From January 15 to 25, Ukraine held its traditional annual Wikimarathon. This year’s campaign was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Wikipedia.
Over the course of ten days, participants from different regions of Ukraine, as well as Ukrainians currently living abroad, created new articles, learned how to edit Wikipedia, and connected with the community.
Despite Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, prolonged power outages — sometimes lasting up to 20 hours per day — and unstable internet access, local organizers conducted dozens of events in various formats: from offline workshops in libraries and educational spaces to online meetings.
For Ukraine, Wikimarathon is more than an article-writing campaign. It is about in-person gatherings, supporting newcomers, developing critical thinking skills, and collaboratively improving high-quality content in the Ukrainian language. In wartime, it is also about information resilience and maintaining Ukraine’s cultural presence in the global digital space.
Results of Wikimarathon 2026:
- 642 new articles created
- 37 offline events held in Ukraine and abroad
- 6 webinars conducted
- 506 participants joined offline events
- 237 participants took part in online activities
Participants creating an article at a “Point of Invincibility” (a public shelter providing heat, electricity, and internet during prolonged power outages) in Poltava region, Ukraine.
This year, Wikimarathon brought together participants across 14 regions of Ukraine — from Zakarpattia in the west to Kharkiv region in the east — as well as Ukrainian communities in Poland, Italy, and Switzerland. A symbolic telebridge between Switzerland and Ukraine also took place, highlighting the unity of the community across borders.
Тематика новостворених статей була надзвичайно різноманітною. Серед них були статті про вуличних котів Стамбула, озеро Бережисте у Волинській області України, народ бідаюх у Малайзії, дифракційні сплески від небесних тіл, замок Сезімбра в Португалії та багато інших.
A tradition since 2014
WikiFlashMobs (later renamed Wikimarathons) have been organized annually by the NGO Wikimedia Ukraine since 2014.
The idea of launching the first WikiFlashMob in Ukrainian Wikipedia was among the initiatives proposed by Ihor Kostenko — a Wikipedia contributor and participant of the Revolution of Dignity. In February 2014, he was killed during the shootings of protesters in Kyiv and became one of the “Heavenly Hundred” — more than one hundred activists who were killed during the protests for Ukraine’s democratic and European future.
His legacy continues to inspire the Ukrainian Wikipedia community.
Більше деталей про Вікімарафон 2026:
https://w.wiki/HMV5
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