Although the Czech Republic is commemorating 25 years since the founding of Wikipedia throughout 2026, the main celebration took place on Friday, January 16, 2026. It was the largest social event of the Czech wiki community, featuring, among other things, a panel discussion with partners from universities, the opening of the annual photography competition Czech Wiki Photo, and performances by poets as part of Slam Poetry for Wikipedia.
Celebrating 25 Years of Wikipedia
The evening had an exceptionally festive atmosphere. It celebrated long-term cooperation with universities, presented a new series of outstanding photographs from the Czech Wiki Photo competition, and above all commemorated a remarkable milestone – 25 years of Wikipedia.
A quarter century of the world’s largest online encyclopedia represents an important milestone not only for the Czech community but also for the entire global Wikimedia movement. Wikipedia, which began with the simple idea of sharing knowledge openly and without barriers, has over the years grown into one of the largest educational projects in the history of the internet. Today it contains tens of millions of articles in hundreds of languages, created thanks to the work of hundreds of thousands of volunteer editors from around the world.
25 Wikidays
On the occasion of Wikipedia’s anniversary, Wikimedia Czech Republic Association launched its own initiative – the 25 Wikidays challenge. Inspired by the international concept #100wikidays, the challenge set participants a demanding task: to write one new article every day for a symbolic period of 25 days.
The marathon began on December 22, 2025, and concluded on January 15, 2026, exactly on Wikipedia’s 25th birthday. Participants therefore had to demonstrate a considerable level of determination and discipline, as they needed to maintain the writing pace even during the Christmas holidays and New Year’s celebrations, when most of the country is taking time off.
The results of this anniversary challenge exceeded expectations. Seventeen brave Wikipedians joined the writing effort, and sixteen of them successfully completed the marathon. Together, they created an impressive 424 new articles for the Czech Wikipedia.
Among the successful participants, who were ceremonially announced during the evening, were experienced editors, newcomers, as well as members of the senior community. In addition to material prizes, they also received a special medal and a sticker for their user page, commemorating their participation in the celebration of Wikipedia’s quarter-century milestone.
GLAM Discussion
The discussion dedicated to the role of universities in society opened the topic of cooperation between the academic environment and Wikimedia projects. Within their so-called third mission, universities can play a number of irreplaceable roles in society, and many institutions have already been fulfilling this role for a long time.
The panel discussion titled “The Third Mission of Universities, Open Science, and Wikimedia Projects” was attended by representatives of Charles University in Prague and Masaryk University in Brno. Other universities from both Bohemia and Moravia that had been invited ultimately did not participate.
The discussion highlighted several current trends, particularly the opening of universities to the broader public, the promotion of open science principles, and the involvement of volunteers from among students and academic staff in activities that benefit society. These include, for example, assistance during floods or support for the Ukrainian community in securing basic needs after their arrival in the Czech Republic.
Václav Cvrček, Vice-Dean for Research at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, emphasized the importance of actively involving students in Wikimedia projects. Students contribute to improving the quality of content in the largest Czech online encyclopedia and thereby help spread reliable and verified information.
Radka Římanová, Director of the Central Library of Charles University, also highlighted the key role of libraries and their involvement in international projects. Radim Polčák, Vice-Rector for Development, Legislation, and Information Technology at Masaryk University, pointed to the contribution universities make to the broader development of education in society. Daniela Vonbauer, Head of the university’s Volunteer Center, shared positive experiences with students who are interested in strengthening the university’s reputation through volunteering activities.
The absence of representatives from other universities led participants to consider creating a platform that would enable deeper involvement of universities in Wikimedia projects and the activities of the association. The most immediate plan is to renew cooperation with Masaryk University, which was previously a partner of Wikimedia Czech Republic Association and hosted a Wikimedian in Residence, Marek Blahuš.
Opening of the Czech Wiki Photo Exhibition
The evening also included a ceremonial opening and announcement of the results of the Czech Wiki Photo 2025 photography competition, attended by the photographers, members of the jury, and representatives of the community.
Czech Wiki Photo is the main photography competition on the Czech Wikipedia. Its aim is to recognize the best photographs taken in the Czech Republic that were uploaded under a free license to Wikimedia Commons during the past year. In this way, the competition not only supports high-quality photographic work but also expands the database of freely available images used in Wikipedia articles. The organizer of the competition is the Wikimedia Czech Republic Association.
The competition traditionally takes place in three categories – Nature, Man-made, and Society, Culture and Events – and each year the jury also selects the Best Newcomer.
The overall winner of this year’s edition was Lukáš Kött with a photograph of a kingfisher, which also won the Nature category, allowing him to defend his victory from the previous year. In the Man-made category, the winner was the photographer performing under the name Skot, with an image of the vault of the Church of Our Lady of the Snows in Prague, which impressed the jury with its sensitive capture of architectural detail.
In the Society, Culture and Events category, the winner was the photographer Svajcr with a photograph of the Masopust celebration in Roztoky near Prague, capturing the lively atmosphere of the traditional folk festival. The Newcomer of the Year title was awarded to Radek Satinský for his photograph of a greater flamingo.
The exhibition once again confirmed that Czech Wiki Photo is not only a competition but also an important platform for supporting free culture and high-quality visual content, enriching the Czech Wikipedia as well as other Wikimedia projects.
Traditional Wiki Slam Poetry
The highlight of the evening program was a performance by leading Czech slam poets, who prepared their contributions on the theme of Wikipedia. The entire evening was hosted by the slammer Dr. Filipitch, and performers included slam poets from across the Czech Republic and Moravia, among them Nikola Týčová (Tyč), Kateřina Suchanková (Katuna), and Vítězslav Adamec (aka Siegfried).
Conclusion
The Evening of Free Culture once again demonstrated that the community around Wikipedia—the movement of Wikipedians and Wikimedians—is vibrant and resilient, despite challenges posed by technology giants and so-called artificial intelligence. The human factor and the willingness to contribute to the development of the world’s largest online encyclopedia remain far more valuable than the ability to generate generic content of limited quality.
The celebrations of Wikipedia’s 25th anniversary also received significant media attention. The Executive Director of Wikimedia Czech Republic Association, Klára Joklová, and the Chair of the Association, Martin Urbanec, gave numerous interviews to national media, including television and radio, in connection with the anniversary. The topic was covered, for example, by the Czech Television programs Studio 6, Věda 24, Události a Newsroom ČT24, and Zprávičky , as well as by the program Akcent on Czech Radio Vltava. The anniversary of Wikipedia and the activities of Wikimedia Czech Republic Association were also reported by several online media outlets and newspapers, including Deník.cz, Chip.cz, Newstream.cz, Deník Referendum, and Rexlex.cz.
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