Inside the first big UN Wikipedia edit-a-thon: Expanding tech policy knowledge

People from around the world piled into the headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in New York City with an exciting goal in mind: to expand the knowledge on Wikipedia.

This milestone “edit-a-thon” — one of several opening events for the UN’s Open Source Week — was a collaborative space where people worked together to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of global digital policy. UN experts and staff, students, and open-source advocates — many of them first-time editors — learned from experienced Wikipedia editors how to expand articles about digital public goods, AI regulation, the Global Digital Compact, UN history, and more.

The interactive event was co-hosted by the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (ODET), the Permanent Mission of Italy to the UN, the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN, Wikimedia New York City, and the Wikimedia Foundation. The event was also a celebration of the 70th anniversary of Italy and Sri Lanka joining the United Nations.

“We have chosen to focus today on one of the most vital frontiers of our time: the digital commons (…) We are especially pleased to co-host this event with an organization that epitomizes this spirit: the Wikimedia Foundation, whose platforms like Wikipedia have become universal knowledge commons that have made a difference in the life of many people, especially students and young people like you.” — Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations in New York.

Hands-on editing: Growing tech policy coverage for readers worldwide 

With in-person support from Wikimedia New York City, event attendees improved a range of Wikipedia articles using on-site UN archives, official reports, datasets, and credible news sources. Some of the improved articles include:

• Regulation of artificial intelligence
• Digital public goods
• Global Digital Compact
• Digital public infrastructure

Thanks to the work of these volunteers, Wikipedia readers now have more reliable and well-sourced information to learn and understand the discussion on internet governance in their communities and the world at large. In total, over 1,000 edits were made and 16,500 words (~60 printed pages) were added to Wikipedia articles during the event. In the past 30 days alone, the articles that were improved during the edit-a-thon have been viewed over 2 million times — indicating how people around the world turn to Wikipedia for information on topics related to technology, the UN, and more. 

“I’ve been editing more actively for over a year, and what hooked me in was the community—real people working together to improve knowledge. It was powerful to see live edits happening at the UN and to know that the UN cares about the future of the digital world, an evolving topic we should all be paying attention to,” said Eric Leung, a volunteer editor on Wikipedia. “Being an editor — and following Wikipedia’s neutral point of view — has made me more mindful about the quality of information online, how we consume that info, and how I edit Wikipedia. And it’s reassuring to know the community has your back throughout the editing process; even when my edits are reverted or improved, the feedback is always respectful. Everyone’s here to learn and contribute.”

Wikipedia as a digital public good 

This edit-a-thon not only improved Wikipedia articles on key policy topics, but it also served as a live demonstration to policymakers at the UN of how open, community-governed knowledge is built and the real-world impact it can have.

“During the edit-a-thon, you’ll help strengthen trust in online information by improving and expanding content that matters. Reliable access to information has been a challenge since the early days of the internet, and Wikipedia has played a vital role in addressing that issue.” — Amandeep Singh Gill, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology.

Wikipedia, as the largest repository of free and open knowledge online and the primary training source for AI models, is an example of a digital public good (DPG), which the UN and Member States have committed to empower and protect. DPGs include open-source software, data, AI models, standards, and content created for the public interest. 

In February 2025, Wikipedia was officially recognized as a DPG by the Digital Public Goods Alliance, a UN-backed multistakeholder initiative that maintains a Registry of Digital Public Goods. This recognition underlined Wikipedia’s unique role in advancing global access to free and trusted knowledge that serves the public interest. As Rebecca MacKinnon, the Wikimedia Foundation’s Vice President of Global Advocacy, put it: 

“Wikipedia is a space for everyone, everywhere to share and access knowledge that has been curated by our global community who are constantly debating and improving its accuracy. In the age of AI, this community-governed free knowledge resource is more vital than ever. This week’s edit-a-thon at the UN reflects a multigenerational commitment to strengthening Wikipedia’s coverage of tech policy, which will help citizens participate effectively in policy debates about their communities’ digital futures.” 

Wikimedia’s role in global tech governance

One of the event’s focal points was improving the article on the Global Digital Compact — the UN’s blueprint for global governance of digital technology and artificial intelligence. The Wikimedia Foundation, together with volunteers and civil society allies, successfully advocated for the inclusion of protections and investment in DPGs within the Compact. These commitments, signed in 2024 during the UN General Assembly Summit for the Future, now influence local digital policymaking on every continent. The Foundation and multiple Wikimedia affiliates co-drafted an open letter in 2024 calling on UN Member States to:

• Protect and empower communities to govern online public interest projects.
• Promote and protect digital public goods by supporting a robust digital commons from which everyone, everywhere, can benefit.
• Build and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to support and empower, not replace, people who create content and make decisions in the public interest.

Thanks in part to this work, the Foundation was able to secure recognition for Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, as well as a space for the Wikimedia movement at the UN General Assembly and beyond. The Foundation will continue to advocate for public spaces online, at the UN, and around the world, seeking their sustainability and the protection and promotion of the communities that build them.

“Wikipedia is a living infrastructure for public understanding, and this edit-a-thon is precisely the type of collaboration that the Compact envisions,” said Costanza Sciubba Caniglia, Anti-Disinformation Strategy Lead at the Wikimedia Foundation. “We will continue working with all sectors to ensure that public interest platforms like Wikipedia not only have a seat at the table as digital governance evolves, but also help shape a more inclusive, people-centered digital future.”

Laura Pulecio Duarte is a Public Policy Communications Specialist at the Wikimedia Foundation. Pacita Rudder is the Executive Director of Wikimedia New York City.

Stay informed on internet policy and Wikipedia’s future: Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter 📩