| WikiConference North America | |
|---|---|
 Logo for WikiConference North America | |
 Event participants in 2023 | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Conference |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Inaugurated | May 30, 2014 (2014-05-30) |
| Most recent | 2025 (New York City) |
| Next event | 2026 (Edmonton) |
| Website | Official website |
WikiConference North America, formerlyWikiConference USA, is an annual conference organized by theWikipedia community inNorth America. The first two events were held atNew York Law School andWashington, D.C.'sNational Archives Building in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The third conference, rebranded WikiConference North America, was held atSan Diego'sCentral Library in 2016, with a pre-conference day atBalboa Park.
WikiConference North America 2017 was held inMontreal in 2017, as a pre-conference toWikimania. The 2018 and 2019 events were held inColumbus, Ohio andCambridge, Massachusetts, respectively. Following virtual conferences from 2020 to 2022 because of theCOVID-19 pandemic, the conference returned to an in-person format inToronto in 2023. The 2024 conference was held atIndiana University Indianapolis. The 2025 conference was held inNew York City.
The annual conference is organized by and forWikipedia editors, enthusiasts, and volunteers.[1][2] Staff from theWiki Education Foundation, which co-sponsored the 2015 event,[3][4] and theWikimedia Foundation also attend each year.[5][6] The conference has been held in New York City; Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Montreal; Columbus, Ohio; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Toronto; and Indianapolis. From 2020 to 2022, events were primarily virtual because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.
The inaugural WikiConference USA was held during May 30 – June 1, 2014 atNew York Law School'sTribeca campus inLower Manhattan. Established as a national event for the AmericanWikipedia community, the conference was "devoted to topics concerning theWikimedia movement in the United States, as well as related topics offree culture anddigital rights".[7][8] It was hosted by Wikimedia Foundation affiliates for the District of Columbia and New York City, with grant funding provided by the foundation and additional support fromConsumer Reports, the Institute for Information Law & Policy at New York Law School, and theCity University of New York.[9][10] The program featured two days of keynotes, panels, presentations, and workshops about the state of Wikipedia, addressing issues such as diversity,gender bias, and the socialization of new editors, as well as a one-dayunconference.[8][9][11] Approximately 250 people attended.[9] According toO'Dwyer's magazine, sessions aboutconflict-of-interest editing on Wikipedia were "front and center".[12]
The second WikiConference USA was held at theNational Archives Building in Washington, D.C., during October 9–11, 2015. The conference was co-sponsored by theNational Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which was a sponsor ofWikimania when the event was held in Washington, D.C., in 2012, and the Wiki Education Foundation; Wikimedia Foundation affiliates for the District of Columbia and New York City were also WikiConference partners.[1][3][13] Activities included panels, presentations, speeches, and workshops related to Wikipedia's community, collaborations with cultural institutions, role in education, and technology development. Attendees also had access to the National Archives Museum and the Innovation Hub, where records are digitized.[1] The conference featured presentations by Pamela Wright, NARA's chief innovation officer;Andrew Lih; John Howard, who serves as director of theNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health;David Ferriero,Archivist of the United States; Alice Backer of the organizationAfroCrowd, which seeks to improve coverage of Africans and African Americans in Wikipedia and other projects; andDanielle Citron, a law professor at theUniversity of Maryland who spoke abouthate crimes incyberspace.[14][15] Diversity was a central theme throughout the conference, which inspired NARA to host a Wikimedia Diversity Conference in June 2016.[16]
The third annual event, renamed to WikiConference North America, was held inSan Diego'sCentral Library during October 7–10, 2016. The conference's scope was increased to include Wikimedians in Canada and Mexico, and the event featured a series ofedit-a-thons.[17] Alex Madva, an assistant professor atCalifornia State Polytechnic University, Pomona and contributor to theAmerican Philosophical Association's blog, coordinated one on October 8 to improve articles about philosophy and philosophers.[18][19] TheAmerican Chemical Society sponsored another to improve coverage of chemistry and notable chemists.[20] Mike Connolly Miskwish of theCampo Indian Reservation, who also serves as an adjunct faculty member ofNative American studies atSan Diego State University, facilitated an edit-a-thon in conjunction withIndigenous Peoples' Day to improve Wikipedia articles aboutindigenous peoples.[2][21]
Katherine Maher, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, facilitated a Wikimedia movement strategy session, and Kelly Doyle, who was hired byWest Virginia University Libraries as the firstWikipedian in residence for focusing ongender equality, also presented at the conference.[22][23] On the day preceding the conference, a "Wiki Culture Crawl" was organized atBalboa Park, allowing editors to visit affiliated museums free of charge for the purpose of improving Wikipedia articles related to localGLAMs and other cultural institutions.[17][23]Convene, a monthly journal published by theProfessional Convention Management Association, said the 2016 event was "organized just the way you might expect that contributors to the world's largest online encyclopedia would approach the task: using the 'wiki' collaborative approach."[17] The journal's Barbara Palmer also noted that Sydney Poore,Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight, and other organizers all lived outside California.[17] On the conference's final day, attendees created the "WikiConference North America User Group" to documentbest practices for organizing Wikimedia events.[17]
The 2017 event was held atLe Centre Sheraton Hotel inMontreal during August 9–10, as a pre-conference toWikimania, the official annual conference of the Wikimedia Foundation.[24] In 2018, WikiConference North America was held inColumbus, Ohio, October 18–21, atOhio State University'sThompson Memorial Library and other campus locations.[25] The 2019 event was held at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology inCambridge, mainly in theRay and Maria Stata Center, during November 8–11.[26]
WikiConference North America was virtual from 2020 to 2022 because of the pandemic. The 2020 event was held during December 11–13.[27] The 2021 event was held during October 8–10 and saw aWiknic in New York City.[28] The 2022 event was held in November with Mapping USA in collaboration withOpenStreetMap.[29]
WikiConference North America returned to an in-person format in 2023 with the theme "Recent Changes". It was held at theToronto Reference Library in Toronto,Ontario, from November 9–12.[30] The 2024 conference was held atIndiana University Indianapolis.[31] The theme was "Crossroads", inspired by theIndiana state motto and also alluding to the multiple meanings of the word—as the place where Wikimedians from across the continent.[32] The first day of the conference—October 4—was declared as "Wikipedia Day" in Indianapolis through a proclamation by mayorJoe Hogsett.[31]
The 2025 conference was held inNew York City, under the theme of a "Wiki World's Fair" to celebrate the city's 400th anniversary.[33] On the first day of the conference, a self-declared "anti-contact non-offending pedophile" wielded a gun while threatening to kill himself, before two conference participants, Richard Knipel andAndrew Lih, subdued him.[34][35][36] No shots were fired.[35]
