2025:Hackathon/Pre-Conference
Wikimania@20: Inclusivity . Impact . Sustainability .
The Wikimania 2025 Hackathon Pre-Conference is a focused day designed to onboard, inspire, and empower newcomers and returning contributors to dive into the Wikimedia tech space. Whether you're a developer, designer, translator, or curious Wikimedian, this day will give you a head start before the main Hackathon begins.
Come with your laptops, questions, and curiosity and let’s build the future of free knowledge together!
- Date: August 5th, 2025
- Venue: Trademark Hotel, Nairobi-Kenya
- Room Name: TURKANA, First Floor
Pre-Conference Day
| Time | Session Block | Duration | Topic / Activity | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Block 1 | 30 mins | Breakfast & Informal Meet-and-Greet Start the day by networking with fellow contributors over light breakfast and coffee. | |
| 09:30 – 10:30 | 60 mins | Onboarding to Wikimedia Codex A deep dive into the design system that powers Wikimedia’s modern interface with hands-on demos and implementation tips. Please add your notes for this session here |
JSengupta-WMF Joris Darlington Quarshie BMartinezCalvo (WMF) Note taker: Gopa Vasanth | |
| 10:30 – 12:30 | 120 mins | Language Tools at Wikimedia Discover how Wikimedia supports multilingualism and gain hands on experience through learning by doing of key tools supporting translation and localisation. Please add your notes for this session here |
UOzurumba (WMF) | |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | 60 mins | |||
| 13:30 – 14:30 | Block 2 | 60 mins | Setting Up Your MediaWiki Environment Step-by-step walkthrough for getting your local dev setup running. Ideal for newcomers. Please add your notes for this session here |
Eugene233 VALENTIN NVJ |
| 14:30 – 15:30 | 60 mins | Wikimedia Design Clinic Open design session, come ask questions, get design feedback, or learn how to use Codex in your projects in the Wikimedia ecosystem. Please add your notes for this session here |
JSengupta-WMF Doğu Abaris BMartinezCalvo (WMF) | |
| 15:30 – 15:45 | 15 mins | |||
| 15:45 – 17:00 | Block 3 | 75 mins | Getting Started with Wikimedia’s Language Tech contributions
|
Jon Harald Søby |
| 17:15 – 19:00 | 75 mins | Snacks, Drinks & Indoor Strategy Games Relax after a productive day! Meet others, form teams, and have fun with games that test your collaboration skills. |
OOnifade-WMF Joris Darlington Quarshie | |
Who Should Attend?
- New developers, designers, and tech enthusiasts new to Wikimedia.
- Long-time contributors looking for opportunities.
- Community members passionate about localization, design, and dev setup.
- Anyone excited about making Wikimedia projects more inclusive and powerful.
What You’ll Gain
- A working development environment and access to tools
- Clear understanding of where you can contribute in Wikimedia Tech
- New connections and potential teammates for the main Hackathon
- Early access to some of the most exciting projects at Wikimania 2025
Main Hackathon Days Schedule
For the main hackathon days please click to view the main conference schedule.