Diversity, Inclusion, and Creativity: The Team Challenges Experience at Wikimania 2026

A new format sparked curiosity at Wikimania 2026: the Team Challenges, a new pre-hackathon initiative designed to bring together people with different skills, experiences, interests, and both technical and non-technical backgrounds to collaborate around a shared challenge: creating and improving tools within the Wikimedia ecosystem in order to co-design the tools that diverse communities need.

As a pilot experience, this space explored new ways of building knowledge within the Wikimedia movement. More than a competition, it became a collaborative laboratory where diversity of perspectives was the main resource for developing new ideas.

It was in this context that Team 09S – Amériques was formed, bringing together participants from different countries who spent two intensive days working collaboratively on a proposal centered on the use and reuse of Wikidata queries through the Query Reuser tool.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the experience was that many team members had only ever met online. Some had never worked together before and came from very different Wikimedia communities. Yet that diversity ultimately became one of the team’s greatest strengths.

Different Experiences Create Better Ideas

Each participant arrived with different interests, skills, and backgrounds. Some had extensive experience developing tools; others had deep knowledge of Wikidata, programming, or translation. Some worked in cultural heritage, historical memory, environmental initiatives, or Indigenous languages, while others were participating in this type of collaborative space for the very first time.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the experience was seeing that these differences did not hinder collaboration. Instead, they expanded the possibilities for finding new solutions.

Conversations developed through active listening, the exchange of perspectives, and genuine curiosity about how each person’s experience could contribute to the shared challenge.

Activating Collective Knowledge

One of the greatest lessons from the experience was realizing that knowledge does not reside solely in tools or technical expertise. Its real value emerged when ideas began to connect.

A question raised from the perspective of one community found answers in the experience of another. A concern related to cultural heritage could be complemented by expertise in open data. A need connected to biodiversity revealed new possibilities within Wikidata. Gradually, the challenge stopped belonging to individuals and became a collective construction.

It became an exercise in co-creation where every contribution opened the door to new possibilities.

From Local Interests to a Shared Vision

Although participants approached the challenge from different perspectives, common themes quickly emerged: historical memory, history, cultural heritage, the environment, and the public domain.

These topics, deeply relevant across Latin America, began to stand out as priority areas where tools such as Query Reuser could enable new ways to reuse information, discover data, and strengthen Wikimedia projects. Rather than solving a single problem, the team started imagining possibilities that could benefit many different communities.

 Learning Through Diversity

Another especially valuable aspect of this gathering was seeing people with different levels of Wikimedia experience collaborate as equals.

For example, participants who were relatively new to the Wikimedia ecosystem brought questions that longtime contributors often no longer think to ask.

Likewise, more experienced Wikimedians helped broaden the discussion to an international perspective, demonstrating how an idea developed in Latin America could address needs shared by communities across the movement and in many different linguistic contexts.

Each contribution expanded the conversation. Diversity became more than a characteristic of the group, it became the driving force behind the creative process.

More Than a Product, an Experience

By the end of the sessions, the outcome was not just a technical proposal. It was also a network of people who now share common interests, new knowledge, and future opportunities for collaboration.

The ideas developed during these two days represent only a starting point, a prototype. Many are still in their early stages and will continue to grow through future conversations, partnerships, and community contributions.

Perhaps that is the greatest achievement of the Team Challenges: demonstrating that when people with different experiences come together around a shared purpose, collective knowledge finds new ways to flourish.

The Nzinga Award

Named in honor of Nzinga of Ndongo, the African queen, diplomat, and political leader, the team received the Nzinga Award, recognizing the group that most successfully fostered an environment conducive to collaboration among people with diverse experiences, Wikimedia and technical expertise, and community-based knowledge.