Sharing Experience and Strengthening Ties: Wikimedia Georgia at Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2025

We, the Georgian Wikimedia Community and the volunteer editors of Georgian-language projects, are part of a larger regional family — the Wikimedia of Central and Eastern Europe. This community includes all Wikimedia affiliates and communities in the region, extending from the Czech Republic in the west to Azerbaijan in the east. Since 2022, the Wikimedia communities in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) have also joined this region due to their linguistic and socio-cultural ties.

Since 2012, the region has had a sustainable platform in the form of an annual conference aimed at sharing and exchanging ideas and experiences. The first conference, the Wikimedia CEE Meeting, was held in 2012 in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, and was attended by around 45 volunteer editors from approximately 17 countries of the region. Since then, the conference has been held annually in different countries of the region by a local Wikimedia organization with financial support from the Wikimedia Foundation. In September 2023, the conference was hosted in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, by Wikimedia Georgia.

In 2025, the Wikimedia CEE Meeting took place in Thessaloniki, Greece, on September 26–28. Seven delegates represented Wikimedia Georgia, marking a record number of participants for the Georgian Wikimedia community at this conference. Their attendance was made possible by scholarships from Wikimedia Georgia and the Wikimedia Foundation.

Over three days, the meeting was held in parallel sessions, with more than 70 presentations. The sessions covered topics such as sharing experiences, education, diversity, collaboration, technology, and community engagement. At the conference, Wikimedia Georgia shared its experience organizing WikiCamps in Georgia and involving teachers and students.

The delegates of Wikimedia Georgia also wrote reports about their conference experience and shared their impressions. One of Wikimedia Georgia’s delegates, and now a member of the organization’s Board of Trustees, Mimoza Gholijashvili, emphasized the importance of holding such in-person conferences:

“One of the most important components of any international meeting, including a Wikimedia Conference, turned out to be human relationships. This is the element that goes beyond formal sessions and brings the community to life. In my observation, a large part of Wikipedians have an introverted nature, and that is precisely why the CEE Meeting became a rare opportunity for getting to know one another, speaking face-to-face, and sharing experiences.”

Another thought was written by Beka Baiashvili, now the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Wikimedia Georgia and one of the organization’s delegates at the conference. He was especially interested in technical topics and gained new skills in this area:

“Among the conference topics, I was particularly interested in the technical sessions. For example, I learned about a tool that can automatically add categories in Wikipedia (and not only there). For me, as an experienced Wikipedian, this was a major discovery. I was so impressed by the tool that I even recorded a YouTube video about it in Georgian for Georgian Wikipedians.”

Beka’s experience is already helping editors of the Georgian-language Wikipedia, who are actively using the tool he introduced in their work.

Mariam Amilakhvari also shared her impressions; she is likewise a member of Wikimedia Georgia’s Board of Trustees. The 2025 CEE Meeting was Mariam’s second regional gathering. For her, the meeting was especially important because it gave her the opportunity to both gain new knowledge and deepen relationships with Wikimedians from across the region. She notes:

“Over the three days, the sessions and workshops covered a wide variety of topics: from the development of Wikipedia and the promotion of free knowledge to Wikimedia strategy, education, and technical innovation.”

Overall, this meeting became one of the most productive events of 2025 for Wikimedia Georgia. The organization was represented by the largest possible number of delegates, who successfully presented the Georgian Wikimedia community on the regional stage. The meeting also proved productive for both the participants and the local editors of Wikimedia projects.

Wikimedia Georgia will continue its active participation in regional meetings and, for this purpose, will continue offering scholarships to members of the local Wikimedia community.

Reports from participants:

• Mimoza Gholijashavili report;
• Beka Baiashvili report;
• Mariam Amilakhvari report.