The EduWiki Hub marked its first session of the year with the January 2026 Knowledge Showcase on 22 January 2026, which aligned with the global celebration of Wikipedia’s 25th anniversary. The online gathering focused on reflections around open knowledge, education, and the people and practices that have contributed to Wikipedia’s development and impact over the past twenty-five years, and lasted for 90 minutes.
The session drew strong interest across the Wikimedia and education community, with 56 participants joining the session from Kosovo, Macedonia, Mexico, Iceland, India, Nigeria, Ghana, Serbia, England, Brazil, Bangladesh, Poland, Canada, Madagascar, Argentina, andSwitzerland.
Live interpretation in French, Spanish, and Portuguese supported wider participation and reinforced the EduWiki Hub’s commitment to accessibility and multilingual engagement.
Barakat Adegboye opened the Showcase with a brief introduction to the session, a reminder of the Friendly Space Policy, and an overview of the programme. The format of the event centered on a sequence of short presentations and creative contributions, rather than a single keynote, allowing multiple community voices to reflect on Wikipedia’s role in learning, teaching, and cultural documentation. Other hub staff members, Bukola James and Rita Maliqi, and volunteer, Rhoda James, supported the session with timekeeping and moderation of the chat.
The programme began with a short creative reflection by Ankit Kumar Verma from India, who reflected on twenty five years of open source collaboration and the values that continue to underpin Wikipedia’s growth while also highlighting the WikiTech Club project. His contribution set the tone for the session by connecting Wikipedia’s anniversary to the broader principles of openness and collective knowledge building.
The first main presentation was delivered by Florencia Claes of the InnovaWiki initiative at Rey Juan Carlos University in Spain. She shared the development of a collaboration network among university educators using Wikimedia projects in their teaching. Her presentation highlighted the importance of peer exchange, documentation of educational practice, and the creation of shared resources, alongside plans to publish a book and more video series and convene educators in Madrid later in 2026.
Another creative reflection followed, by Oby Ezeilo from Nigeria, who focused on Wikipedia’s evolution as an educational tool. Her contribution emphasized how engagement with Wikipedia supports skills development, critical thinking, and confidence among learners, particularly as they move from reading to active participation.
Creative reflection continued with a folk art documentation poem shared by Santhosh Notagar from India. His piece illustrated how cultural expression and storytelling can be preserved and shared through Wikimedia platforms, expanding the forms of knowledge represented online.
The second main presentation was given by Mamisoa Raveloaritiana from Madagascar, who spoke about the role of Wikipedia in supporting education and language visibility in Malagasy. She discussed challenges related to the digital presence of local languages and demonstrated how Wikimedia education programmes help students value their language, culture, and identity through knowledge contribution.
The final short reflection was from Adjoa Linda Fletcher , who introduced WikiExplorers, an initiative designed to make Wikipedia editing more approachable for young people. The project uses curated stories and personal reflections to reduce barriers to participation and encourage early engagement with knowledge creation.
The session concluded with a moderated question and answer segment, during which presenters responded to participant questions and reflections. Rita Maliqi also shared brief EduWiki Hub updates before closing remarks and acknowledgements were delivered by Rita Maliqi and Bukola James. A group photo marked the close of the session.
As Wikipedia marked its twenty-fifth year, the January EduWiki Knowledge Showcase created space for reflection on the platform’s impact while reinforcing the importance of continued community participation. The session followed a blog post published by the hub team on Wikimedia Diff as part of the Wikipedia @ 25 celebrations, which highlighted Five Ways to Use Wikipedia in Education. Contributions shared during the Showcase underscored that Wikipedia’s strength remains rooted in the educators, learners, and volunteers who sustain and expand open knowledge.
Get involved!
The EduWiki Hub invites you to be part of its initiatives:
Become a member of EduWiki: EduWiki Membership Registration
Register for the upcoming February Workshop on “Tips and Tricks for Using the Programs & Events Dashboard”: Event Page
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Watch the recordings of the Showcase here: English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
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