HIGA 2025: minority languages, global youth and free culture in Vitoria-Gasteiz 

From 14 to 18 July 2025, Vitoria-Gasteiz became the epicentre of linguistic revitalisation thanks to the 5th edition of HIGA, the International Meeting of Young Speakers of Minority Languages. A trilingual event (Basque, Spanish, and English) with simultaneous translation, in which Wikimedia Spain had the pleasure of participating. 

What does HIGA sound like? Like living languages, shared songs, passionate debates, and international collaboration. 

What is HIGA 2025? 

HIGA is not just a meeting, it is a collective experience for young people from all over the world who live and fight for their minority languages. Over five days in Vitoria-Gasteiz, connections were made, language activism strategies were shared, and participants learned, from the emotional to the technical, how to defend and grow these languages.  

The programme included training sessions, working groups, concerts, dances, guided tours, and many informal conversations that made this edition an unforgettable experience. 

And how is the link with Wikimedia Spain created? 

In 2023, Mentxu Ramilo Araujo, a member of the Wikimedia Spain Board of Directors, discovered HIGA by chance and did not hesitate to propose to the organisation the creation of a working group on minority languages and Wikimedia projects. Thus WikiHIGA was born, a seed that has taken root in this 2025 edition.  

Thanks to the support of the organising team and the collaboration of active participants in the Wikimedia community such as Antoine, Mohammed, Cecilia, and others interested in Wikimedia projects, WikiHIGA has established itself as a key space within the meeting. 

Our participation 

During the event, Wikimedia Spain actively supported the WikiHIGA working group:  

• Emma Vadillo Quesada led the collaborative sessions from Tuesday to Thursday, with a practical approach and a keen desire to discover collectively.  
• Mentxu Ramilo Araujo facilitated the link between Wikimedia and HIGA, supporting the group and documenting the process.  
• On Thursday afternoon, Rubén Ojeda, project manager at Wikimedia Spain, joined the team for the final session and participated in a project fair held in the cloister of the Montehermoso Palace. 

Feedback from some of the participants 

For Antoine Srun (Wikimedia France), HIGA was a key opportunity to truly connect with linguistic communities. Beyond theory, he discovered first-hand the real challenges, overwhelming energy, and creativity that exist within these groups. The WikiHIGA working group was essential for exchanging practical knowledge and building a Wikimedia community from scratch, face to face, he said.  

Antoine also takes away a clear idea: Wikipedia is just the beginning. Many languages can find more utility in projects such as Wikisource, Wiktionary, or Wikimedia Commons, adapting their objectives and resources to their cultural and historical needs. 

For her part, Mentxu Ramilo Araujo, who promoted the Wikimedia group at the event, found WikiHIGA to be a transformative experience: ‘I felt younger,’ she says. One of her favourite moments was seeing a group of girls singing in Occitan at the Falerina Garden, a song they had just learned a few hours earlier. 

From her perspective, these types of gatherings are key to sparking curiosity and a desire to take action. That is why she is confident that the WikiHIGA group will continue to grow with the help of people like Aisa Serra Gil and Emma Vadillo Quesada, who are already familiar with the Wikimedia ecosystem and can accompany those who want to explore its possibilities for minority languages. 

For Mohammed Kamal-Deen Fuseini, from the Dagbani Wikimedians User Group (Ghana), HIGA was a transformative experience. He highlighted the value of creating global networks and discovering how language revitalisation is intertwined with technology, identity and environmental justice. He took away three lessons from the conference: regional collaboration enhances impact, technology is key to language survival, and culture and language must be revitalised together.  

Regarding the Wikimedia working group at HIGA, he described it as ‘excellent’: inclusive, practical, and forward-thinking. For Fuseini, Wikimedia projects are vital for minority languages: they give them global visibility, promote literacy, and allow communities to share their heritage on their own terms. 

What now? 

The WikiHIGA group is still going strong. We want to keep it active with virtual meetings, where we can continue to share resources, forge alliances, and demonstrate that Wikimedia projects are a great tool for preserving and raising awareness of minority languages. 

Because languages are not lost: they are simply no longer spoken, documented, or shared. And that is where Wikimedia has a lot to contribute. 

Would you like to see more? 

• Visual summary of the meeting  
• Photos on Wikimedia Commons  

Thanks to HIGA for opening its doors to us, for building networks, for reminding us that speaking a minority language is not a disadvantage: it is a superpower. See you at the next edition!