Attending the WikiWomen* Summit 2025

The WikiWomen* Summit 2025 was held as a pre-conference at Wikimania 2025 Nairobi. I had attended this event, so I would like to share my experiences.

What is the WikiWomen* Summit?

This Summit brings together women and gender-diverse Wikimedians from around the world who are part of the Wikimedia movement at the Wikimania to think, learn, and share information about feminist futures. The asterisk in WikiWomen* denotes gender diversity. The first Summit was held at Wikimania Singapore in 2023, the second at Katowice in 2024, and the third in Nairobi. However, its roots lie in the WikiChick Lunch of 2011 and earlier, and the WikiWomenCamps of 2012 and 2017.

Impressions from the 2025 Summit

This year’s Summit was held at the venue of Wikimania on August 5, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with 135 participants from around the world. Here are three highlights from the program that stood out to me.

After the opening remarks, an icebreaker session was held where Wikimedians sat next to them chatted about their experiences with Wikimedia, quickly creating a friendly atmosphere in the room. This was followed by group discussions at each table, where participants shared their own issues. I had never had such an experience in Japan, so it left a strong impression on me.

The keynote speaker was Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight, a pioneer of gender equality at Wikimedia movement. She spoke about the importance of valuing women’s voices, listening to each other, and building coalitions. Each attendee received a colorful shoelace as a symbol of collaboration.

During the afternoon panel discussion, Wikimedians from Rwanda, India, and Kenya delivered powerful messages about the situation women find themselves in and how to respond to it. There was a lively exchange of opinions with the audience, and I sensed a lot of energy being released.

WikiWomen* Lunch

On August 8th, the Wikiwomen* Lunch was held, attended by over 100 people, and again featured keynote speeches and various messages. I sat next to an Indian Wikimedian I had met last year and enjoyed a conversation. Also, by participating in the Summit, I was greeted by many people at the Wikimania venue, and had the opportunity to exchange greetings.

To contribute by translating

I decided to participate in this Summit because I heard Rosie’s session at last year’s Wikimania, dropped by to say hello afterward, and received an invitation to attend this year’s Summit. I was asked to join the organizing team, COT, and joined the COT group chat around June with Narumi.SBT. It was a great pleasure to be able to speak directly in Nairobi with people from various countries whose names I only knew through chat. While I’m not very good at English, I can translate, so I tried translating the Diff blog introducing the Summit and the Summit’s Wiki page into Japanese. This initiative is largely unknown in Japan, but I think it’s wonderful that such events continue to be held and foster collaboration. I hope to continue contributing in some way.