Wikimania 2025 Marks 20 Years by Celebrating Global Wikipedia Contributors

Kenya is set to host Wikimania 2025, the 20th edition and the annual Wikimedia conference globally, bringing together over 1,000 volunteers and digital knowledge leaders from over 120 countries. The event celebrates the people behind Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, spotlighting the power of open knowledge and community-driven collaboration across the globe.

The annual conference will take place in Kenya both online and in-person from 6 – 9 August 2025 celebrating Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, global community of volunteers (Wikimedians) Hosted by the Wikimedians of Kenya User Group including the East African Regional and Thematic Hub (EARTHub); and the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects.

Nearly 300,000 volunteers are behind creating the information on Wikimedia projects, which are viewed more than 22 billion times every month. Through a process of open collaboration, these volunteers help to power the backbone of knowledge on the internet with reliable information for all.

Wikipedia alone is edited in over 300 languages by nearly 260,000 volunteers every month around the world. Together, they compile and share information on notable subjects, according to editorial policies and guidelines that ensure knowledge remains neutral, reliable, and fact-based.

Volunteers discuss, debate, and often disagree until a shared consensus can be reached on what content to include. This process is done entirely out in the open for all to see. The Wikimedia projects demonstrate how hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life can effectively reach consensus based on facts.

The theme of Wikimania 2025 is “Wikimania@20: Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability.”, bringing attention to the need to ensure a sustainable future for Wikimedia projects and the volunteers and efforts that make them possible.

The event will also be live streamed via virtual platforms.

“Wikimania 2025 marks a milestone as it returns to the African continent for its 20th anniversary, underscoring Africa’s growing influence in the global knowledge movement.  Wikimedia Foundation CEO Maryana Iskander hailed the conference as a celebration of the diverse global community powering Wikimedia projects, emphasizing the importance of expanding Africa’s contributions as the next billion people come online and seek access to free, reliable knowledge.

The event will feature workshops, edit-a-thons, policy discussions, keynotes, community meet-ups among others. key program highlights include:

• The Wikimedian of the Year Awards, presented by Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales, recognize exceptional volunteers contributing to Wikimedia projects around the world.
• A keynote panel on Artificial Intelligence with renowned African technology experts and academics, including Dr. Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende and Prof. Vukosi Marivate, on how open knowledge communities such as the global volunteers on Wikimedia projects and mission-aligned partners may navigate a fast-changing technological landscape while staying true to their core values.
• Sessions that focus on technological advancements and how the Wikimedia Foundation and volunteer communities are engaging and defining their approach to AI to support humans in promoting access to free, reliable information.
• Explorations into the ways libraries and Wikimedians can collaborate in the long-term to preserve cultural heritage; engaging with UNESCO on increasing access to cultural heritage; and research findings on preserving linguistic diversity on Wikipedia.
• The Wikimania Hackathon invites attendees of all experience levels to collaborate on software and database projects related to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.

Wikimania’s hybrid format allows thousands of people around the globe to engage in real-time sessions, conversations, and cultural experiences. To ensure the participation of diverse people from various countries, the conference will be translated into multiple languages, including Arabic, French, English, Spanish, and Swahili.

Key speakers include:

Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales, Wikimedia Foundation CEO Maryana Iskander, Head of Makerere University Artificial Intelligence Lab Dr. Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende, and University of Pretoria Professor of Computer Science Vukosi Marivate