Earlier this year, we shared the first round of approved Wikimedia community conferences under the Conference & Event Fund 2025–2026, which include gatherings for Indigenous communities, language preservation activists and researchers interested in the Wikimedia movement.
Today, we’re excited to share the next set of conferences that have been approved for funding and support by the Wikimedia Foundation and the Conference Support Committee.
By supporting these 15 strategic, diverse and critical convenings almost 1800 Wikimedians will connect in 2026 & 2027. These conferences continue to reflect what makes the Wikimedia movement strong: people coming together to share knowledge, build relationships, and shape the future of free knowledge. And most importantly, celebrate the joy of contributing to Wikimedia projects.
As noted in the Wikimedia Foundation’s Annual Plan, this is a time of urgency and focus for Wikimedia projects, we are seeing certain global trends, and the Internet and information ecosystem continues to change rapidly. AI is a transformative force on the internet, along with new ways that young generations consume information, and increasing scrutiny from governments and regulations. Hence, these convenings offer a safe, open and dedicated space for our Wikimedians to convenue, collaborate and co-create the future of our movement.
Regional Conferences
Regional conferences create opportunities for communities to connect across borders, share challenges, and learn from one another.
After a long gap, the community in Latin America will come together in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia to strengthen regional collaboration and advance work around knowledge equity and local content, through the Latin America Wikimedia Conference 2026, hosted by Wikimedistas de Bolivia User Group.
In Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) contributors will continue the strong tradition of cross-regional learning and partnership-building through the Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2026, hosted by Wikimedians of Romania and Moldova User Group.
Moving to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, we will once again bring together African Wikimedians to focus on capacity building, leadership, and amplifying the Africa agenda during WikiIndaba 2026 hosted by the Wikimedia Community User Group Côte d’Ivoire.
Finally in Osaka, Japan, the ESEAP Summit 2027 will bring together a strategic gathering of community leaders and the ESEAP Hub to support coordination across a diverse and growing set of communities, hosted by the Wikimedians of Japan User Group.
These spaces are especially important as the movement works to sustain and grow participation. Bringing people together regionally helps build trust, strengthen networks, and boost long-term collaboration.
Thematic Conferences
Alongside regional gatherings, thematic conferences create space to go deeper on topics that matter across the movement.
Montreal, Canada, will host the first ever Queering Wiki Conference 2026 that aims to bring together the LGBT+ Wiki community and focus on boosting knowledge and content production, reduce knowledge gaps on Queer topics and focus on future Governance and Organization related topics. Hosted together by Wikimedia LGBT and Wikimedia Canada.
Hyderabad, India, will host a very interesting convening under the Open Knowledge Conference 2026 which aims to bring together those who lead shaping future technology, in service of open knowledge, digital collaboration, and shared public infrastructure. Hosted by Open Knowledge Initiatives, International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad.
Lastly, the Oulu Löyly – Open culture think & do fest in Oulu, Finland, will bring attention to Indigenous knowledge and cultural preservation, creating space for dialogue and collaboration around documenting and sharing underrepresented knowledge systems. This will be hosted by AvoinGLAM.
Supporting Language Communities
This round also includes conferences focused on growing language communities, an essential part of advancing knowledge equity.
After a long hiatus, the Hindi Wikipedia Conference 2026 will bring together contributors to strengthen collaboration, share strategies for growth, and address challenges in content and community development in Delhi, India. Hosted by the Hindi Wikimedians User Group.
Similarly, the Bangla WikiConference 2026 will continue to further their impact from the last conference and bring together contributors working across Bangla Wikimedia projects, with a focus on building capacity and expanding participation. Hosted by Wikimedia Bangladesh Foundation.
Looking ahead
Each of these conferences represents a community-led effort to come together, learn from one another, and build something stronger. They also reflect broader movement priorities: supporting volunteers, strengthening collaboration, and responding to the changing ways people engage with knowledge.
Wikimedia Foundation’s Commitment to Safe and Secure Convenings
All proposals went through a rigorous review process by Wikimedia Foundation staff and volunteers from the Conference Support Committee. The Wikimedia Foundation remains committed to providing structured support for community organizers, including advice on program design and development, and, especially for larger events, direct booking of travel, accommodation, and venues.
We are working closely with all organizers on shared practices around choosing conference locations, venues and other measures to boost participant safety and security. Note: If you are interested in submitting a proposal please get in touch with us and we will be happy to collaborate on building the proposal/budget together; please email us at conferencegrants@wikimedia.org. If you are interested in learning more about the Conference & Event Fund, you can find detailed information on Meta.
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