15th Wikiconference in Ukraine — 130+ participants in a time of war

Wikimedia Ukraine’s annual Wikiconference has united the Ukrainian community each year since 2011. The 2025 edition, held in October, attracted more than 130 participants across three cities and online — the biggest number ever. We are glad to present a short recap of how it happened.

Four conferences in one

Since 2021, Wikimedia Ukraine has split its annual Wikiconference into multiple events, online and offline. Initially, due to the pandemic, and now because of the Russian invasion, many Ukrainians are abroad, serving in the Armed Forces, or are unable to travel. To make the conference inclusive, we organize a separate online-only event on a different weekend with its own program, since running a fully hybrid event with equal experiences for online participants is too complex and costly, even with live-streaming.

In 2025, the Wikiconference consisted of four events:

• Online conference on October 4th-5th
• The main offline conference in Kyiv on October 11th-12th
• A smaller conference in Kharkiv on October 18th
• A smaller conference in Poltava on October 19th

Each of the two main events — the online conference and the Kyiv gathering — attracted roughly 70 people. Kharkiv hosted 16 participants and Poltava 23. With some people attending more than one event, we still reached at least 132 confirmed unique participants, though the real number is likely higher because not all online viewers were captured.

Including speakers across all events, 40 people were involved in organizing the conference, with the core organizing team consisting of 12 people — 5 volunteers and 7 staff members.

“There are not many professional event organizers among us, but every year, Wikiconference keeps getting better — you can see that our level is growing. This year we had a rich program, a high-quality online stream for the second year in a row, and we are paying more and more attention to making our events dynamic and engaging, while also ensuring convenient logistics. It was especially important to honor the Wikimedians who were killed defending Ukraine — thanks to them, we were able to gather for the fifteenth Wikiconference, and we can continue developing free knowledge in the Ukrainian language overall”, — said Anton Protsiuk, Programs Coordinator at Wikimedia Ukraine and a member of the Wikiconference organizing team.

In 2025, we also looked for the best logo for Wikiconference 2025, which would serve as the visual symbol of the conference, used in public communications and printed on souvenirs. Overall, we received 31 logo submissions from 8 users and selected one winning design.

All participants of the offline events received a souvenir set with the conference branding on site, and online participants who did not attend in person could receive it by mail after submitting the feedback form on time.

Online conference: 70+ people, two days

The online edition was held on the weekend of October 4–5 and included 26 sessions, 7 of which were presented by invited international speakers.

The international part of the Wikiconference online has become a good tradition — feedback from last year showed that the experiences of other Wikimedia communities and perspectives from international speakers are interesting and relevant topics. This year’s program featured: Klara Joklova (Wikimedia Czech Republic), Remy Gerbet (Wikimedia France), Daria Cybulska (Wikimedia UK), Barbara Klen (Wikimedia CEE Hub), Asaf Bartov (Wikimedia Foundation), Viktoria Doronina (Wikimedia Foundation), and user Gikü (Wikimedians of Romania and Moldova User Group).

In addition, speakers from Ukraine shared insights on using AI for Wikipedia editing, developing Ukrainian Wikipedia, and running wiki projects and contests. Participants also had opportunities for online networking — we held an interactive introduction session where everyone could speak in groups and reflect on their experiences with engaging in wiki projects.

• The full program in English
• Speakers’ presentations on Wikimedia Commons

Conference in Kyiv: almost 70 people from across Ukraine

Traditionally, the main event has happened in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city, and in 2025, we gathered a record 67 participants from across Ukraine — the highest number since the start of the full-scale invasion.

This year’s program was as diverse as possible: during two days, speakers delivered 30 presentations, ranging from lightning talks on AI in Wikipedia and team building through WikiArt to stories about Ukrainians’ experiences at international conferences and technical aspects of Wikipedia you might not have known about. We even had an international speaker on-site.

While the event was primarily in person, a high-quality YouTube livestream allowed even more people to join remotely.

A new feature at the Wikiconference 2025 was the exchange table — a good tradition at international conferences that we decided to introduce here as well. Participants brought items connected to their regions or simply things they wanted to share with others. At another table, we placed postcards, brochures, and other handout materials that anyone could take. We also set up a small memorial stand where, throughout the day, everyone could stop by to honor the memory of Wikipedians who were killed defending Ukraine and read their stories via a QR code.

During the lunch break on the first day, in addition to informal networking, everyone was welcome to join the WikiWomen Lunch, where Wikipedian Kateryna Kifa presented the WikiWomen meeting at Wikimania 2025.

• Photos from the Kyiv event on Wikimedia Commons
• Speakers’ presentations on Wikimedia Commons

Poltava conference: the first Wikiconference in the city

In Poltava, at the Kotliarevskyi Poltava Regional Library, Wikiconference was held for the first time in the event’s history, bringing together 23 Wikimedians from the Poltava region to meet, share experience, and plan the community’s future work. Seven speakers delivered nine presentations, covering topics ranging from the Poltava region and its heritage on Wikipedia and wiki contests to copyright and the use of wiki projects in professional activities.

Before the conference itself began, the conference organizers held a wiki walk titled “The German colony in Poltava,” led by architecture scholar and Poltava native Artur Aroian. 

• More about the conference in Poltava (in Ukrainian)

Kharkiv conference: a meetup in a bomb shelter

As part of the Wikiconference, a local meetup was held in Kharkiv for the Wikimedia community of the Kharkiv region. 16 participants joined, and six of them gave eight presentations, ranging from lightning talks to discussions on the challenges and opportunities of local content.

Even under continuous Russian attacks and its location near the border, Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, maintains an active Wikimedia community and finds solutions on how to hold effective annual meetups.

• A detailed report on Wikiconference 2025 is available on the page (in Ukrainian).
• Read about the Ukrainian Wikiconference in 2024 (in English).