Wikimedia ESEAP Conference

The Wikimedia ESEAP Conference is the central regional gathering for communities across East, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. Since its first edition in 2018, it has provided a space where affiliates, user groups, and individual contributors can meet, share experiences, and strengthen collaboration across a region that is both geographically vast and culturally diverse. More than just a skills-building event, it has become a strategic forum where participants address shared challenges such as digital equity, language preservation, and sustainable governance, while also shaping the long-term vision of the ESEAP Hub. Each conference builds on the lessons of the past, ensuring continuity in dialogue and action while reflecting the evolving needs of the movement.

The Wikimedia ESEAP Conference 2026 will be the fourth regional conference and will take place from 15 to 17 May 2026 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It carries the theme “New Era of ESEAP: Pioneer the Future Together!”, a call to action that reflects the region’s readiness to step into a new phase of collaboration and leadership within the global Wikimedia Movement. Around 150 participants are expected to attend, supported by 100 scholarships, with professional live interpretation provided to ensure accessibility across the region’s many languages. The program will focus on the future of the ESEAP Hub, capacity building for communities, governance and technical development, and cross-cultural exchanges that highlight the diversity of projects and advocacy efforts in the region.

By convening in Kaohsiung, a city known for its openness and cultural vitality, the 2026 conference will symbolize the region’s commitment to pioneering new models of collaboration while grounding its work in the lived realities of its communities. It will build on the momentum of the 2024 conference in Kota Kinabalu and the 2025 ESEAP Strategy Summit in Manila, ensuring that the conversations and commitments made in earlier gatherings are carried forward into concrete action. In this way, the Wikimedia ESEAP Conference 2026 is not only a milestone for the region but also a defining moment in shaping the future of the Wikimedia Movement as a whole.