Many Tongues, One Movement: the CapX Translat-a-thon 2025

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The Wikimedia movement thrives when knowledge is accessible in all languages, and the CapX 2025 Translat-a-thon proudly brought that vision to life in December 2025. Organized in partnership with the Language Diversity Hub, the Capacity Exchange online translation marathon brought together volunteers from around the world to collaboratively translate and localize its tool, documentation, and Capacity Directory.

At 12:00 UTC, 6 December, more than 40 participants joined a live tutorial session on how to translate CapX resources, helping facilitate access for diverse linguistic communities. The event was led by CapX project manager Amanda Jurno, with support from CapX Community Outreach Facilitators Bennylin and Joris Darlington Quarshie, as well as Sadik Shahadu and Tochi Precious from the Wikimedia Language Diversity Hub. Translations and edits made by volunteers were counted over a two-week period, ending on 20 December.

Badge awarded to event participants

Across Translatewiki, Meta-Wiki, and Metabase, the impact of the event was remarkable. Over the course of 14 days, 43 contributors worked collaboratively to produce 5,559 translations in 48 languages, including 12 new languages, alongside 1,270 edits made using the Capacity Exchange translation tool, built specifically for this translat-a-thon (see more information below). 

All eligible participants earned a special badge to display on their CapX profile and in their Meta-Wiki user box – a visible recognition of their contributions to language equity within the Wikimedia Movement. Some of the event’s accomplishments are described in detail below.

Making a difference one translation at a time

Participants translated messages, interfaces, and capacity listings for  بورصة الكفاءات / تبادل ظرفیت‌ها / Абмен здольнасьцямі / ক্যাপাসিটি এক্সচেঞ্জ / Intercanvi de Capacitats / Taba baŋsim lɛbu / Kapazitätzen-Austausch / تبادل ظرفیت / Échange de capacités / Pertukaran Kapasitas / Mgbanwe ikike / 技能の貸し借りプロジェクト / ꦲꦶꦗꦺꦴꦭ꧀ꦏꦥꦱꦶꦠꦱ꧀ / 역량 교환 / Размена на капацитети / Pertukaran Kapasiti / କାପାସିଟି ଏକ୍ସଚେଞ୍ଜ / Wymiana Zdolności / Troca de Capacidades / Обмен потенциалами / Shkëmbim i kapaciteteve / Pakikipagpalitan ng Kapasidad / Обмін спроможностями / 能力交换 / Capacity Exchange, making CapX more accessible to communities around the world.

Screenshot taken by Bennylin during the live tutorial at the Translat-a-thon. See the full video recording here.

We would like to give special recognition to the six contributors with the highest number of translations during the translat-a-thon. They are:

  • EmDashUser002 (Français – French): 1,128 translations across Translatewiki, Meta-Wiki, and Metabase;
  • Jp2593 (Bikol): 688 translations across Translatewiki and Metabase;
  • Omotecho (日本語 – Japanese): 613 translations across Translatewiki and Metabase;
  • Giacomo Lanza (Italiano – Italian): 608 translations across Translatewiki and Metabase;
  • Jon Harald Søby (Norsk bokmål – Norwegian Bokmål): 527 translations on Translatewiki;
  • Vivian Amalachukwu (Asụsụ Igbo – Igbo): 320 translations across Translatewiki and Metabase.

The CapX interface is now fully or almost fully translated (over 95%) into seven languages: English, French, Italian, Chinese, Indonesian, Piedmontese, and Spanish. It is also mostly translated (between 50% and 95%) into ten additional languages: Brazilian Portuguese, Macedonian, Bangla, Portuguese, Norwegian Bokmål, Russian, Japanese, Ukrainian, Dutch, and Central Bikol. Beyond these, translations are currently underway in dozens of other languages, reflecting growing community interest and participation. CapX documentation on Meta is also available in 20 languages in addition to English, with seven new translations created during the event.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the contributors who dedicated their time, skills, and passion to the “Many Tongues, One Movement: Voices Across Languages” event, helping make the Wikimedia Movement a little more linguistically equal. Please, don’t forget to check the CapX user profiles to see the brand-new badge shining proudly in recognition of this work.

Capacities Translation Workspace

One of the highlights of the event was a special tool created by community member and CapX developer Alberto Leôncio, designed to make translating capacities into many languages easier.

The interface was straightforward: a language-selection header and a list of the 134 existing capacities, helping contributors expand the reach of Capacity Exchange across linguistic communities.

Screenshot showing the translation tool made exclusively for the event.

With just a few steps participants worked in near real time, keeping translations synchronized across platforms. Together, these efforts strengthened collaboration, inclusion, and shared ownership of knowledge across languages. In total, 1,270 edits were made using the Capacity Exchange translation tool, and all contributors chose to log in with their Metabase accounts.

Building on this momentum, the CapX team is now working to incorporate this tool directly into the Capacity Directory. This integration will make translating and maintaining capacities even easier within the platform, helping contributors continue expanding multilingual access in a more seamless and sustainable way.

How You Can Help: Translating CapX Software and Documentation

The Capacity Exchange (CapX) is a platform designed by and for the Wikimedia Movement to support decentralized capacity building. It offers an open, free, and safe space for peer exchange, grounded in the understanding that the knowledge and skills needed to strengthen our communities already exist among Wikimedians. CapX helps map and connect people so they can support one another through shared capacities.

Developed in line with Wikimedia Brasil’s design and principles, CapX is mobile-first, accessible, and multilingual. The platform integrates with TranslateWiki, Metabase, and Wikidata, and uses Wikimedia’s unified login, making participation simple and inclusive across communities.

Linguistic equity, however, is an ongoing process. To ensure CapX remains accessible to all languages and communities, continued contributions are needed to translate, review, and improve its software and documentation.

Contributors who wish to join this effort can follow the how-to-translate guide on Meta or explore the event’s shared resources, including the video recording, presentation slides, and transcription available in English, French, Spanish, and Indonesian. These materials can support both experienced contributors and those new to translation on Wikimedia projects. Whether translating a single message or many, each contribution expands who can use, understand, and benefit from the platform.

More info about CapX

To really achieve its goals, Capacity Exchange needs to be used by and be useful to the Wikimedia Movement. Please, help us spread the word about it to your communities. To talk about anything about the tool, the team, or the project, you can reach us out at capx@wmnobrasil.org. We also have:

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