Wikimedia Foundation Bulletin 2025 Issue 17

Here is a quick overview of highlights from the Wikimedia Foundation since our last issue on August 29. Previous editions of this bulletin are on Meta. Let askcac@wikimedia.org know if you have any feedback or suggestions for improvement!

Upcoming and current events and conversations

Let’s Talk continues

• Wikimania 2026: The scholarship application for Wikimania 2026 is open. Apply now by October 31.
• Wikipedia 25: Help us find inspiring stories to share during birthday celebrations by September 23.
• Wikimedia Research Showcase: “Readers and Readership Research” will be the featured theme for the next research showcase taking place on September 24 at 16:30 UTC.
• Update to banner and logo policies: Feedback is requested on proposed policy and documentation updates regarding the use of banners and logos for advocacy purposes.
• GLAM Wiki 2025: The registration for GLAM Wiki Conference is open until September 30.

Annual Goals Progress on Infrastructure

See also newsletters: Wikimedia Apps · Growth · Research · Web · Wikifunctions & Abstract Wikipedia · Tech News · Language and Internationalization · other newsletters on MediaWiki.org

• Better bot detection: How we are improving bot detection and replacing our CAPTCHA.
• Temporary Accounts: Temporary accounts are now deployed to almost all wikis except the last 11.
• User Info: This new feature displays data related to a user account when you tap or click on the “user avatar” icon button next to a username. It’s meant to be useful for different users with extended rights as well as newcomers.
• Newsletter highlights: The latest Readers Newsletter is now available. It includes considerations about Wikipedia’s declining pageviews in the recent years, how the Foundation and communities may work on addressing this together, and the formation of two new teams — Reader Growth and Reader Experience.
• Activity Tab Experiment: The Foundation launched an experiment testing a new Activity tab in the Wikipedia Android app to our beta testers. Instead of only showing editing activity, this tab also surfaces insights about reading and donation behavior.
• Search Suggestions: To make it easier for users to find articles, logged-out users on both desktop and mobile will see suggestions of articles for further reading on English Wikipedia beginning the week of September 22. All non-English wikis received this update in June and July.
• Paste Check: The Foundation is working on a new check: Paste check. This check informs newcomers who paste text into Wikipedia that the content might not be accepted to ensure it is aligned with the Movement’s values. This check will soon be tested at a few wikis.
• CampaignEvents extension: The CampaignEvents extension has been enabled for all Wikisources. The extension makes it easier to organize and participate in collaborative activities, like edit-a-thons and WikiProjects, on the wikis. To request the extension for your wiki, visit the information page.
• Structured Task: The Add a Link Structured Task has been fully released at English Wikipedia. This release is an important step in making editing more accessible for new contributors, especially on mobile.
• Tech News: Read more updates from Tech News week 36 and 37.
• Wikifunctions: Wikifunctions is now available on 65 Wiktionaries and has a new capability to copy function calls from one Wikipedia to another.
• Multilingual Contributors: The Language and Product Localisation team is launching a CentralNotice campaign to attract multilingual contributors to specific Wikipedias. The campaign will feature regionally targeted banners to reach potential native speakers.

Annual Goals Progress on Volunteer Support

See also blogs: Global Advocacy blog · Global Advocacy Newsletter · Policy blog · WikiLearn News · list of movement events

• Global Resources: Introducing the interim Global Resource Distribution Committee (GRDC).
• Funding the Movement: Key Takeaways, Trends, and Lessons from FY 2024-2025 Community Fund Grants.
• Open Indonesia: Reflections on Open Indonesia, an event in Bandung gathering communities dedicated to advancing open knowledge to build the country’s Open Knowledge Roadmap.
• WikiWomen*: Reflections from the WikiWomen* Summit 2025.
• Gender & AI: Is Gendering AI Possible? Reflections from the 2025 Gendering AI Conference.
• Wikipedia 25: What one centenarian can teach us about 25 years of Wikipedia.
• Knowledge Equity Fund: Wikimedia Ghana User Group receives Knowledge Equity Fund Connected Grant.
• Wikimania 2025: ESEAP First Timers at Wikimania Nairobi.
• César do Paço Lawsuit: Update about a lawsuit in Portugal and the Foundation’s appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
• UK Online Safety Act: The Wikimedia Foundation will not appeal the UK High Court’s decision to dismiss our challenge to the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) Categorisation Regulations.

Board and Board committee updates

See Wikimedia Foundation Board noticeboard · Affiliations Committee Newsletter

• August board meeting: Updates on board appointments and selection, CEO search, work to strengthen Wikipedia’s approach to neutral point of view and updates on three pilots around more shared decision-making and shared accountability across the movement.
• New Endowment board members: Welcoming New Wikimedia Endowment Board Members, Kevin Bonebrake and Ike Kier.

Other Movement curated newsletters & news
See also: Diff blog · Goings-on · Planet Wikimedia · Signpost (en) · Kurier (de) · Actualités du Wiktionnaire (fr) · Regards sur l’actualité de la Wikimedia (fr) · Wikimag (fr) · Education · GLAM · The Wikipedia Library · Milestones · Wikidata · Central and Eastern Europe · other newsletters

Subscribe or unsubscribe to the Bulletin