As Wikipedia turned 25 on 15 January 2026, the year of celebrations started all around the (wiki-)globe! Volunteers and staff from all language communities and Wikimedia organisations are commemorating the birthday of Wikipedia, the largest educational project in human history.
Celebrations starting in Poland
Last Friday, on 23 January 2026, an official Wikipedia Birthday Party in Warsaw kicked off a year of celebration in Poland, which will culminate on 26 September 2026, the day Polish Wikipedia turns 25.
Knowledge is human – Wikipedia is human
Nearly 265,000 volunteers edit Wikipedia every month. These Wikimedians support the Sum of Human Knowledge in more than 340 languages, making more than 324 contributions per second. Editors donate their free time to make sure that the knowledge gathered on the Wikimedia project is reliable, updated, neutral and free from vandalism. Grzegor Kopaczewski, Executive Director of Wikimedia Polska focused on the mission of Wikipedia and on how the Wikimedia Movement carries the modern torch of enlightenment.
The 25th birthday is a natural point to reflect on the past quarter of a century and the achievements of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Movement. Dariusz Jemielniak, former Wikimedia Foundation Trustee, delivered a keynote speech focusing on the evolution of Wikipedia during its past and the challenges it needs to overcome to thrive in its future. A panel of experts discussed the changing technological scene and how disinformation and regulation impact Wikimedia projects and their volunteers. The panel was led by Magdalena M. Baran, PhD (editor in chief of Liberté!); the participants were Alek Tarkowski, PhD (board member of Wikimedia Europe), Maia Mazurkiewicz (CEO of Fundacja PZU and co-founder of Alliance4Europe) and Diana Koziarska (Managing Partner of Smok Ventures).
A time for celebration
Birthdays are a cause for celebration and a great moment to cherish the Wikimedia volunteers who spend their free time contributing to Wikipedia. During the event, we focused on thanking the whole Movement and the Polish community for the past 25 years of work. While it is impossible to thank all 250,000 volunteers, a few of them received an honourable mention for their contribution to the Wikimedia Movement – Natalia Szafran-Kozakowska and Szymon Grabarczuk. Piotr Gackowski (User:PMG), the most active Polish Wikipedia editor who made more than 375,000 contributions, made the first cut to the Wiki cake!
(not pictured: Jolanta Drzewakowska, Dariusz Jemielniak and Alek Tarkowski)
Looking forward to the year of celebrations
January marks the beginning of the year of celebrations. Wikimedia language communities and Wikimedia organisations from all around the (wiki-)globe will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Wikipedia for the entire year 2026. Polish Wikipedia turns 25 in September; mark your calendars and watch out for celebrations!
The event was organised by the Wikimedia Foundation, with support from PKO Bank Polski and Wikimedia Polska.
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