My Experience Attending the First-Ever Convening of Users with Extended Rights

One of the highlights of attending Wikimania 2025 in Nairobi was the pre-conference session for users with extended rights. This first-of-its-kind gathering took place on August 5 and brought together administrators and other advanced rights holders from diverse Wikimedia communities across the world.

The Wikimedia Foundation made a conscious effort this year to involve more users with extended rights in Wikimania. This move was motivated by increasing challenges such as misinformation, disinformation, vandalism, and platform security threats coupled with a decline in the number of active advanced rights holders in several Wikipedia editions, including some of the largest. According to a May 2025 Diff post, the Foundation allocated 50 scholarships specifically for this group of contributors.

While the primary focus of the session was on combating mis- and disinformation, I gained valuable insights into several other important areas. For example, I learned about WP:Mentorship, a system where a more experienced user supports a less experienced one to help them contribute more effectively to Wikimedia projects. Inspired by this, I’ve launched the page VP:Ustozlik on the Uzbek Wikipedia and have enrolled as a mentor. As a mentor, I aim to help new users get started more easily.

Another key takeaway, which was also emphasized by User:Fulani215 in his recent Diff post about the gathering, was the power of storytelling. Storytelling is not only an effective way to create quality content independently but also an engaging method to teach others how to do the same. I believe contributing to Wikimedia projects can and should be both fun and rewarding.

Equally important was the opportunity to meet users from other communities, which I believe will foster cross-wiki collaboration and knowledge sharing. I was especially pleased to connect with contributors from the African continent, as I had not previously interacted with many users from this region. It became clear to me that smaller communities often face similar challenges, and exchanging experiences can help us all grow stronger together.

As with my experience attending Wikimania 2023, I returned home feeling more motivated than ever to continue contributing to Wikimedia projects. I’d like to thank everyone involved in organizing the session, particularly User:RAdimer-WMF and User:NSzafran-WMF, for facilitating such a valuable and well-executed event, especially as a first of its kind.