2026:Program
Liberté, Équité, Fiabilité
The call for submissions for the program is open until March 1, 2026.
Submissions must follow the Wikimania 2026's theme. Each submission falls under one unique thematic track and one of the different formats. You can also check our selection criteria.
You can edit your submission until the call ends. Please consider submitting it in advance to that the Program team can review it informally and make suggestions!
You can contact the Program team at: wikimania
wikimedia.org. Please have a look at our Frequently Asked Questions first!
Theme
This guide is intended for people who wish to submit a proposal for participation in Wikimania 2026. It details the philosophy, selection criteria and participation procedures to build a rich program faithful to the values of the movement.
Our Intention
As with all Wikimania, a theme has been defined: Liberté, Équité, Fiabilité (Freedom, Equity, Reliability).
This theme should be the guiding principle of every submission, as it forms the very foundation of the 2026 conference. It is not just a motto, but a framework for thinking about “protecting knowledge, equity, and freedom” at a time when the free encyclopedia and its ecosystem are facing political and media challenges.
Our engagements
- Fit the audience: We take the liberty of departing from the usual hierarchy of academic conferences. We prefer that a presentation find its audience through an appropriate format. We count on you to think about the best format for your project, keeping in mind that the important thing is that knowledge be shared. Our commitment is that the audience consider each type of session equally in terms of quality.
- Equity in participation: The Wikimedia movement is diverse and varied. We want this diversity to be represented, giving everyone an equal opportunity to participate. To ensure equity in the submission process, we have decided to launch the call for grants (scholarships) before the call for programs. This means that the results of the grants will be known before anyone has to submit their proposal, allowing everyone to plan their participation (in person or online) on an equal basis.
- We will give equal consideration to the four languages of the conference (English, Arabic, French, and Spanish) when selecting presentations.
- The intention to submit a presentation was not a determining factor in the scholarship committee's selection process. The reverse is also true: having been granted a scholarship is not a determining factor in being selected for the program.
- We defined a limit of 3 submissions per person, which also limits to 3 participations per person. The idea is to increase the number of speakers, hence giving more equity in participation.
- Reliability and quality: We aim to create a quality program, where every person leaves satisfied. The confidence we have in the reliability of your proposals will allow us to build this program. This requires a high level of rigor in terms of content, but also support to help you build, prepare, and present your presentation.
- Co-construction: Wikimania is a gathering. In order to enable the broadest and most equitable sharing of knowledge, we reserve the right to merge similar proposals. Our commitment is to enable you to co-construct a new presentation, in the same spirit as our wiki projects.
Deepening the 2026 Theme
To help you anchor your proposal in the theme, here's how the organizers see it:
| Value | Meaning and possible angles for your submissions (examples) |
| Freedom | Exploration of fundamental freedoms: universal participation, freedom of publishing, free licenses, pseudonymity, freedom of association and innovation. How does your work contribute to maintaining a healthy and open space? |
| Equity | Beyond equal opportunities, it is about providing fair means according to individual needs. How does your work ensure accessibility, correct bias, and guarantee a healthy and safe environment for truly universal knowledge? |
| Reliability | Highlighting the verifiability, factuality and neutrality. What is the role of sources? How can we ensure the sustainability and integrity of the movement in the face of attacks on the reliability of information? |
Selection Criteria
The selection committee will evaluate the proposals on the basis of the following points, in order of importance:
- Link to the theme, relevance: The relationship to themes Freedom, Equity, Reliability is central. We remain open to proposals that are off-topic but perfectly relevant to the movement.
- Interest in movement: The more impact a project has in terms of wikis, languages, replicability, or inspiration for others, the more likely it is to be selected. How important is the content to Wikimania's audience?
- Quality of intention: Your willingness to share knowledge. Like a wiki article, how flexible and open are you to your proposal evolving through collaboration? What is your expertise on the topic?
- Innovation and originality: New content or formats are welcome to demonstrate that it is possible to innovate in the way knowledge is shared. Is this a unique and original session that helps us deepen or broaden our understanding of the subject? Is it an original presentation and not one that the speaker repeats at every conference? Is the way the content is presented original?
- Reliability of information: We will pay particular attention to the solidity of the information that will be shared, as well as to the impact and the potential of replication of the project presented.
- Suitability of content and format: The type of session proposed must serve the content.
- Example: The results of a quantitative study are ideal for a poster.
- Example: A concrete and replicable project will be perfect for a workshop.
Criteria for distinguishing two presentations with the same intention:
- Language and Francophonie– Presentations in French and those from or related to the French-speaking world could be given priority, in line with the location of the event.
- Solidity– Is the content coherent in its presentation, or is it disjointed? Is the proposal interesting and well-thought-out? Does the background information suggest that the speaker will deliver an effective presentation?
We know that people who have participated in the conference many times are more likely to have their proposals accepted. When proposals are of equal quality, people who have never presented at Wikimania will be given greater consideration for selection.
Thematic tracks
The intention is to have fewer tracks to allow for better review by the evaluation teams. Some themes from previous editions are merged to reflect the trends in submissions from previous editions. They take into account new trends. All tracks are of equal importance.
| Proposed track | Definition | Notes & Ideas for Inclusion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Education and Advocacy | Talking about the movement to the outside world | |
| 2 | GLAM and partnerships | Partnerships with institutions (cultural and heritage, or otherwise) | |
| 3 | Technology | Everything that makes wikis work (Mediawiki, extensions, third-party services, gadgets and scripts, servers, design & UX/UI, etc.) | |
| 4 | Artificial intelligence | Everything about AI | Can cover the impact on community dynamics, content reliability, new tools, etc. |
| 5 | Community | Diversity and inclusion, contributor/community engagement, community health | |
| 6 | Research | Research dedicated to Wikimedia communities | This track is a space where researchers from across disciplines are invited to meet the extended Wikimedia community. The track has a dedicated call for submissions, but all are welcome to submit and participate regardless of background or affiliation. |
| 7 | Governance & Strategy | Everything about governance and strategy | |
| 8 | Wild Ideas | Everything else, and the unexpected | |
| 9 | New generations | Youth in age but also in contribution | To highlight initiatives that target the newest generations (for instance the CEE Youth Group, Vikidia, or Txikipedia), and also, all the initiatives around people who are starting out. |
Formats
Preamble
Regardless of the type, the following conditions apply:
- The presentation must have been selected by the program committee.
- As the goal is to have a diversity of presenters, you can't submit or be involved in more than three presentations (except as a resource person for a workshop, or as a person proposing a meetup or lunch).
- The organizers reserve the right to convert a submitted presentation to another format (including a format not listed below).
- The organizers reserve the right to change the initial duration of a session if necessary.
- All rooms will be equipped for presentations (video projector). Everyone is free to include or present whatever they want in their session, as long as it is relevant to the theme and meets the format requirements.
Poster (permanent display)
Have you completed a great project and want Wikimania to know about the results? Submit a poster.
The poster will be designed by you using a template provided by the organizers, printed by the organizers, and displayed throughout the conference. You will be able to answer questions from the audience during the poster review session.
Requirements and conditions:
- Submit your poster by the date specified by the organizers so that it can be printed. You cannot bring your own poster.
- Unless you arrange for someone attending Wikimania in person to be your spokesperson, you will not be able to present your poster remotely.
Lightning talk (5 minutes)
Have you completed an awesome project and want Wikimania to know about it? Submit a lightning talk. You'll have 5 minutes to present your work in a creative way.
Requirements and conditions:
- Up to two people can present.
- You must attend at least one preparation session before Wikimania, as well as participate in rehearsals during Wikimania.
- Submit your final presentation materials by the date specified by the organizers so that they can be included in the master presentation shown on screen during Wikimania.
The Research track has a specific format of 5+5 minutes lightning talk. Any proposal using this 5+5 format for another track will be recategorized as a standard, 5-minutes long lightning talk.
Panel (~60 minutes)
Do you have a project that brings together different people around a common theme? Get together at Wikimania to present the results of this project and how it can be replicated within the Wikimedia movement.
Requirements and conditions:
- One person will moderate the panel, and at least two people are guests. Each person present can make a short presentation if they like.
- No more than 50% of the people present at the panel may belong to the same organization.
- Two-thirds of the people participating in this panel must be present on site to facilitate post-panel discussions. The possibility of participating via video-conference is to be confirmed with the organizers.
- Consider having 5 minutes of transition with the previous and next sessions.
Workshop (~60 or ~90 minutes)
Would you like to put a project you have developed into practice, or help others using a tool you master? If your goal is that participants leave Wikimania with concrete knowledge, then organize a workshop.
Requirements and conditions:
- In your submission, list the objectives you would like to achieve during this workshop: what skills will be improved?
- The people who will lead the workshop can call on resource persons to help facilitate certain aspects of the workshop. Each person present can make a short presentation if they like.
- The person leading the workshop must be present at the conference. However, any resource persons who will help with facilitation or contribute knowledge may be present online.
- Consider having 5 minutes of transition with the previous and next sessions.
Pre-conferences (half day or full day)
Bring together Wikimedia communities, affiliates, and partners for workshops, strategy discussions, technical collaboration, and capacity-building before the main conference.
Pre-conferences offers a mix of formal and informal sessions—rehearsals, edit-a-thons, meetups, and governance meetings—that help set the tone for the full Wikimania experience. Most pre-conferences sessions are organized by established groups or organizations.
The organizers will provide a place for the attendees for half a day, or a full day. All other aspects of the pre-conference are organized by the group who requested this pre-conference, including: announce the pre-conference, find attendees and speakers, manage invitations, create an agenda, organize activities, etc.
Conditions:
- A pre-conference must be requested from the organizers, using the session submission process.
- A pre-conference is a gathering of users or friends of our movement. Please indicate who your pre-conference targets, and what would be the number of attendees.
- A person attending Wikimania in person must be designated as the point of contact with the organizers.
- The group managing the pre-conference is responsible for inviting participants, managing the program, facilitating remote participation, etc. The organizers provide a room (and catering for full-day sessions); they do not provide video recording nor live translation for the pre-conferences.
- Requesting pre-conference doesn't count in the 3 submissions per person limit.
If you want to submit a proposal for an existing pre-conference, please contact that pre-conference's organizers.
Meetups & Lunches (~60 minutes)
Meetups and Lunches are themed gatherings organized by formal or informal groups within the Wikimedia movement. They are used to discuss specific topics. Lunches take place during lunchtime.
This year, meetups are fully integrated into the official Wikimania program.
Meetups will be themed by day, as much as possible:
- Day 1: Themed meetings (WLM, OSM, etc.)
- Day 2: Geographic and linguistic meetings
- Day 3: Other
Conditions (apply to both Meetups and Lunches):
- A meetup must be requested from the organizers , using the session submission process.
- A person attending Wikimania in person must be designated as the point of contact with the organizers.
- Meetups and lunches have a limited number of slots, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Please indicate in the submission form the number of potential attendees and the session type you prefer (lunch or meetup).
- Requesting a meetup or a lunch doesn't count in the 3 submissions per person limit.
Other types of formats
It is possible to submit a presentation that don't fit the pre-defined ones above, using the "Other" format type in the submission form. The default time allocation is 60 minutes, but a different time can be requested.
The organizers reserve the right to create or consider other types of formats, or to propose changes to certain formats.
FAQ
General questions
- What is the current timeline for submissions?
- The submission form will remain open until March 1. The results will be published early May.
- I'd like to submit a proposal for the hackathon. How can I do this?
- The hackathon has its own program. Please contact the hackathon team.
- I can't find the option to submit a talk. Is it normal?
- This year, the organizing team has decided to devote more time to practical and interactive sessions; we prefer to focus on these rather than lectures. If you have completed a project that you would like to share, please submit it in the form of a poster (which will be displayed throughout the event) or a lightning talk.
- Is it possible to submit a lecture? Can we have a lecture during a workshop or a panel?
- This year, the intention is to have practical and hands-on sessions rather than traditional lectures. Short lectures are welcomed during workshops or panel sessions, as introductions, as long as they are not taking over the entire session. If you'd like to offer a panel, the "other" session type welcomes your proposal.
- Which sessions types are limited by the 3 submission per person limit?
- Posters, Lightning talks (including the specific formats for the Research track), Panels, Workshops and anything listed under "Other" in the submission form.
- Pre-conferences, Meetups and Lunches are the only session types with no limitation. Some specific limitations apply to Workshops, as listed below.
- Being an official participant to a Panel count for one submission. Please list all panelists names in your submission.
- Being invited as a speaker counts for one submission, even if you haven't created the submission or participated to its setup.
- The host(s) of a workshop may ask people to come and help with the practical aspects, as experts. These helpers are not allowed to be "present on stage" or formally present anything. This helper role does not count towards the limit of 3, but hosting or presenting does.
- I'd like to suggest a tour or a social activity. Should I use the submission form?
- Please use the submission form to suggest tours that would help attendees to improve their skills. Using the submission form, we can centralize all suggestions. Have a look at the Tours and Side Events page.
- For panels, how does the "same organization" limit works? Can I invite members of different cultural institutions from the same city?
- We define roughly "same organization members" as "working, or actively volunteering, for the same organization". However, civil servants (public officials) are in a different situation and we consider them as being from a different organization as long as they work for different institutions. Two librarians from the same library are working for the same organization, even when working in different services. But two librarians working for two different libraries are not considered as from the same organization. If these libraries are in the same city, please prove that they cover different fields.
- If my session is accepted, will I get a scholarship or a funding?
- No. The scholarships have already been attributed. You need to self-fund your attendance (travel, hotel, entry fee, etc.).
About the submission form
- When I use the submission form, I can't save my draft if I don't fill all mandatory fields. Can it be changed?
- We invite you to fill the form with "to be completed" placeholders before saving as a draft. This way we'll know that your session is not ready yet. You can edit your session until the deadline, even if already submitted.
- Regarding the question "Is it the first time you present on Wikimania?" Does that mean that one of the answers will be considered more positive than the other?
- In the interest of fairness, we want to make it easier for people who have not yet presented anything for the main Wikimania program to attend. We will use this parameter to ensure a good balance between people with Wikimania experience, who are more likely to have their proposals accepted, and people who are attending for the first time.
- Note: if you have already presented something at a Wikimania pre-conference, you can still check the “first time” box.
- Can I choose my attendance (being remote or on site) and change it afterwards?
- It would help us if you select the way you are more likely to attend. You have until the call for submission ends to provide a firm answer, by editing your proposal.
- Is it possible submit your pre-recorded videos too, following the program guidelines for any hybrid set up? If yes, will that be through the same submission process?
- Please submit your proposal. If selected, we will check with you on the format. No need to record something in advance!
About the selection process
- If I choose a given format, could the organizers ask me to change it?
- If the organizers request a change for the format I selected, is this decision final?
- If I'm asked to merge my session with another one, is this decision final?
- The Program Team may suggest a change in format. This suggestion is made in order to reflect and decide together on the best format for a presentation idea. The Program Team retains the final decision.
- This also applies to presentation mergers.
- Has the review committee been fully formed? Haven't seen the call for reviewers.
- The review committee was formed during Spring 2025. The committee has 25 members from numerous communities and wikis, linked by the French language. They've been involved in the definition of this year's program as well.
Orientation sessions
Orientation sessions are offered to help you prepare your submission to the program. During these sessions, the theme, intent, and formats will be presented. We will also answer your questions.
All presentations will be recorded and made available on this page. The FAQ will be expanded with the questions asked during the sessions.
- French: Thursday, February 5th, 6pm to 7pm UTC - Recording
- English: Friday, February 6th, 6pm to 7pm UTC - Recording
- Spanish: Saturday, February 7th, 6pm to 7pm UTC - Recording
- English: Sunday, February 8th, 8am to 9am UTC - Recording
- Arabic: Sunday, February 8th, 6pm to 7pm UTC - Recording
Macro program
The following table is a draft. It may change until June 1st, 2026.
| Time bands | Tuesday 21 July | Wednesday 22 July | Thursday 23 July | Friday 24 July | Saturday 25 July | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | Hackathon launch | Day trips (optional tourism) | Pre-conferences | Hackathon Day 2 | Wikimania Conferences | Wikimania Conferences
― 11:00 - keynote Liberté (Freedom) |
Wikimania Conferences
― 11:00 - keynote Équité (Equity) |
Wikimania Conferences
― 11:00 - keynote Fiabilité (Reliability) |
| Afternoon | Hackathon | touristic tours or pre-conference workshops | Hackathon Day 2
― End of the hackathon challenge at 15:30 |
Wikimania Conferences | Wikimania Conferences | Wikimania Conferences | Wikimania Conferences | |
| 16:00 - Wikimania Opening ceremony | Wikimania closing ceremony | |||||||
| Evening | to be determined | Opening ceremony party | Closing ceremony party | |||||