Revitalizing UK History, Series 2: Expanding Multilingual Access on Wikidata

By Josef Anthony

As Wikipedia clocks its 25th year, the question is not only how much knowledge we have built – but how accessible that knowledge truly is across languages.

In late 2025, Revitalizing UK History, Series 2: Multilingual Expansion brought together volunteers from different language communities to strengthen the representation of underrepresented UK historical figures on Wikidata — not just in English, but across multiple languages.

Building on Momentum

The first phase of Revitalizing UK History focused on enriching structured data for overlooked figures. Series 2 went a step further: making that data more accessible through multilingual descriptions and improved structured entries.

Through a hybrid session on 29 November 2025 and a fully online workshop on 17 January 2026, participants learned how Wikidata supports multilingual knowledge and how better descriptions improve discoverability, infoboxes, and cross-language visibility.

A Truly Multilingual Effort

Editors worked on expanding descriptions across a diverse range of languages, including Welsh, Scots, Cornish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, French, and Spanish.

This cross-regional focus strengthened multilingual access while connecting different communities through shared structured data work.

This approach helps:

• Strengthen data consistency across Wikimedia projects
• Improve visibility of UK heritage globally
• Support smaller language communities through structured data

Measurable Impact

The project was tracked through the Outreach Dashboard:

https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Wikimedia_UK/Revitalizing_UK_History_2,_Multilingual_Expansion/home

By the close of the project, the dashboard recorded:

• Active contributors from multiple language communities
• Hundreds of edits across selected items
• Significant growth in multilingual descriptions

Learning and Quality

As with any multilingual editing sprint, quality control was essential. Post-event review ensured that:

• Descriptions followed Wikidata formatting standards
• Machine translation was not used without verification
• Edits aligned with community norms

This emphasis on quality reinforces that expanding access must go hand-in-hand with maintaining data integrity.

Strengthening Collaboration

The project also demonstrated the power of cross-community collaboration. Promotion through UK language networks and international Wikimedia channels helped attract participants beyond a single region.

By integrating Indigenous UK languages alongside African languages, the project built meaningful bridges between communities and highlighted how structured data can serve diverse audiences.

Looking Ahead

Revitalizing UK History, Series 2 shows that multilingual accessibility is not a secondary feature of Wikidata _ it is central to knowledge equity.

As Wikipedia continues toward its 25th anniversary, strengthening the connection between languages and structured data remains one of the most impactful ways we can future-proof the movement.

Thank you to all volunteer editors and partners who contributed to this effort.

Special thanks to all volunteer editors who contributed to this project

Knowledge grows stronger when it grows in many languages.


Thanks & Credits

Project Lead: Josef Anthony

Workshop Facilitators & Support: Wikimedia UK Team

Key Tool Support: Outreach Dashboard tracking & community Telegram groups