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?
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.
Confirmed pre-conferences
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.
Confirmed Meetups and Lunches