In October 2026, a new regional event will bring together Wikimedia communities and researchers from across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
Open Knowledge: Wikimedia & Research in the CEE Region will take place on 9-10 October 2026 in Katowice, Poland. The conference will be both in-person and online. Programme submissions and registration opens in May; scholarships for members of the CEE community will also be available.
Readers might remember Katowice as the city hosting Wikimania in 2024. The conference is co-organised by Wikimedia Poland and Wikimedia Ukraine, in collaboration with the University of Silesia, and with support from the CEE Hub. It is supported by a Conference Fund grant from Wikimedia Foundation.
Why research in the CEE Region?
CEE is a diverse region with active Wikimedia communities and strong academic traditions. At the same time, collaboration between these two worlds leaves a lot of space for development. For example, Wikipedia in local languages is less studied than the English Wikipedia. We also observe that the awareness and use of Wikidata by researchers is relatively low.
Both Wikimedia Poland and Wikimedia Ukraine are large chapters with active, experienced and committed communities. Still, they have limited presence in the Wikimedia research world. Both chapters are making efforts to change this locally: Wikimedia Ukraine organises regular research-themed events online and held a national research conference in November 2025 with about 80 participants. Wikimedia Poland includes open research subjects in their annual community conference “Wzlot”, where researchers present their work and take part in discussions with editors and volunteers. The conference builds on these experiences and expands them to regional level. We want to strengthen connections between researchers and Wikimedia communities in the region (and beyond).
What to expect?
The conference will connect researchers studying and using Wikimedia projects with the wider Wikimedia community in the CEE region. The programme will combine research presentations with practical sessions. Alongside talks and panels, we are planning workshops and interactive formats designed to support discussion and collaboration.
Topics that will be covered might include, for example, Wikimedia as a resource for open education; understanding the impact of AI on Wikimedia and the role of Wikimedia in AI development; studies of community dynamics, participation and decision making; studies using tools such as Wikidata.
It will be a space to exchange ideas, learn more about the newest Wikimedia research in the region, and find ways of working together.
Key information
When: 9-10 October 2026 (with satellite events on 8 October)
Where: Katowice, Poland
Format: In person and online
Languages: English, Polish, Ukrainian (translation across these three languages will be available).
Key dates (might be subject to slight changes)::
- Programme submissions: 1 May – 30 June
- Scholarship applications: 1 May – 24 May
- Regular registration (without programme submission): 1 May – 31 August
More details about the programme and speakers will be shared in the coming months. Please mark the date in your calendars and follow the Meta page for updates. You can also email the organising team at open.knowledge.cee@wikimedia.pl or Kasia Makowska from Wikimedia Poland at katarzyna.makowska@wikimedia.pl with any questions.
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