Wikimedia Egypt Conference Twelfth Edition, Back to activity again in Egypt

On December 21, the Twelfth edition of Wikimedia Egypt Conference was launched, which was the conclusion of the activities of Egypt Wikimedians User Group, The event celebrated the winners of Wikimedia photography competitions (Wiki Loves Monuments – Wiki Loves Earth – Wiki for Minorities) were honored, as well as the prominent figures in the education program (Wikipedian Light of Knowledge) and the prominent figures in the (Wikipedian Editor) program.

Challenges and difficulties

This edition of the conference was exceptional. The last edition of the conference was in 2019, then it stopped as a result of the cessation of the Wikimedia Group’s activity in Egypt due to some governmental and legal problems that hindered the arrival of grants from WMF. This resulted in the cessation of all activities and programs, as well as the departure of many prominent users from the group, despite the group’s strong start in 2014.

However, at the end of 2023, the efforts of the WMF’s partnerships team succeeded in removing these obstacles, Farida El-Gueretly in particular did a great job for months to make these efforts successful. The group also carried out a comprehensive restructuring, elections were held, and a board was elected for the group, as well as an organizational structure was put in place. An agreement was concluded to sponsor the group by ADEF one of the largest NGO in Egypt. Many agreements were concluded with Egyptian universities and governmental and private institutions in order to support volunteer and knowledge activities. An annual grant was also applied for and approved by the Grants Committee.

Despite some circumstances that caused the grant to be delayed, The conference was threatened with cancellation or postponed due to lack of time to organize it, But the group’s organizing team was able to organize the conference in record time, which confirms the desire of everyone in Egypt to complete the activity and their desire to volunteer, and this is what we hope for in a country that is the largest in population in the MENA region, as well as the third populated country in Africa, and has a huge base of volunteers and young people who want to contribute to Wikimedia projects.

Conference Activities

At the conference, 44 people were honored, 18 of whom were prominent within education program (WLM) Also prominent in the editorial workshops held as well as prominent in (Wikipedian Editor) program, and honor another 4 people from user group, and 26 winners of Wikimedia photography competition. Highlights included a celebration of the group’s 10th anniversary, and in the second session there was a celebration of World Arabic Language Day with a symposium by Dr. Hamed Imam, a Professor of Literature and Criticism in Cairo University, The symposium was broadcast live on the group’s Social Media pages.

On the sidelines of the conference, a group meeting was held and that second in-person meeting in 2024, and an edit-a-thon was held with some volunteers to edit articles in Wikipedia.

Although the conference was organized in a simple way and there was a desire to hold a larger celebration on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the founding of the user group, as well as plans to hold more sessions, the conference was fruitful and encouraged many attendees to join the group and volunteer in Wikimedia projects. Many users have expressed their willingness to start a photography club affiliated with the group with the aim of encouraging many photographers to publish their photos as a creative commons in Commons and to increase awareness about free images. We were also surprised by the presence of some news sites covering the event, which reflects the value and importance of Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects in Egypt.

Looking ahead to 2025, the user group aims to leverage financial and administrative stability to expand its activities in Egypt and strengthen volunteer engagement in Wikimedia projects.