto the audience with the expectation that participants will come upwith ideas to find an optimal solution.

Another novelty was that live stream was readily available inall conference halls, unlike in the previous years when suchtechnical support was provided only in the main hall. Despite theprimary advantage of being able to broadcast the entire conference,however, this change caused safety and privacy concerns, whichresulted in multiple requests from speakers to switch off thecameras during their sessions.

A brief recap of the conference

The main conference was preceded by a Learning Day on 25September, which took place in the premises of the Goethe-Institutin Thessaloniki. As opposed to the learning days in the previousyears that focused on general topics pertaining to capacitybuilding and community health, this one was more specific andcovered topics related to the usefulness of Wikidata andWikibase for librarian work. The main partof the conference featured a diverse three-day programme in theperiod 26-28 September, which includeda number of talks formatted as lectures, workshops,demonstrations, panels, roundtables, problem solvers and lightningtalks. As usual, there were three parallel sessions conductedacross halls named after three major deities from the Greekmythology—Zeus, Athena and Apollo. Almost all sessions weredocumented on etherpads,recorded and live-streamed on YouTube via the WikimediaCEE channel, and the only exception were those whosespeakers requested otherwise for safety and privacy reasons.

The conference commenced with opening addresses by MariosMagioladitis, Konstantinos Stampoulis and Markellos Stevis of theorganising team, followed by a pre-recorded talk delivered byWikimedia Foundation’s CEO Maryana Iskander. A presentation with anannual update on the state of the Wikimedia movement in the regionof Central and Eastern Europe prepared by the CEE Hub staff—namely,Barbara Klen, Toni Ristovski and Karolina Gruszczyk—was next, whichalso announced Cluj-Napoca and Gdańsk as host cities for WikimediaCEE Meeting in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Some of the mainhighlights from the rest of the conference included productiveworkshops on the future improvement of the Wikimedia CEE MeetingandWikimediaCEE Spring, a panel on clarifying the takeover of the WikimediaFoundation’sRapid Grants programme for CEE and Central Asia by the CEE Hub,demonstrations of useful tools, as well as discussions on communitychallenges, ethics and legal affairs. Outside of the mainprogramme, the conference was enriched with meetups that wereorganised during the lunch breaks and after the main programme onthe first day.

After the main programme on the second day, a guided tour wasorganised to some of the historical landmarks of Thessaloniki, suchas theWhiteTower, the Alexander the Great Monument, theCityWalls and theChurch of SaintDemetrius, some of which are included on the list of UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites as Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments.

What comes next in the CEEregion?

During the upcoming twelve-month period, the CEE Hub is expectedto continue supporting the communities in the region as outlined inits annual plan, which was uninamously approved during the closingceremony of this year’s conference. The next year’s Wikimedia CEEMeeting is planned to take place in Cluj-Napoca in September2026.

‎This year’s Wikimania was extra special for me because it wasmy first Wikimania physical attendance.

‎It was such a joy to finally meet face-to-face with amazingWikimedians I had only collaborated with online. From the learningsessions to fun activities like Karaoke Night.

I had the opportunity of presenting a lightning talk titled,“BuildingDigital Librarians: Training Librarians to Contribute to OpenKnowledge” , presenting a lightning talk within 5 minutestaught me to be fast, concise, highlight the core message, and aswell engage the audience. It also helped to build myconfidence.

‎I attended the session by AfLIA, “TheAfrican library ecosystem and the Wikimedia movement in thecontinent: A marriage made in heaven”  A panel oflibrarians and Wikimedians across Africa discussed how librariesand Wikimedia projects can engage, partner, and mutually reinforceeach other. The session also emphasized on integrating WikimediaProjects into African libraries Eco system, and how Africanlibrarians can use Wikimedia Projects to serve their communitiesbetter. This reassured me that I needed to do more as aWikibrarian. ‎Attending the session “‎StrengtheningPartnerships & Community Engagement for Open Knowledge” gave meinsights to innovative ways to engage communities, strengtheninstitutional partnerships, and create long-term engagement modelsthat drive Wikimedia’s global impact.

As a Wikimania scholar, I volunteered as a note-taker. Ifollowed through presentations and noted points live. That rolemade me to listen more attentively which made me not only a passiveconsumer of sessions but also a contributor during theconference.

‎every moment was memorable. I had the opportunty to share alightning talk, during the GLAM pre-conference.

‎I came back inspired, with new knowledge, friendships, andmotivation to keep contributing to open knowledge.

‎I am grateful for this opportunity, and looking forward toanother opportunity at a physical Wikimania attendance in thefuture.

‎

On 26–27 July 2025,WikimediaUser Group the Gambia hosted a two-day training workshop at theBrikama Area Council Hall, bringing together 35 enthusiasticparticipants from different backgrounds to learn about Wikimediaprojects and how they can contribute. The event was part of anongoing effort to raise awareness about open knowledge, free accessto information, and the role of Wikimedia in preserving TheGambia’s cultural and linguistic heritage.

Training Highlights

Over the two days, participants were introduced to:

• Wikipedia: creating and improving articles on Gambiantopics

• Wikidata: structuring knowledge about people, places, andculture

• Wikisource: preserving and digitizing historical texts

Trainers guided the participants through hands-on sessions,enabling them to create accounts, make their first edits, andunderstand the values of neutrality, verifiability, and freeknowledge.

Media Coverage

The project gained strong visibility in national and communitymedia. Gambia Daily published a detailed article on the awarenesscampaignhere. Local language reporting was done byBeselMedia, which helpedreach grassroots audiences. In addition,FulbeTV featured theevent, further extending outreach and engagement acrosscommunities.

This wide visibility gave Wikimedia projects unprecedentedexposure in the Gambia, reaching audiences both online and offlinein different languages.

Continuing with a Two-MonthEdit-a-thon

Following the workshop, the project extended into a two-monthedit-a-thon. This provided participants with ongoing mentorship andopportunities to practice their new skills while contributing toWikimedia projects. Theedit-a-thon overview and participants’ progress helped sustainmomentum and ensured that the skills gained were put intoaction.

Looking Ahead

This initiative marks an important step in building a Wikimediacommunity in The Gambia. By training new volunteers and amplifyingawareness through the media, the project is laying the foundationfor long-term engagement with Wikimedia projects in thecountry.

We believe that this is just the beginning, and we look forwardto more collaborative activities, partnerships, and projects thatwill help document and share Gambian knowledge with the world.

Whether we’re supportingpostsecondary faculty toteach withWikipedia orguidingsubject matter experts through learning how to contribute aseditors themselves, collaborative relationships at both theinstitution and individual level are a cornerstone of WikiEducation’s work. Our programs center on bridging the gap betweeninstitutional expertise and the open knowledge movements ofWikipedia and Wikidata. And despite their shared goals,practitioners of institutional knowledge and practitioners of openknowledge often struggle to take that first step toward mutualunderstanding and collaboration. This is where we come in! Ourimpact depends on the strength of our partnerships, and thosepartnerships, in turn, help shape the scope of our work.

When it comes to partnershipwork, there’s no one size fits all approach. Partnerships can takemany forms, serve a variety of purposes, and change over time. Fromattending or presenting at a conference, co-hosting a webinar, andfostering publishing opportunities, to amplifying a blog post,event opportunity, or social media feature, we work with ourpartners to reach communities in both online and in-personspaces.   

Many of our partnerships beginwith the aim to improve a specific subject-area on Wikipedia.Wikipedia’sgender gapis well-documented, and as a result, one of ourearliest partners was theNational Women StudiesAssociation. In thedecade since we began partnering with NWSA, more than15,000 studentshave added over ten million wordsto Wikipedia in fields related to Women’s and Gender Studies. WikiEducation has presented at NWSA’s annual conference a number oftimes, where our faculty panelists have offered their uniqueperspectives on teaching with Wikipedia. But working with NWSA isnot just about adding words to Wikipedia. As a result of ourcollective outreach efforts, hundreds of faculty have increasedpublic awareness of critical research in their fields and thousandsof students have learned the value of their public voice byparticipating in aWikipedia assignment. FromAnthropologytoSociology, we’ve experienced similar outreach success inother fields, all with the aim of bridging the more formalizedinstitutions of knowledge production with those rooted in the openmovement.

Sometimes our partnership workhas taken on a broader scope. In 2016, we launched ourYear of Sciencecampaign to improve STEM content onWikipedia.By engaging a wide range of science institutions withthis initiative, we aimed not only toamplifycritical scientific research, but to enhancethe scientific literacy of STEM students in higher education. Likemany of our partnerships and organizational initiatives, the workis ongoing. Though nearly a decade past the official Year ofScience, we continue to promote cross-collaboration between STEMfaculty, students and researchers through ourCommunicating Sciencework. As we approach the ten yearanniversary of our Year of Science, Wiki Education hopes to bothrenew and broaden our work with STEM partners!

Partnerships often grow from ashared vision and a desire to make knowledge actionable. At WikiEducation, knowledge equity has long been a driving force of ourwork. Despite its millions of entries, English Wikipedia stillcontains significant content gaps, particularly in areas related tohistorically underrepresented peoples andsubjects. 

In 2024, we formally launchedourknowledge equityinitiative, and like the Year ofScience, we began to engage and re-engage a network of like-mindedpartner organizations. Because no single field can take onknowledge equity alone, we’ve collaborated closely with a range ofsubject-matter experts and their students to help fill these gaps.Historians, philosophers, religionists, literary scholars, and areaexperts (to name a few) all offer different dimensions of theseuntold and under-told stories. In recent years, we’ve cohostedwebinars with the American Historical Association, AmericanSociological Association, Linguistics Society of America, theAmerican Academy of Religion, and H-Net, exchangedfeature stories,exhibited and presented at a range of conferences, and expandedcommunication with both new and existing partners.  While ourknowledge equity initiative primarily focuses on collaborationswith humanities-based partners, this work is relevant to allfields. With generous support from theBroadcom Foundationinrecent years, we’ve also added dozens of new biographies of diversefigures in STEM to Wikipedia, furthering the goal of a moreequitable and representative encyclopedia.

While much of our partnershipwork centers on the Wikipedia Student Program, through which WikiEducation helps postsecondary faculty explore the world of openpedagogy, ourScholars & ScientistsProgram offers subject matter experts thechance to engage in the open movement as a professional developmentopportunity. For faculty who want to share their expertise with awider audience, Wikipedia is an obvious choice. It’s the world’slargest open and free encyclopedia, and is among the most visitedwebsites globally. Through our Scholars & Scientists courses, weteach participants to contribute their knowledge to Wikipedia andWikidata, ensuring their valuable knowledge is not hidden behindpaywalls. 

As with the student program,partnerships are the heart of this work. Academic associations,including theAmerican PhysicalSociety, theAmerican Association for State and LocalHistory, theSociety of FamilyPlanning, and theSan Francisco Museum of ModernArt, have worked withWiki Education to develop customized editing courses for theirmembers. These partnerships allow organizations to offer theirmembers innovative professional development opportunities toamplify their researchexpertise.Neither meant to supplant nor circumventtraditional modes of academic publishing, the contributions ofthese new Wikipedia editors continue to expand the reach andaccessibility of knowledge for all.

Undoubtedly, at the heart ofWiki Education’s partnership work lies a spirit of exchange.Whether in the form of ideas, talent, expertise, programmaticofferings, communications or shared passion, our partnerships arebuilt on mutual support and respect for the unique strengths eachorganization contributes. No partnership is quite the same, whichbrings a rich diversity to our work and our mission. Whether forgedout of a desire to improve a particular subject’s coverage onWikipedia, bring new pedagogical innovations to the classroom,expand publication opportunities, or out of simple curiosity,partners will remain a central part of our work at Wiki Education.We hope to strengthen and broaden our partnership work and welcomenew opportunities to collaborate –  we truly could not do thiswork alone!Connect with us atpartnerships@wikiedu.org.

Interested in incorporating a Wikipedia assignment into yourcourse? Visitteach.wikiedu.org tolearn more about the free resources, digital tools, and staffsupport that Wiki Education offers to postsecondary instructors inthe United States and Canada.

Wikimedia Korea frequently hosts lots of infinity editathon andphotowalks since the start of the neurodiversity project in July.However, despite these efforts, it was true that participation bywomen with neurodiverse conditions remained low. It was oftenperceived that women with neurodiverse conditions had low interestin Wikimedia or that their participation was hindered by societalexpectations and feelings of burden.

Therefore, we planned a mini photo walk to encourage women’sWikimedia participation. We held women’s mini photo walks in Julyand September, and since the response was positive and theexperience was deeply meaningful, we would like to share it withdiff readers.

Taereung Mini Photowalk – connecting history of Korea

On July 12, 2025, two participants visited Taereung led by theproject manager. Taereung is the royal tomb of Queen Munjeong ofthe Joseon Dynasty, née Yun. The tomb’s occupant wished to beburied beside her husband, King Jungjong, but due to frequentflooding, she was ultimately laid to rest alone at Taereung, aplace steeped in a tragic story. Currently, it is managed by theJeonju Yi Clan Association, a non-profit corporation established bydescendants of the royal family, through its affiliatedorganizations.

Participants gathered in the morning and traveled together toTaereung. Though not planned, they were fortunate to meet acultural heritage guide and a forest interpreter, learning aboutJoseon’s royal ancestral shrine culture and the process of plantingtrees at the royal tomb. Participants remained focused throughoutthe explanations and later visited the mound, available only whenaccompanied by the guides.

Next, we visited the Taereung National Training Center.Established in 1966, this facility played a pivotal role innurturing national athletes and popularizing sports in South Korea.Currently, the buildings are closed and operations have moved tothe Jecheon Training Center, so we could only photograph theexterior.

Impressions of TaereungParticipants

Participants at Taereung remained focused throughout the shootdespite the unfamiliar course for women, resulting in 29 photosbeing uploaded. However, the extreme heat posed a significantburden, demonstrating how climate change can become a barrier toneurodiverse participation. 

Participant A: I was worried about the hot weather, but luckilyTaereung was cooler than the surrounding areas thanks to the trees.Even if you have a great smartphone, it’s less useful if you can’ttravel or go around, right? But since you covered our meal and taxiexpenses, we could sightsee, take photos, eat, and chat—it wasgreat. If there’s another opportunity like this, I’d love toparticipate again. Just please avoid days that are too hot or toocold.

Aegibong Peace Ecological Park, wherewonder and regret intertwined

On September 27th, we held another photo walk for women. Teamsconsisting of two participants, one guide, and two assistantsclimbed up to Aegibong Peace Ecological Park.

The atmosphere at Aegibong was lively and bustling, with trotmusic playing. Being the only place where civilians can see thepropaganda village with their own eyes due to its proximity toNorth Korea, it was noticeable that many middle-aged people ordisplaced persons visited. The female neurodiverse participants,despite the complex security procedures and the fact that theymight stand out somewhat, did not show any signs of hardship.

Participants seeing North Korea for the first time from AegibongPeak pressed their smartphone shutters in wonder. Eighty yearsafter the Korean Peninsula was divided into North Korea and SouthKorea, participants who had never had the chance to see North Koreadirectly felt both amazement and regret. When will we be able tofreely travel to and from North Korea?

Gimpo Naval Memorial Park, a reminderof the importance of national security

Next, we headed to Gimpo Naval Ship Park at Daemyeong Port.Unlike the bustling atmosphere of Daemyeong Port, surrounded byfish markets and restaurants, this place had a quiet and somewhatsolemn ambiance. Here, the actual warship Unbong was converted intoa naval ship park after its retirement, hosting exhibitions onnational security.

The security exhibition featured various interactive corners tolearn about the importance of security, including the structure andhistory of the Unbong, a full combat gear experience, a navalartillery game, and exhibits centered on the Cheonan and theYeonpyeong Island attacks. Participants strolled around the Unbong,imagining themselves as sailors. Yet, they also fervently wishedfor the day when peace would come and war would disappear.

The 29 photos uploaded at Taereung was a remarkable achievement,but surprisingly, we managed to achieve a dynamic increase of 76photos at Aegibong. This was thanks to our careful consideration ofways to appeal to female participants while reviewing the resultsfrom Taereung. Despite this course being unfamiliar to femaleparticipants, just like Taereung, achieving even higher resultstaught us that fostering an atmosphere that enhances femaleparticipants’ accessibility is more important than the courseitself.

Participant A: It was great going on a photo walk for the firsttime. Living in the city, just repeating my main job and sidehustle, getting some fresh air like this felt like a mini vacation.And I need to take photos with more confidence.

Participant B: I enjoyed drinking a mango banana blended drinkat a unique spot I never would have thought to visit alone—aStarbucks where you can see North Korea. Taking photos gave me asense of accomplishment, and the thought that I could contribute tothe web world made me feel proud. I also think the mini photo walksjust for female participants are really great.

Wikimedia Korea will continue to support contributions toWikimedia from all genders, including women.

Wikimedia UK’s flagshipTrain the Trainer (TtT) course returned in summer2025, bringing together volunteers from across the UK and aroundthe world to develop the skills needed to deliver Wikipedia editingevents in their own communities. Designed to build confidence andstrengthen diversity, this year’s programme welcomed 23participants from eight countries, including many fromunderrepresented groups.

For the first time, the course included both in-person andonline international training, expanding access and supportingWikimedia’s global mission. Participants took part in a WikiLearncourse, hands-on workshops, and interactive sessions led byProgramme Manager Dr Sara Thomas and UK Wikimedian of the Year FranAllfrey.

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. 100% of respondents saidthey felt better equipped to make positive change in theircommunities. New mentoring opportunities and regular onlineedit-a-thons are now being introduced to help new trainers continuedeveloping their skills and confidence.

The postTrain the Trainer 2025: Building confidence, community, andinclusion appeared first onWikimedia UK.

Thismight be a rare divergence in genre from my regular posts in beingabout travel. Travel of this kind is a rather rare event for me andI had almost decided not to write it here but then felt it might besomething I might want to be able to be able locate more easily formyself in the future. The Wikimedia Foundation held Wikimania 2025in Nairobi and I was fortunate to have been selected to attend withsupport. It was held in a wealthy ghetto of Nairobi, isolated in ahigh-security hotel complex, and I suspect many of the attendeeshardly saw what the rest of Kenya really is. Along with anotherparticipant, Manoj Karingamadathil, and our wonderful driver Peter,we spent about 5 days visiting Nyeri, Mt Kenya, the AberdareNational Park, and looping anticlockwise around the Aberdaresthrough the rift valley, back via Lake Naivasha to Nairobi. One ofmy aims was to see the Afroalpine vegetation zone with giantlobelias and Dendrosenecio, something that more people associatewith the Kilimanjaro region. 

Prior to the trip, I set myselfabout to learn as much Swahili as possible, and it was not reallyneeded but certainly useful. I had decided not to go anywhere nearthe over-hyped and overpopulated wildlife parks. I was not eveninterested in the migration of wildebeest in the Masai Mara. I sawlater on social media, the horrors of tourists and safari vehiclesblocking animals and forcing them to leap off cliffs so thatphotographers could take pictures of animals splashing into thewater or be taken by crocodiles just as they were shown in someNatGeo/Discovery wildlife videos.

I also spent a good deal of timeexamining older travels and descriptions of the Aberdare and MountKenya region. In the process I went about sprucing the Wikipediaentries onSamuel Teleki andHalford Mackinder. Both their expeditions have rathershocking events, Teleki and his entourage had burn Kikuyu villagesand shot many. Mackinder (later a professor) and his team hadcasually murdered some of their porters (the final bill to thecontractor merely has "shot on orders" written againstthem!). And then their expeditions took back numerous plants andanimals which were named after them. And there are places thatstill bear their name in Kenya.

Lionessgherao-ed by vehicles

Some months earlier I had plowedthrough a machine translation of a German biography ofBernhard Grzimek (and obviously, tried to improve theEnglish Wikipedia entry) - and the overall story was rather sad.When I was a kid in the late 1970s, my father used to bring homeissues of the beautifully illustratedDas Tier, aGerman predecessor of the BBC Wildlife Magazine that the MaxMueller Bhavan in Bangalore (then located in an old bungalow onMuseum Road decorated with a large Araucaria and Balan Nambiarinstallations) used to receive. It was one of the popular creationsof Grzimek (sadly there seem to be no digital archives of thisamazing work) and when I went to university, I found his AnimalEncyclopedia a fascinating work. By some oversight I only noticedmuch later that the venue of Wikimania was right across the roadfrom a school named after Michael Grzimek. One presumes that alarge donation was made by BG to them. The Grzimek biography endswith the highly questionable and unusually large amount of wealththat he had accumulated through his life and the family squabblesand tragedies that had followed after his death. 

Nearby was another large grave -that of Gray Leakey - a cousin of Louis Leakey. The horrific storybehind it was known to the local guide but was new to me - and so,naturally, I later created a Wikipedia entry atGray Leakey. Overall, it seems that the Mau-mauuprising needs a complete retelling in a post-colonial analysis andvoice. There is a rather under-appreciated museum at Nyeri thatlooks at local history and the independence movement. We visitedthe General Karibu caves area and the surrounding countryside,filled with streams fed by the glaciers on Mount Kenya - the realreason for Nyeri's agricultural wealth and much of the colonialsettlement.

Entrance to thedining room in Treetops

Helichrysum onAberdare's moorlands

Heath,Hagenia,Sambucus,Podocarpusetc. beside the Chania stream

Moss draping thePodocarpus,  parts of the Aberdare are watered by condensation

Helichrysum in the foreground, aKniphofia justvisible

The most coveted visit was to theAfroalpine zone on Mount Kenya. The road from Naro Moru to theMet Station which lies on the slopes of the extinct volcano ofMount Kenya was another of those straight mountain roads - gettingfrom 1500 m to 3050 m on a straight line (with aleopard welcoming us!).  

The leopard

We walked from the Naro Moru MetStation up above the tree line to see the incredible flora. GiantLobelia and Dendrosenecio appear after a region of heath. Theground is boggy and covered in strong tussocks of grass. We werenot equipped with waterproof shoes and we started a bit too late aswell. The weather on the mountain is constantly changing, sun,wind, cloud, mist and all of a sudden a shower of hailstones.Lobelia gregoriana which forms beautiful rosettes holds alittle bit of fluid at the centre which is apparently a frostprotection adaptation. The polysaccharides produced by the plantcause ice to form at the top of the water pond which insulates thecentral growing tip from freeze injury. I wondered if a similaradaptation exists in theHedyotis verticillaris of theMukurthi region. I showed a picture of the landscape to botanistNavendu Page and he exclaimed that it was "a different planet" ...it is. We did not go into Teleki valley or see the nival zone andsadly, the glaciers on Mount Kenya appear to be doomed. Theglaciers looked from the plains like flecks of white which led tothe Kikuyu name of Kere-Nyaga which according to one etymologytheory is related to the white feathers on an ostrich. The Kambapeople called it Kima ya Kegnia, others called it Ndur (Kimaja)Kegnia and Kirenia. Somehow that gave rise to the word"Kenya."  One bleak prediction on the glaciers is that theywill all be gone by 2030. With it, nobody quite knows what willhappen to the streams that they fed, the lands that they water, thepeople involved in farming, the vegetation, and wildlife.

Heath (Ericaarborea) just above the tree line

The rosette ofLobelia gregoriana with the pond

Lobeliagregoriana flowering, the flower edges are torn  by Moorland chats (Pinarochroa sordida),pollinators

Dendroseneciokeniensis in flower

Dendroseneciokeniodendron in the background

Looking up theslope of the so-called "vertical bog"

A final goodbyeto Mount Kenya

It is easy to see the effect themountain had on the people and the ritual significance that manytribes gave to it. 

From the RiftValley, the Aberdares on the horizon

Rift valleyvegetation of euphorbs

We returned to Nairobi with astopover at a typical tourist trap - Thompsons Falls. And anotherstopover at Lake Naivasha. We had enchanting views of MountLongonot from the escarpment in the evening. Obviously we had justscraped the surface.

Kenya is a beautiful country forthe most part but like any place there are troubles hiddenunderneath. There is clearly a vast wealth gap and the city ofNairobi is a cruel one with the usual signs of urban poverty. Thelack of government spending on social infrastructure like publictransport is glaring. The villages and smaller towns were much morecheerful looking. The Kenyan public education system has clearlydelivered in the past. There were a few unfortunate sights likepolice extorting petty money from vehicles passing by and therewere big protests that the government had suppressed with violentforce. A proliferation of churches which apparently make greatmoney indicated the general poverty of governance. Hopefully, goodpeople will prevail and make it a better place for all, in spite ofthe long and deep divides of tribes, linguistics, andcircumstance. 

I greatly missed my good old LumixFZ100 which was the ideal travel camera which dealt with both macroand distant objects. Sadly, a minor electronics fault has made itunusable. Bridge cameras have unfortunately become unavailable ortoo expensive. I only had my mobile phone and my new Olympus OM-DEM10 but setup mostly for macro photography for which I did nothave enough time. But more images can be found on iNaturalist andWikimedia Commons - all of course on free licenses - a gallery canbe foundhere. 

Thanks to numerous people andcircumstances that made this trip possible.

Wikimedia Foundation for supportingmy attendance at Wikimania Nairobi. Harish Thyagarajan forassistance with Kenya logistics and most importantly reassurance.Sugandhi for putting me in touch with Harish! Peter, ourenlightened driver and local assistance - we will remember theSwahili wisdom - “Kupotea njia ndio kujua njia” [= to be lost is the wayto find the way]. Martina Tichácková on iNaturalist for the alpineplant identifications. The wonderful welcoming people we met alongthe way, KWS guide Alex, the KWS staff at various gates. Thefriendly host at a tiny little restaurant in Naro Moru whofound Indian snacks too spicy. Manoj for the great company!

Some wikipedia side effects
Articlescreated: Darwin Glacier,EANHS
Articles improved: Victor van Someren,Samuel Teleki,Halford Mackinder

Through its flagship research programme, Horizon Europe, theEuropean Union will spend95.5 billion euro on science andresearch until 2027. Yet, the results of this research inmany caseswill not be accessible to Europeans –academics, regular citizens or even Wikipedians.

In he most extreme cases European taxpayers will have paid forthe research institution, for the actual research, but the researchinstitutions and the researchers will still need to pay expensivelicenses for academic journals for access. And even then,the public won’t be able to make use of thisknowledge.

Wikipedia provides knowledge to the general public. Yet, itdoesn’t exist in a vacuum. It relies on reliable sources, such asjournalistic works, archives and open science repositories toensure information integrity. In the current situation,webelieve that our societies need more informationintegrity.

The Citation Challenge

Wikipedia’s strength lies in its commitment to verifiability.Every claim needs a reliable source. Ideally a source that everyonecan check. Our volunteers spend countless hours tracking downacademic papers, scientific studies, and peer-reviewed research toensure that Wikipedia articles meet our standards for accuracy andreliability.

But here’s the catch: many of these sources are trapped behindexpensive paywalls. A single article can cost €30-40 to access. Andthen it is only accessible to this one editor, not to every reader.Thus even if the editor has access, everyone else can’t verify thatthe citation is correct.

It’s like asking someone to verify facts using books they’re notallowed to read. Although these books have been publiclyfunded.

What Are Secondary PublicationRights?

Secondary Publication Rights (SPR) give researchers the legalright to make their peer-reviewed publications freely available,typically after a short embargo period, even when they’ve signedrestrictive publishing agreements.

Under SPRs, researchers can deposit the final accepted versionof their articles in open repositories—making them accessible toeveryone, from Wikipedia editors in Bulgaria to students inBelgium, from journalists in Helsinki to curious readers in ruralPortugal.

Even with SPRs, academic journals still remain relevant. Theyprovide valuable services: organising peer review, editing,formatting, and maintaining the scholarly record. Researchers canstill publish in prestigious journals and these still sellsubscriptions.

Six European countries currently have SPRs: Austria, Belgium,Bulgaria, France, Germany, Netherlands and Slovenia. The majorityof EU countries, however, have not adopted SPRs. This hindersaccess to a big chunk of publicly funded research and knowledge.Furthermore, cross-border cooperations and publications are madeharder by inconsistent rules across Europe.

Why This Matters for Wikimedia

Enabling participation at scale: Wikipedia iswritten by volunteers around the world. When research is openlyaccessible, more people can participate in creating and improvingarticles on scientific, medical, historical, and technical topics.Better sources mean better articles.

Bridging the knowledge gap: The current systemcreates a two-tiered knowledge system — one for those withinstitutional access and deep pockets, another for everyone else.SPR helps level the playing field, ensuring that most publiclyfunded knowledge isn’t just for the privileged few.

Strengthening reliability: When sources areopenly available, they can be checked, verified, and scrutinized bymore people. This improves Wikipedia’s quality and helps readerstrust what they’re reading.

Wikimedia europe supports spr

We encourage the European Commission to implement harmonisedlegislation that enables uniformly applied secondary publicationrights across all 27 Member States. It should apply to allpublished scientific articles, studies and reports resulting frompublicly funded research.

We furthermore believe that theEuropeanResearch Area Act planned for 2026 is an opportunity to makethis happen. It would strengthen overall information integrity,European competitiveness, and level the knowledge playingfield.

How many times have you seen a post pop up on an app or socialmedia feed and wondered where the information really came from? Intoday’s digital landscape, viral news and forwarded messages oftenlack clear attribution, reliable sources, or any way for you as thereader to trace how the story began. People try in vain to checkwhere these facts come from, only to find a blur of broken links,anonymous users, and vanished content. This frustration isuniversal: when there’s no transparency in how information iscreated, trust quickly breaks down.

Transparency has become a rare currency online—and one of the mostnecessary. Contrary to those posts you find on other platforms,every edit and every discussion on Wikipedia is open to publicreview. Even small changes like typo fixes can be vetted. Thislevel of openness makes it easier to trust that what you see is thefull story, and research shows that the more people review, discussand debate a Wikipedia article, the more accurate and reliable itbecomes. This deep transparency has helped make Wikipediaone of the most trustedsources on the internet. Transparency is built into Wikipediain many ways:

Every page has ahistory

Every article on Wikipedia comes with its own “History” tab. Byclicking its history at the top of the page, readers can see eachchange—from small corrections to complete rewrites—and even compareversions side by side. This history isn’t curated or limited; it’sfreely visible to anyone. Readers canwatch information improve and evolve in real time, and editorscan gain more understanding about complex or changinginformation.

This public record turns what could be an opaque editorialprocess into an open, collaborative conversation. Most Wikipediaedits ever made can be reviewed by anyone. Mistakes aren’t hidden,they’re corrected. Disagreements aren’t erased, they’re documented,debated, and resolved and everyone can see. Every article is aninvitation for readers to look deeper at the history and getinvolved.

Talk pages: Debate in theopen

Next to every article is also a “Talk” page tab: a space wherevolunteer editors discuss what belongs in the article, how tobalance sources, and how Wikipedia’s policies should be applied.Wikipedia has no editor-in-chief—it runs on consensusdecision-making. The path to achieving consensus can be spiritedand lengthy, but it all takes place in plain sight. People canfollow these exchanges to understand how consensus forms and evenwork to build a new consensus themselves.

This culture of open deliberation is what turns transparencyinto accountability. Editors must be able to justify their workusing reliable sourcesand Wikipedia’s core content principles—neutrality,verifiability, and no original research. These policies, appliedopenly, ensure that the knowledge on Wikipedia is accurate andtrustworthy.

Real-time reviews andsafeguards

Transparency on Wikipedia isn’t just about visibility; it’s alsoabout vigilance. A live public feed tracks every edit made acrossmillions of pages each minute. Thousands of volunteers monitorthese changes, ready to revert vandalism, flag misinformation, orfix factual errors. Automated tools assist them, catching patternsof disruption and alerting human reviewers. This constant, publicactivity makes it very difficult for bad information to remainunchecked.

Dispute resolution inpublic

When conflicts arise—whether about editing behavior on acontroversial topic or adherence to Wikipedia policies—Wikipediaresolves them through open, documented processes. Editors canescalate issues for broader community input or formal arbitrationfrom selected volunteer committees, with outcomes and rationalespublished for all to see. This standing record createsinstitutional memory and keeps community power accountable.

This commitment extends far beyond Wikipedia’s article historiesand talk pages. Every six months, the Wikimedia Foundationpublishes a detailedTransparency Reportwhich shares  every request the Foundation has received toalter or remove content, or to disclose nonpublic user informationacross its projects. The latest report, just published, breaks downthe type of requests, how many required actions, and how Wikimediaprotects the privacy and rights of its users. Readers andcontributors can see how Wikimedia responds to these kinds ofrequests from governments and other organizations, but can alsoget answers thatfurther explain the Foundation’s legal and policy work.

At a time when many online spaces rely on hidden algorithms anduntraceable edits, Wikipedia’s open and transparent record offersan alternative: a place where accountability is built in, not addedlater. Transparency doesn’t guarantee perfection—but it allowseveryone to see how information is created, questioned, andimproved.

Every edit tells a story. On Wikipedia, you can read all ofthem.

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One of our long-standing partners in Scotland is theIDEA Networkat the the University of St Andrews. Based at the Schoolof Computer Science, the Network looks broadly to make knowledgeproduction inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible.  Partof their work has been the development of a range ofWiki-activities in and out of the classroom, including Summerprogrammes, undergraduate and postgraduate work, as well asoutreach events with community partners. At the time of writing,on-wiki material which has been worked on as part of the Network’sactivity has gained3.38 million article views.

I invited Dr Ross (who, along with Dr Ardati, also of the IDEAnetwork, and Dr Bhatti, a co-author of the below blog, have allattended Wikimedia UK Train the Trainer courses) to tell us moreabout one of this year’s Summer programmes. 
/(Dr Sara Thomas, Programme Manager, Wikimedia UK)

Authors:Kirsty Ross (School of Computer Science,University of St Andrews), Saeeda Bhatti (Medical School,University of Glasgow), Pauline Souleau (School of ModernLanguages, University of St Andrews)

Corresponding author:ksrh1@st-andrews.ac.uk

During COVID there was a lack of summer internship opportunitiesfor undergraduates due to pandemic lockdowns and restrictions ontravel. TheSummerTeam Enterprise Programme (STEP) at the University of StAndrews, Scotland, was designed to fill this gap and has run everysummer since 2020. STEP is an opportunity for undergraduatestudents to invest 6 weeks in participating in a fully-onlineskills development programme, where they work on a real-lifeproject designed and supported by University staff, gain virtualteam-work experience in a group of diverse students, contribute tothe University’s learning and teaching through working on impactfuloutputs, and get this experience listed on their academictranscript.

My name is Dr Kirsty Ross and I’ve been involved in STEP sinceits inception. As a project sponsor, my role is to propose asuitable project and provide direction to the student teams. I’malso the co-founder of theInclusion,Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Open Knowledge Network(IDEA Network for short) at the University of St Andrews which aimsto address knowledge gaps in the Wiki projects by training othersand building capacity. STEP has been a fantastic mechanism forintroducing undergraduates to the wonders of Wiki and providingevidence of real-world impact, even resulting in a peer reviewedpublic engagement paper!¹

Research has shown that Wikipedia is the most common source forobtaining medical information online. Amongst medicalprofessionals, more than 90% of medical students and 50% of doctorshave turned to Wikipedia at some point². However, thereis substantial variation in the length and quality of medicalcontent in different languages. For example, pneumonia is a topicthat is currently available in 134 language versions. However, theEnglish Wikipedia article forpneumonia containsapproximately 7,600 words and has 172 references, whereas theequivalent article inUrdu is just 125 words long with 1 reference. We drewinspiration from the excellent work ofWikiProjectMed,which inspired the name of the project!

Over WhatsApp, Dr Saeeda Bhatti (Medical School, University ofGlasgow) and I discussed how we might plug some of these medicalknowledge gaps. Dr Bhatti’s background is in medical education andgenetics, so we discussed targeting articles about rare geneticdiseases. Using theMedics 4 Rare Diseases website, wenarrowed down over 7000 rare diseases to a shortlist of 12conditions. This shortlist formed the basis for theHealthcare Translation Task Force STEP project. 

As part of the STEP application process, students choose whichprojects they would like to take part in over the summer. We endedup with two teams and 11 students in total. These students couldspeak, read, and write in 15 languages! We then explored Wikidatato find out whether or not those languages had articles about thechosen rare genetic diseases. Some languages (Arabic, French,German, Spanish) had almost complete article coverage (92-100%).Others (Simple English, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian) hadapproximately 50% article coverage. Cantonese, Croatian, Kiswahili,Kurdish, Serbian, and Somali had either no articles or just one ortwo (8-12%)! As the project was just 6 weeks in duration and wasoften balanced alongside paid work or internships, we weren’t goingto be able to plug every single gap, so it was over to the studentsto decide how to proceed. 

Dr Pauline Souleau (School of Modern Languages, University of StAndrews) also provided training on how to adapt their translationsto suit the cultural context; we wanted to avoid overly relying onthe existing versions in English. When asked to reflect upon herexperience of STEP, she said:

“The cross-disciplinarity of the STEP programme means thatparticipating students are not necessarily trained linguists. Partof the Healthcare Translation Task Force STEP training wastherefore to introduce students to the importance of localisationand cultural awareness when translating a wikiarticle.” 

“When an article did exist in English, the aim was never totranslate it word for word but to a) make it clear in the targetlanguage and b) adapt it to the target culture if needed. Duringthe training session, we therefore discussed questions of languagevariants, as well as specialised terms, article titles, and diseasenames. Students took it on board and showed nuanced translationskills throughout the project.“

The students worked together to describe and name the conditionsin their languages in Wikidata. They then picked a couple ofarticles to research, draft, and upload. Many roped in friends,family, and medical professionals to provide feedback on theirdrafts. The students also hunted down references in their ownlanguages. Wikipedia depends on reliable, secondarysources³, and readers of a specific language should beable to verify the statements in the article⁴, withouthaving to know English as well.

The students’ enthusiasm and commitment exceeded ourexpectations!11 students, speaking15 different languages, spent the summer creating12 brand new articles, editing an additional38 articles, adding61,000 wordsand555 references. Table 1 links to the articlesin various languages; we’d love to see the wider Wiki community getstuck in and expand them even further!

As of mid-August 2025, the newly created and edited articleshave been viewed nearly 58,000 times (see Figure 1 below), atestament to the real-world impact of student contributions. Wehope this project inspires further translation efforts andcontinues to grow through community contributions.

None of the above would have been possible without thededication of the students and their PGR coaches. They were: DashaAndreeva, Alistair Grant, Lila Darmon, Mingxiao Yang, Lucie Siu,Aro Aziz, Summer Kwon, Jacqueline Park, Anne Foote, Anna Mokhovik,Aleksandra Lucic, Zamzam Issack, Axel Van Den Ancker, Lareina Yang(STEP students) and Ziying Ye and Maya Fenyk (STEP PGRcoaches).

References

1. Cornwell RM, Ross K, Gibeily C, et al. Unearthing newlearning opportunities: adapting and innovating through the‘Antibiotics under our feet’ citizen science project in Scotlandduring COVID-19.Access Microbiol. 2024;6(6).doi:10.1099/acmi.0.000710.v3

2. Heilman JM, West AG. Wikipedia and Medicine: QuantifyingReadership, Editors, and the Significance of Natural Language.J Med Internet Res. 2015;17(3):e62.doi:10.2196/jmir.4069

3. Wikipedia:Reliable sources. In:Wikipedia. ; 2025.Accessed August 18, 2025.https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Reliable_sources&oldid=1305930263

4. Wikipedia:Verifiability. In:Wikipedia. ; 2025.Accessed August 18, 2025.https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Verifiability&oldid=1305104342 

The postThe6-week Wikipedia translation sprint: A case study in fast medicalknowledge equity appeared first onWikimedia UK.

🕑 1 hour 17 minutes

Cormac Parle is a principal software engineer in the Product &Tech team at the Wikimedia Foundation.

Links for some of the topics discussed:

• WikimediaFoundation Community Tech team
• WikimediaFoundation Structured Content team
• StructuredData on Wikimedia Commons
• Stoatplaylist
• "Why youshould give up on your dreams" (2021 talk by Cormac)

An article typically starts with a title and it may be linked toan existing item in Wikidata. If so, the item, the concept islinked to a workflow. All the references for all articles aregathered. All relations known at Wikidata are presented. Based onwhat kind of item it is, tools are identified presentinginformation in the concept articles. They are categories and infoboxes. References for content in the info boxes are included aswell.

Another workflow is for existing articles. All references andrelations expressed in the article show as green, unused referencesand relations show as orange. Missing categories and values in infoboxes are presented and the author may click to include them in thearticle. Values in info boxes may show black, red or blue it willbe whatever the author chooses.

The workflow is enabled once the concept or the article islinked to Wikidata. So for those Wikipedians who do not want tochange, they just do not make use of this workflow and are leftunbothered. There will be harvesting processes based on the recentchanges on all projects; a change will trigger processes that maylook for vandalism for new relations and for suggestions for newlabels. 

The most important beneficiary will be our audience. Thisworkflow makes the sum of all our knowledge actionable to improvearticles, populate articles and reflect what we know in all ourarticles. Our editors have the choice to use this tool or not.Obviously their edits will be harvested and evaluated in a morebroad context; all of the Wikimedia projects. The smaller projectswhere more new articles are created will have an easy time addinginfo boxes and references. The bigger projects will find therelations that are not or not sufficiently expressed withreferences. 

Providing subject resources will work only when it is supportedon a Foundation scale. It is not that volunteers cannot build aprototype, it is the need for scalability and sustained performancethat is not provided by the Toolforge.

Thanks,

      GerardM

09/10/2025-15/10/2025

Community

• DressyPear4showed►how to map solar panels using the pluginsGridifyandScriptingfor JOSM.

Education

• Raquel Dezidério Souto haspublishedA Guideto the Training Session 2 – Mapping areas in OpenStreetMap withJOSM editor and the Training Session 3 – Validation with JOSMeditor and other programs, which was prepared for the mappingsessions that IVIDES DATA held in September and October 2025. Thisinitiative isdescribed in her OpenStreetMap user diary.

OSM research

• TheProceedings of OSM Science 2024,from the scientific track of theState of the Map 2024, heldin Nairobi (Kenya), has beenpublished.

OSM in action

• Forcenfound that thenewly released first-person shooter gameBattlefield 6includes OpenStreetMap data. OSM was listed in the game’s creditspage.

Software

• Jatmiko Herjati hasdeveloped GeoConverter, aGDAL-powered web app for transforming GIS vector data betweenformats. It performs 100% client-side processing, so your filesnever leave your browser.
• Organic Maps has beenaddedto taginfo projects.
• The OSM Perfect Intersection Editor (OSMPIE),introducedby Mikhail Kuzin, is a new closed-source web tool for preciselyediting roadsand intersections in right-hand drive countries using semanticmodels, featuring a change viewer, GeoJSON export, and suggestionsfor improved tagging structures.
• Due to excessive server load from automatedqueries via Azure and AWS infrastructure, the Overpass API istemporarilyblocking parts of these cloud providers. This measure isexpected to last around eight weeks while a fairer resourcedistribution isimplemented.

Programming

• aselnigu posted, in her OSM user diary, aboutthecreationof notes with MapLibre control and thecreationof a control for layers (LayerTree control) using Leaflet, also inMapLibre.
• Subins2000 hasdevelopedaGrand Theft Auto: Vice City-themed map style on MapLibreGL JS. Based on this map style, there’s a staticmap of Kochi, a city in India that has several similaritieswith Vice City in the game, and an interactive worldmapbased on OpenStreetMap data.

Releases

• CoMaps hasreleasedversion 2025-10-09, with improvements to routing for bikes andcars, as well as better search and improved map styles.
• ^[1] Karussellreportedthat version 11.0 of the GraphHopper routing engine has beenreleased, it now features an improved routing algorithm foravoiding private roads.

Did you know that …

• …ftrebien, aBrazilian mapper, hasmaintained for over 10 years apage on the OSM wiki to organise a reference on tag translationschemes for Brazilian Portuguese? The scheme takes into accountdiscussions he had with mappers from different regions of thecountry and served as the basis for the tagging schemas of the iDand JOSM editors.

Other “geo” things

• Miguel Garcia Alvarezpublishes the interesting blog ‘A Cartographer’s Tale’, whichthis week discussedIslarios (collections of maps ofislands) published in the 15th and 16th centuries.
• Researchers at the Norwegian University ofScience and Technology havedeveloped a method to make standard GNSS accurate to withincentimetres, even in dense urban areas,using freelyavailable correction data and smart algorithms, without relying onexpensive services.
• Sozialhelden e.V. islooking►for someone to fill a part-time position in their a11yscore andWheelmap projects. The role involves contributing to a11yscore, adata-driven tool assessing accessibility across regions worldwide,and supporting Wheelmap, an interactive map ofwheelchair-accessible locations. Candidates with experience orinterest in inclusion and accessibility, as well as knowledge ofopen data, geo-data, GIS systems, or OpenStreetMap, are encouragedto apply.

Upcoming Events

Country	Where	Venue	What	When
			Open Transport Community Conference (ÖBB)	2025-10-17 – 2025-10-18
	Wien	ÖBB Open Innovation Factory	Open Transport Community Conference	2025-10-17 – 2025-10-18
			OSMF Engineering Working Group meeting	2025-10-17
	Waitematā	University of Auckland	Mapathon Mini Party	2025-10-17
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		Orx	LàO : Libre à Orx	2025-10-18
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	Mumbai	Versova Metro Station	OSM Mumbai MapWalk #4	2025-10-18
	Karlsruhe	Englerstraße 11, 76131 Karlsruhe	Mappingaktionen	2025-10-19
			Missing Maps London: (Online) Mid-Month Mapathon [eng]	2025-10-21
	Evanston	Northwestern University Geography Club Meeting	Northwestern University Map-A-Thon	2025-10-21
	Lyon	Tubà	Réunion du groupe local de Lyon	2025-10-21
	Bonn	Dotty’s	193. OSM-Stammtisch Bonn	2025-10-21
	City of Edinburgh	Teuchters West End	OSM Edinburgh pub meetup	2025-10-21
		Online	Lüneburger Mappertreffen	2025-10-21
	Redmond	Studio A Microsoft	Intune Core Services GIVE: Missing Maps Mapathon	2025-10-22
		Fabrique des possibles	Réunion OpenStreetMap	2025-10-22
			Réunion du groupe local de Vienne	2025-10-22
	Hannover	Kuriosum	OSM-Stammtisch Hannover	2025-10-22
	Wien	Schlupfwinkel (Kleine Neugasse 10, 1040 Wien)	76. Wiener OSM-Stammtisch	2025-10-22
	Žilina	Descartes Systems Group (Slovakia)	Missing Maps mapathon Žilina #19	2025-10-23
	Tours	L’Etape 84	Rencontre communauté OSM Tours (Fr)	2025-10-24
	Bologna	Liceo Copernico di Bologna	OpenStreetMap al Linux Day di Bologna	2025-10-25
			Missing Maps : Mapathon en ligne – CartONG [fr]	2025-10-27
	Stadtgebiet Bremen	Online und im Hackerspace Bremen	Bremer Mappertreffen	2025-10-27
		University of Nigeria ,Enugu Campus,Enugu State	State of the Map Nigeria 2025 Conference Enugu	2025-10-28 – 2025-10-30
	Kiel	Mango’s, Kiel	Kieler Mapper*innentreffen	2025-10-28
	Vogtei	Online BigBlueButton	OSM Radinfra-Mapathon #4	2025-10-28
	Düsseldorf	Online bei https://meet.jit.si/OSM-DUS-2025	Düsseldorfer OpenStreetMap-Treffen (online)	2025-10-29
	Siliguri	Panitanki More, Siliguri	7th OpenStreetMap West Bengal Mapping Party	2025-10-30
			UN Mappers Mappy Hour	2025-10-31
		Château-ferme de Courrière	OSM-stand @ International Day Les Scouts	2025-11-01
	Braunschweig	Stratum0	Braunschweiger Mappertreffen im Stratum0 Hackerspace	2025-11-01
	नई दिल्ली	Jitsi Meet (online)	OSM India – Monthly Online Mapathon	2025-11-02

Note:
If you like to see your event here, please put it into theOSM calendar. Only data which is there,will appear in weeklyOSM.

This weeklyOSM wasproduced byMatthiasMatthias,Raquel Dezidério Souto,Strubbl, AndrewDavidson,barefootstache,mcliquid.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue viathisform and look forward to your contributions.

Functionally, every link red or blue should remain exactly asis. Technically, every blue link refers to one article and everyarticle SHOULD have an item at Wikidata. Every link, blue or red,may be referred to from many places and SHOULD be about only oneconcept. For every destination there MAY be a link to an item atWikidata. At this time we have no way of knowing if there is onlyone concept and if there is an item at Wikidata for thatconcept.

Many years ago Wikidata solved a similar problem. Wikidata wasan instant success because it replaced the interwiki functionality.The solution proposed today is similar and only possible now thatWikidata can be "federated" with many instances of aWikibase. 

Alldestinations for both red and blue links will beknown in a local Wikibase federated with Wikidata. Any destinationmay be linked to a Wikidata item but the name of the localarticle/destination will remain unique. Thanks to this federation,disambiguation support may be provided based on what is known bothlocally and globally when a new link is created. It will know aboutthe synonymy for each subject.

This change does not need to be controversial because like withthe interwiki links, people can opt out of this new functionality.When only a subset of the editor community becomes involved, thequality of all links will improve quickly. With the interwiki linksfixed, Wikidata was ready to become a knowledge base. As the wikilinks in the local Wikibases get in shape, the Wikidata knowledgebase may be used to signal that articles should be in specificcategories, or that red links could be added in summation articleslike in articles about an award.

Our dependence on Wikipedia editors will remain key but toolslike the Wikidata knowledge base are available to bring us the datathat enables us with information that is up to date and improvesthe connections between all our articles. Manually checking wikilinks is aSisyphean task, withtooling it becomes manageable and worthwhile.

Thanks,

      GerardM