Technical tools on Wikipedia often seem complex, intimidating, and reserved only for those with “technical skills.” But we proved that anyone can gain confidence and become stronger as a Wikipedia editor.
From May to June, Wikimedia Ukraine ran a Technical Skills Course for Women — a series of six webinars and homework assignments that helped participants deepen their knowledge and understand “how things work” behind the scenes.
Across the Wikimedia movement, women make up only about 20% of active editors, and technical topics — such as working with templates, categories, or Wikidata — are even more male-dominated. This course was designed to help overcome gender imbalance and bias, empowering women to work confidently with technical tools. These skills not only enable participants to create new articles, but also to improve Wikipedia’s structure and navigation, making it easier for everyone to find and contribute knowledge.
Our results:
- 42 registrations — once again showing there is strong demand for such a course.
- 30 participants were selected and worked on assignments over the course of two months.
- 14 participants successfully completed the course and received certificates — we are proud of each one!
- Although live webinars were specifically for women, their recordings are publicly available for anyone to watch and make use of
What we achieved together:
- Created 18 new templates that now make editing easier for other contributors.
- Organized 16 categories so that articles are easier to find and don’t get lost.
- Created 13 redirects to help readers quickly reach the right information.
- Analyzed 12 articles: checked for plagiarism, reviewed pageviews, and examined other important details.
Our trainer was Vira Motorko — an experienced Wikipedian, administrator of the Ukrainian Wikipedia, and recipient of the international Wikimedian of the Year award. Her expertise and mentorship inspired participants to step outside their comfort zones and explore new roles in the Wikimedia movement.
Most importantly — participants became more confident in using various technical tools:
- Configured gadgets in their personal accounts.
- Learned how to connect articles through Wikidata.
- Gained skills in working with templates and categories.
- Some have already started sharing their new knowledge with other editors!
Why it matters: We want the technical side of Wikipedia to be open to everyone. When we understand how the tools work, we can do more — better, faster, and with greater confidence.
Let’s look at feedback from our participants, who explain what it means to be part of such a community.
Olha Nesterenko, editor and administrator of the Ukrainian Wikipedia:
“I’m truly happy I had the chance to take this course! The program was well-structured, covering both basic technical skills and practical assignments that helped solidify the knowledge.
What I valued most was the friendly, supportive space — an atmosphere where it wasn’t embarrassing to ask questions, share doubts, and support others. I gained confidence in my abilities, even though I previously had minimal technical experience.
This course didn’t just give me skills — it opened the door to new opportunities, inspired me to grow further, and believe in myself!”
Halyna Kachurovska, editor of the Ukrainian Wikipedia:
“Over six weeks in May–June, I had the opportunity to take part in the Technical Skills Course for Women. It was a very engaging program. Each session focused on a specific topic with both theory and practice, followed by homework to reinforce the knowledge.
I discovered that creating templates and categories is not as complicated as it seems — with the right knowledge, they can be developed and used to improve Wikipedia articles.
During the course, we also learned more about Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, an international project for describing images, various interface features, and statistical tools.
Participants actively shared their own work during the course, making it a great example of collaborative learning.
Special thanks go to our trainer, the experienced Wikipedian and administrator Vira Motorko, who shared her expertise in a very accessible way. I’m grateful for this course — I believe it gave each of us more knowledge and confidence in technical editing.”
Kate Kifa, editor of the Ukrainian Wikipedia:
“The most valuable part of the course for me was the deep dive into the technical aspects of editing — creating and editing templates, working with categories, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and useful tools.
What once seemed complicated and out of reach has now become an exciting challenge.
Equally important was the supportive environment created by fellow Wikipedians under the guidance of one of the most experienced — and Wikimedian of the Year — Vira Motorko.
This truly inspired me to go beyond my usual editing work.”
Oksana Makarenko, editor and patroller of the Ukrainian Wikipedia:
“When signing up for the Technical Skills Course for Women and filling out the registration form, I mentioned that what interested me most were the wiki tools. I’m an experienced editor — I’ve been active in the Wikimedia movement for over 12 years, created more than 90 articles in the Ukrainian Wikipedia, dozens of templates and categories, uploaded hundreds of files, and made tens of thousands of edits. I also edit the Polish and English Wikipedias, Wikidata, and Wikiquote.
That’s why I know the value of wiki tools — they allow you to do everything faster, more efficiently, and with higher quality. There are many different tools out there, but Vira Motorko selected, in my opinion, the most relevant and useful ones for us as editors. I’m very grateful to her for that.
The second most valuable thing about this course is, of course, the atmosphere and the people. Absolutely amazing.”
We thank each and every participant who joined this course and wasn’t afraid to try something new. You are Wikipedia’s superpower!
🎥 The full recordings of all course webinars are available on our YouTube channel.
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