2025:Program/Language Technical Track at Wikimania Hackathon

Session title: Language Technical Track at Wikimania Hackathon

Session type: Workshop - 85 minutes

Track: Hackathon

Language: en

Develop an understanding of internationalization and localisation principles, tools, and best practices for creating multilingual software like MediaWiki, which can be adapted to various regions and cultures. Gain hands-on experience with open-source contributions, including making changes, submitting patches, and collaborating with other contributors on platforms like Gerrit and GitHub.

Description

The Language Technical track at Wikimania Hackathon will focus on addressing language-specific technical requests across various Wikimedia projects to support new and existing language communities. Some of the requests will involve adding languages from projects (e.g., Translatewiki, MediaWiki core), adding font and keyboard support for languages, Translatewiki, and other miscellaneous language-related configuration changes such as Namespaces, Message fixes and many more.

Tasks will be groomed and curated from various language related boards. We will the share task ideas, onboard volunteers to find code repositories, submit patches, assist them with code reviews, and merging. Join us and make language related technical contributions!

How does your session relate to the event theme, Wikimania@20 – Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability?

Language communities, particularly small ones, often lack enough tech-savvy volunteers to address technical challenges for themselves and their communities. There are only a few contributors who know how to handle this work, and it can be overwhelming for them to address all the technical needs of a community. This session provides an opportunity for volunteer and developers to get started in Language tech volunteering through code contributions. Participants will be equipped with the skills they need to address technical requests and enhancing longer term sustainability in resolving technical requests. Participants will develop an understanding of internationalization and localisation principles, tools, and best practices for creating multilingual software like MediaWiki, which can be adapted to various regions and cultures hence enhancing inclusivity

What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?

Everyone can participate in this session

Speakers

• mmunyoki

Mary Munyoki is a Manager in the Language and Product Localisation team, I manage the Language onboarding and Development initiative. https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Language_Onboarding_and_Development .This initiative entails managing interventions and engagements needed to support multilingual tools and workflows to help Language communities primarily new ones and those with a smaller presence on our platform ones to keep them moving towards their goals.