WikiAfrica Hour #40: Wiki Conferences behind the scenes

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Every year, Wikimedians have at least one must-attend Wikimedia conference on their wishlist, sometimes 2 or 5! There are now many thematic, regional and global conferences that are scheduled for every single month of the year. But how are these conferences organised, and by who? Who decides which in-person conferences are held and when? Who makes critical decisions relating to location, themes, scholarships and finances? What role do they have in the movement, and what is their value to community members?

In WikiAfrica Hour’s 40th Episode, aired live in 30th November  2024, guest host Lodewijk sheds light on conferences in the wikimedia community behind the scenes. He discusses with guests the different teams who are in charge of the approval of conferences and preparation of the resources and settings. 

“I think one of the most important reasons for WikiIndaba is to start new communities, which is weird, but this is the thing we have been able to observe from the first WikiIndaba. People come as individuals, and leave motivated to get their own communities started.” —Dumisani Ndubane

“There is something around having an offline event that you stream, where there is no interaction between both sides. Then you can have a virtual event. Then you can have a hybrid event and I personally underestimated how complicated it is to host a hybrid event because you need to take care of the online part and the offline part and to think about how you connect both parts”. —Cornelius Kibelka

This WikiAfrica Hour episode’s guest host is Lodewijk: he has edited the Dutch Wikipedia since 2005, organized Wiki Loves Monuments for many years and organized both national and international Wikimedia events. He currently serves in the Wikimania Committee. 

Guests included:

  • Reda Kerbouche, organizer of several Wiki-events such as WikiArabia 2022 in Dubai (UAE) and 2024 in Muscat (Oman) and several non wiki related conferences like “Rêvons l’Algérie”.
  • Geoffrey Kateregga, member of Communications Committee of WikiIndaba 2024.
  • Cornelius Kibelka, Conference and Events Funds Program Officer. 
  • Vanj Padilla, Member of Conference Support Committee, Core Organizing Team Member, Wikimania 2021, Core Organizing Team Member, Wikimania 2023, Co-Organizer, Wikiwomen Summit @Wikimania 2023.
  • Dumisani Ndubane, organiser of the 1st Wiki Indaba in 2014.  He is currently board chair of WhoseKnowledge, as well as advisor to WMZA and WISCOM.
  • Rachit Sharma, Senior Movement Communications Specialist at The Wikimedia Foundation, he provides strategic support to various convening and conferences like WikiConference India, ESEAP Conference, WikiWomen’s Camp, Wikimedia Technology, part of the core team from WMF that supports Wikimania, and has been involved in delivering Wikimania since 2022.

This WikiAfrica Hour episode aired live: check out our Website or the WikiAfrica Hour meta page to watch this or previous episodes.  All WikiAfrica Hour episodes are available on YouTube.

Show notes and links:


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