Wikimania:Expressions of Interest/2029/Wikimania Open Movement

The Atomium, Brussels' most popular tourist attraction. What are Wikimedia and the other open movement actors, if not fundamental building blocks of our society - just like the various components of the atom?

Expression of interest: Wikimania Open Movement

Abstract/description

What

Wikimania Open Movement is a global event of the open movement that invites all institutions, groups and events that already focus on the "open" (meaning, everything from free/libre software to open licenses/data/science/government, and more) to gather and collaborate together.

This proposal calls on Wikimania Open Movement to grow and connect with all open communities, showcasing to the world the strength and international scope of our open movement. Wikimania will take place in the week from 29 January to 4 February 2029 in Brussels, Belgium. This timing intentionally syncs with FOSDEM, an international annual event with over 10'000 participants from the open source community, and we are currently inviting other open communities from open education, science, government, and advocacy to organise their events in Brussels in the same week: this will not be an event about "free software"!

Wikimania Open Movement takes place in Brussels, as a relevant location to organise a global event about the value of international collaborations among the entire open movement. It would be the first time that such a large international event is organised in cooperation with many communities in a period in which we need to stress the importance of participatory projects at a global scale. We present objectives at length in a dedicated section, which also features a table in which we describe how we envision the connections and interactions of the various topics.

Who

Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects are a beacon of transparent and collaborative knowledge creation and open accessibility in a digital ecosystem that is increasingly based on obscure algorithms and proprietary infrastructures. Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects also stand out for their popularity amongst the general public, the scientific world and institutional actors. They can therefore play a key role in promoting a culture of transparency, accountability and openness which is paramount for the democratic well-being of contemporary societies. Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects can become the driver of a strengthened, strategically coordinated open movement: Wikimania Open Movement will be the event that brings together Wikimania as well as volunteers, activists, scholars promoting open principles in the production and access of knowledge - e.g. cultural, institutional, scientific content and data, and software: Wikimania Open Movement aims to foster collaboration, strategic common action, and impact.

Stakeholders

Using the definition of Open Future, the open movement consists of people, communities, and organizations who (1) contribute to shared resources online that are available for everyone to use and reuse, (2) and/or advocate for non-exclusive access and use of information resources.

Please find a comprehensive list of stakeholders on Meta.

How

The "Wikimania Open Movement" event will be run as a federated model, where the open movement's leading events, such as Wikimania, FOSDEM, MozFest, CC Summit, State of the Map, OEGlobal, etc., would be held simultaneously, in the same city, at the same time (preferably in nearby venues). Each participating event, including Wikimania 2029, will retain its specific identity: their programs, focuses, and community attendance will be managed by their respective organisations.

The "Wikimania Open Movement" event will consist in the coordination of a "super event", a track of scheduled talks that spans the relevance of the Open Movement and binds all the participating events together. There is also the opportunity for a collaborative communications campaign.

Structure of the programme

The Wikimania Open Movement event aims to address a wide number of topics. The event addresses, with different approaches and formats, active members of the open movement and the general public. A communication campaign, as mentioned, needs to be specifically tailored to communicate the global open movement, its vision, projects and communities.

We believe this Wikimania will give the Wikimedia movement and the other actors of the open movement the perfect opportunity to tackle these topics together:

• Digital democracy, digital rights;
• Privacy, misuse of data, digital sovereignty, transparency;
• Humans and machines;
• Access to knowledge;
• Creativity and innovation;
• Contribution to sustainability and to fighting climate change;
• Inclusion, diversity, care principles. "What" is open and "for whom";
• Public benefit (vs. products).

Among other topics, for the "Wikimania Open Movement" event we would like to emphasise the value of:

• Open licenses and tools which do not restrict commercial reuse and derivative works.
• The use of tools, products, services and infrastructures based on open and free software.
• Processes of engagement of volunteers which consider issues related to inclusion, diversity, privacy and produce resources made available with the "share-alike" principle.
• No additional restrictions on content under the public domain or not covered by copyright; data in CC0.

If you like the idea, express your support for Wikimania Open Movement.

FAQ

Motivations behind the current proposal

• Why showcase Wikimania in a global event. We have been talking for many years to make a joint open event, we already tested many important and relevant collaborations and now is an important time to produce such a collaborative global event.
• Why a large scale event with more than 10'000 participants. Wikimedia is part of something much larger than just the Wikimedia projects. We need to show the world that collectively, the open movement (in our case, Wikimedia), is big and mainstream. The world already relies on the open movement, it just doesn't realize it. The open is where the world is going or where the world can go: it is an important and central working direction, and it is a vision which already involves many people and institutions. Creating a collaborative, large-scale event is a way to state, show and communicate to a large audience the value of what we do and our mainstream position.
• Why something different. This is an experiment: if it is successful, then we could think about replicating it, like every 4 years or something. In any case, we do not aim to centralise all open events every year, because communities also need dedicated gatherings and they need to have their own spaces to discuss their specific and community-relevant topics. It is also healthy to allow Wikimania to transform itself, to test new working directions, to reflect on what is most useful and relevant for the movement and to work to have the greatest impact, not only in the moment but also in the world.
• Why 2029. 2029 allows sufficient time to communicate the proposal and invite, involve and collaborate with as many institutions, groups and events as possible. We have already started working on the event and its communities.
• Why FOSDEM in Brussels (Belgium) in February. Because FOSDEM is currently the largest conference focusing on the open. It already involves over 10'000 participants. FOSDEM has already confirmed its support for the idea and the event. The collaboration with FOSDEM would also make realistic the idea of producing a large scale event with over 10'000 participants. You can read a Diff article about FOSDEM and listen to the audio by its technical team to learn more about how the event is produced.

Answers for the current call

Where are you proposing Wikimania be held?

This may be a city, country, or region.

Brussels can boast multiple jewels belonging to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list: Grand-Place, Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta, Stoclet House, the Sonian Forest (clockwise).

We are nominating Brussels, the capital of Belgium and, due to its international importance (it hosts the headquarters of NATO, the European Parliament, and more), also de facto considered the "capital" of the European Union. As many politicians, diplomats etc. need to be there, it's no wonder that it's very easy to reach, with direct flights, high-speed trains and more, from most continents.

• Brussels is a popular tourist destination (almost 10M overnight stays in 2024), the leading city in the world for international meetings, and thousands of international associations are headquartered there. What this means is that the city's convention bureau, hotel capacity, and catering infrastructure are permanently calibrated to accommodate thousands of people, something FOSDEM has stress-tested multiple times already.
• Belgium is in the top 20 safest countries of the world according to the Global Peace Index 2025, with security infrastructure and emergency protocols routinely tested by NATO summits, European Council meetings, gatherings of heads of state, etc.
• Belgium is multilingual (Dutch, French, and German being the official languages, with English widely used in Brussels for business and touristic reasons) and multicultural, with over 1 person in 3 having a foreign background.
• Belgium is LGBTQ+ friendly: the country is constantly on top of ILGA-Europe rankings, with Brussels Pride being so important it has been added to the region's Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
• Brussels hosts a variety of religious communities;
• Brussels is accessible, according to its tourism website, "with lifts in metro stations, floor guidance, audible signals at pedestrian crossings, adapted taxis and assistance in the metro and train. It is constantly improving access to transport, services, recreation and housing. Many hotels, restaurants, shops, attractions, museums and cultural sites have adapted their facilities [...]".

Who is putting forward the proposal?

If a regional collaboration, what groups are involved? Who has been consulted and how have they been consulted?

The proposal of a Wikimania Open Movement event was launched during Wikimania 2024 in Katowice. The first discussion was among Iolanda Pensa, Isla Haddow Flood and Valerio Bozzolan. The proposal was then presented to many people during Wikimania to collect feedback and to check interest and potential feasibility; it was proposed to active members of the Wikimedia movement, to some members of the board of Creative Commons, to Wikimedia Europe, to members of the Wikimedia movement who are also active the open source communities and tech activities. We received positive feedback from many people, and other people have already helped us identify risks and possible threats.

Mehrdad Pourzaki (former coordinator of the Wikimania Steering Committee and former communication officer at Wikimedia Foundation), Alek Tarkowski (member of the board of Creative Commons and Director of Strategy at Open Future), Chiara Somajni (journalist specialising in culture and technology), Deborah De Angelis (Creative Commons Italy) already confirmed their interest in supporting the event and being involved.

Current partners endorsing the project

• FOSDEM
• Wikimedia Belgium
• FSFE Free Software Foundation Europe

Potential partners contacted

• Wikimedia Europe
• Wikimedia Nederland
• Wikimedia Germany
• Wikimedia France
• Wikimedia Italia
• Wikimedia CH
• Open Education Global
• Open Future Foundation
• Open Knowledge Foundation
• Open Education Global

Potential partners to be contacted

• Wikimedia European region
• Former organisers of Wikimania
• Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
• European Commission
• Wikimedia Foundation advocacy team
• ...

Considering the size of the network and the necessary international cooperation, the lead organiser of the event should be Wikimedia Foundation, as the institution supporting the Wikimedia movement and as the umbrella organisation of all affiliates.

Who are the initial proposed members of the Core Organising Team (COT)?

(note, this does not need to be a final list and you do not need to have every role filled; it’s normal to add members as planning continues).

The event will involve a wider team with members from the Wikimedia movement and all the stakeholders of the open movement. At the moment the core organising team (COT) of the event "Wikimania Open Movement" is composed of a small working team (names above) and of representatives of the groups and institutions involved in the event. There will be specific teams for the following areas:

• Communication
• Networking
• Programme
• Scholarships
• Location
• Volunteers
• Partnerships
• Co-host coordination
• Online (we also plan to have a specific core organising team for the online event - online COT).

Considering the complexity and the specific extension of the project (in particular in the networking requested), we would like to invite all former organisers of Wikimania to actively contribute to the project and share and use their experience, and we're also looking forward to drawing upon the extensive experience of the members of the Wikimania Steering Committee. As the role of stakeholders will also be important, we have compiled an extensive table which you can find on Meta.

We are creating on an advisory team involving all partners and focusing on the design of a specific and shared track.

What is this team’s experience in running events?

Group photo of Wikimania 2016.

(whether Wikimedia events or other kinds of events). Please briefly describe these events and team members’ roles in them, especially any larger event events (for example attendance, if you provided scholarships, was the event in person vs hybrid, etc).

• Iolanda Pensa has organised Wikimania Esino Lario, conceived the project and directed its implementation. It was a specifically complex Wikimania organised in a mountain village of 700 inhabitants, which required the implementation of local transport, safety adjustments on buildings, distribution of the broadband, organisation of food and accommodation with all the local providers, the involvement of sponsors and grantmakers, and the activation of a very wide community of partners, stakeholders and volunteers. The project lasted 4 years with preparatory work and a wide number of local activities in schools and GLAMs. Iolanda Pensa has been chair of the Wikimania Committee and chair of Wikimedia Italia (2022-2024); currently, she is the national coordinator for GLAMs for Wikimedia Italia, and she involved 4'000 Italian museums in a very large campaign to promote open access and cooperation with the Wikimedia projects. She has experience, as a volunteer and professionally, in managing large and complex international projects.
• Isla Haddow Flood is co-lead of Wiki in Africa and the co-creator of large-scale campaigns to produce and collect open content in Africa, promoting ICT skills and open content in African schools, and activating and engaging Wikimedia communities in many (including new) countries. She is a contributor to Creative Commons and Open Education Global. She has extensive experience in managing cross-border international cooperation, international communications campaigns, and collaborating with international partners and networks.
• Valerio Bozzolan is chair of the Italian Linux Society and active member of the Wikimedia tech communities. He contributes to international open and free software and he is involved in national and international communication campaigns supporting the use and production of free and open software. He is specifically active in Italy and collaborates with FSFE-Free Software Foundation Europe. He is also an active participant and organiser of free software events.

Why does your team think hosting Wikimania in your region or locale would be beneficial for local Wikimedians and the movement at large?

We see the communities that traditionally flock to FOSDEM and the Wikimedia ones as "birds of a feather", and are strongly convinced of the potential to boost each others' growth based on the values we share: collaboration, openness, and the desire to keep working no matter how hard for the benefit of the larger society.

What are the main contextual risks related to holding this event at this time and in this location?

Please consider political, legal, social, public health, environmental, or other risks that could affect the event or participants, including other major events like elections, key national anniversaries etc.

We don't anticipate particular issues related to the chosen timeframe specifically because it has been already stress-tested by the FOSDEM event, among others, many times, as mentioned in the answer n.1 above.

What are the main contextual opportunities related to holding this event at this time and in this location?

E.g. key movement anniversaries, new partnership opportunities etc.

Unmissable food gems when in Belgium: french fries, beer, waffles, chocolates (clockwise).

In addition to the community growth opportunity mentioned above, it is worth noting that as the top place in the world where events like ours are organized, Brussels provides free support programmes for the organization of huge, international business events which we believe will substantially help with kickstarting our proposal.

Anticipating other questions and remarks

• Why it is not called Wikimania Brussels? The event is not centred around Brussels, but around the open movement. The goal of the event is to organise the largest gathering we ever produced. To do it in Brussels is strategic, because of FOSDEM and because Europe and the US are where the largest Wikimedia communities live; Brussels can also provide a collaboration with the European Union; at the moment the United States don't seem to be the best option for visa reasons.
• Why February? FOSDEM takes place in February and if we want to collaborate with the largest existing open event on earth, we need to adjust to their schedule and take advantage of their well-known regular calendar and their 10'000 participants. We acknowledge that having a Wikimania outside the regular frame will imply some challenges, and we are fully confident in the capacity of Wikimedia Foundation to embrace the experimental nature of this one-off proposal and adapt, given that there's ample time to do so.
• How about two Wikimanias, one in February and one in August? We can not have two Wikimania because we can not duplicate efforts nor dilute our communication. We can have only one large Wikimania, reframed in a global event of the open movement. But we can have regional and thematic events in other months (including August).
• How about a different Wikimedia event in February? Wikimania is our community-led event, it involves the entire Wikimedia movement and it is the right event to involve other communities according to its pillars of Openness, Collaboration, Inclusiveness, Respect, Experimentation and fun.
• Is it going to be more expensive than usual? No, the event can be organised with the same resources invested for the other Wikimanias in the previous years. The event will probably cost less compared to other venues because Brussels is a top city for congress/convention organization and February is considered a low season month there, but it is important to invest the same amount of resources in scholarships, with attention to inclusion and diversity.
• Will the event be about open software? No, Wikimania will have its focus on the Wikimedia projects and communities, not on open software. The fact that Wikimania will take place during FOSDEM is important to connect with other very large communities, but Wikimania does not need to focus on free and open software.
• FOSDEM lasts 2 days, Wikimania 3-5 days. How do you expect to manage it? In 2029 Wikimania can continue to have its regular duration of 3-5 days, as usual. It will simply take place in the same week as FOSDEM and this is a sufficient overlap.
• Do we need to remove our registration system at Wikimania as FOSDEM does? No, we can manage Wikimania as we like and we can keep the registration system and all the safety procedures we consider necessary and relevant.

The "Open Movement" logo, used by the Open Movement Italy networking and interviews project.

• It is impossible. Actually, no. It is not impossible and we are already working toward it. In 2026, Wikimedia Italy sponsored an ongoing networking and interviews project to investigate and bring together the open movement in Italy and beyond (and Wikimedia Switzerland has already expressed interest in replicating it). FOSDEM is already supporting the idea, and many people, communities and institutions are expressing their support and interest in participating and contributing.
• Finally an international collaborative event. Indeed. We have been discussing an international collaborative event for a very long period, and many people have already contributed to building joint events and cross-fertilisation. Wikimania Open Movement is the result of many previous efforts and a shared vision.

Requirements

Venue + lodging

Brussels in figures

• beds in hotels: 20.000
  
• restaurants: 4.000
  
• bars: 1.654
  
• venues: 200+
  
• nationalities: about 184
  
• museums: 80
  
• public parks: 30 + one forest
  
• universities: 19

Visit Brussels website, interactive presentation, page 6

The proposal - to be checked with potential organisers and partners - is to organise Wikimania 2029 as a global event in collaboration with many organisations and in particular with FOSDEM. FOSDEM itself isn't linked to any specific accommodation venues: although they have listed some B&Bs and youth hostels in the past, they mostly link to other resources, including Wikivoyage, for people to find a place to sleep on their own. However, participating communities may select their preferred hotel, so we don't foresee a change in how accommodation is managed for Wikimania.

Date: possibly - 1-4 February 2029

Location: possibly - Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium. The University has multiple campuses, and while FOSDEM is currently hosted in the Solbosch/Solbos one, it may be possible to request space in the other poles (all served by metro stations).

Travel + visas

Reaching Brussels

Brussels airports offer direct flights from over 200 destinations;
one airport is located at just 14 km distance from city center.
Thanks to high speed trains, more than 60 million Europeans
are less than two hours away, and trains leave every 5 minutes.
Some major routes:

• Lille — 0:34 min. (6 trains/day)
  
• Paris — 1:22h (24 trains/day)
  
• Köln — 1:47h (9 trains/day)
  
• Amsterdam — 1:50h (12 trains/day)
  
• London — 2:01h (11 trains/day)
  
• Düsseldorf — 2:20h (8 trains/day)
  
• Frankfurt — 3h (6 trains/day)
  
• Strasbourg — 4h (3 trains/day)

Visit Brussels website, interactive presentation, page 6

The advantage of organising a global event in Brussels, Belgium is taking advantage of a series of European policies supporting active citizens, cultural participation, democracy, open science, open government, and free and open software. The event would take advantage of a long experience of FOSDEM always yearly organised in Brussels at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and with a wide number of fringe events already disseminated among the city. The main airport, Brussels Airport, is well connected via train to the rest of the country, to European capitals, and beyond; the city can be reached via train, bus or taxi. The flag carrier and largest airline of the country, Brussels Airlines, allows good connections not just to the rest of Europe, but also North America, Africa and Asia. Brussels South Charleroi Airport is where several budget airlines operate, allowing to reach the city in a cost-effective way. However, the key point to Brussels is that, thanks to its central location and to the high-speed rail network, it is also feasible (and sometimes even recommended) to fly into airports in nearby countries and reach the city via train afterwards; naturally, people from nearby countries can also just use trains, long-distance buses, and even bycicles. There's 200+ embassies and consulates in Belgium, most of those located in Brussels. Belgium is also part of the Schengen area that includes 29 European countries with open border. No passport is required to travel from and within this area. If the visa application is denied by Belgium, people can submit a visa application for another European country and then reach Belgium as a second step. The reason for rejection will be shared with other EU countries which is why the European Commission recommended that you take note of the reasons for the earlier refusal before submitting a new application and make amendments, where necessary. The involvement of the university can facilitate the visa requirements (universities and academic event have specific support for visa management). The collaboration of the Wikimedia Foundation can support scholarships. Further, the long lead time for scholarship applications and acceptance (and the potential involvement of the relevant EU departments) will ensure higher visa success rates for non-EU participants.

Getting to Brussels

Directions to FOSDEM's venue

Facilities + services

The most astonishing characteristic of FOSDEM is their capacity to plan their huge event with over 30 tracks, all managed with free and open software. Many of the tracks are streamed and recorded; the presenters are requested to edit their presentations on the same day after their session (they receive an email with a link to the video to edit it directly, approve it or ask for help). This capacity is far beyond the experience of Wikimania and it can really allow our event to collaborate with a very relevant and experienced reality, to gain experience and to take advantage of existing tools and practices.

The Université libre de Bruxelles which regularly hosts FOSDEM could be invited to join the organising team with a specific focus on Open Science. The direct involvement of the university could facilitate the availability of further spaces.

Safety + security

Differently from the Wikimedia events, FOSDEM doesn't require registrations, fees and it doesn't ask for personal data; nevertheless, the event has a code of conduct and a friendly space policy, multiple professional security guards, and the organisers report a very positive atmosphere without specific episodes of harassment or difficulties. This said, the "Wikimania Open Movement" event will be implemented considering all risks and the best practices to guarantee a safe and respectful environment. The organizing team would like to inquire about safety and security measures with the "Visit Brussels - Convention Association Bureau" at some point soon.

Hybrid format and remote participation

Online participation, streaming and recording of all sessions will be guaranteed, and online active participation will be facilitated by a specific "online COT" devoted specifically to facilitating exchanges and a fulfilling online experience.

Time

If organised in collaboration with FOSDEM, the event needs to be organised at the beginning of February. Since the objective of the collaboration with FOSDEM is also to take advantage of the large visibility and involvement that this event is capable of triggering, it is essential to not change dates and location, to build on their experience and regular followers.

The proposal for 2029 is to have sufficient time to involve stakeholders and networks, to put some distance from other events organised in Europe, and to organise the event within the current Wikimedia movement strategy that already highlights the value of collaboration with partners, like-minded organisations and other stakeholders.

More about the vision

We acknowledge expressions of interest may or may not be very detailed and articulate. We believe in our proposal so much, we think it's only fair to disclose the full thinking behind it and hope it is appreciated.

Objectives

The event "Wikimania Open Movement" aims at contributing to an open movement, and at increasing the impact of the open. More specifically, the event aims at triggering the collaboration among groups, institutions and events already contributing to the open movement and communicating and making visible the power and value of the open.

By involving many groups, institutions and events and by focusing on a large-scale global gathering, the event aspires to have a larger impact than the single events, experimenting and having fun while doing it :)

Objective	Expected impact
Triggering the collaboration among groups, institutions and events already contributing to the open movement	Increasing the connections and interactions among groups, institutions and events already contributing to the open movement.
	Exposing members of different groups and institutions already contributing to the open movement to different open projects and initiatives, to facilitate knowledge transfer and engagement in multiple initiatives.
	More efficient use of the resources, by focusing on scholarships to increase participation, inclusion and diversity at one large-scale event.
	Using the preparatory time of the event to work on knowledge transfer among groups and institutions already contributing to the open movement. Increasing the interoperability among open content, open software and open hardware and the interactions around common working areas (research, GLAMs, education, medicine, sustainability, climate change, inclusion and diversity, advocacy...). Supporting the creation and further development of joint actions.
Communicating and making visible the power and value of the open	Communicating to a wide audience the value and power of the open.
	Producing a communication which goes beyond the active communities and engages a larger audience.

	People contributing to the open movements	Large public and communication
Opportunities	Opportunity to gather and discuss with other communities. Possibility to consider how to scale current experiences and solutions within the frame of the global movement. Possibility to consider more broadly open content, software and hardware.	One track dedicated to the large public.
Risks	People tend to stay in their own group, do not exchange practices, do not truly have the chance to talk to people they do not know. A large-scale event is difficult to navigate and to take advantage of: too many talks, events and gatherings. Too many people wanting to participate in the same events. Rooms packed and no opportunities to participate.	The large public sees the open movement as small tribes and a niche.

Increasing connections and interactions

Please expand to see the full table.

What it does for	Wikimedia	Software	Licenses	OER	Geodata	Academia	Government	Hardware	OpenGLAM
Wikimedia	-	Better documentation/content/data on the Wikimedia projects, visibility of their policies / content / approaches	Disseminating the value of open licenses and tools (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA and alike)	The Wikimedia projects as OER (free and accessible in over 300 languages)	Synergy with open geodata (links with Wikidata for taxonomies and other data))	Wikimedia as a research infrastructure	Visibility of content from public administrations and public institutions	Dissemination of information about open hardware	Visibility of content from GLAMs, collaboration with the open communities
Software	Use of free and open software in all activities (also by affiliates)	-	Use of open and free software
Licenses	Training, procedures, support to VRTS	Open licenses also on content	-	Use of open licenses and tools on content (avoiding NC and ND); use of CC0 for data				Open licenses also on content	Use of open licenses and tools on content (avoiding NC and ND); use of CC0 for data
OER	Synergy with open educational resources released under open licenses and tools	Training and resources made available in the frame of OER		-	Training and resources made available in the frame of OER
Geodata	Synergy with OpenStreetMap (issue related to the licenses)	Providing open geodata
Academia	Wikimedia and in particular Wikidata as research infrastructures	Development of free and open software within research projects and other services	Use of open licenses, in particular CC BY (avoiding NC and ND and use of CC0 for data)	Production of OER	Production of geodata	-	Support to public administrations (within research and services)	Development of open hardware	Research based on data from GLAMs (universities are also GLAMs :)
Government	Synergy with data and content from public administrations and public institutions released under open licenses and tools	Request to use free and open software among public administrations and institutions, support to the development of open and free software	Use of open licenses and tools (avoiding NC and ND); use of CC0 for data	Supporting training made available as OER	Providing open geodata from public administrations	Providing public data for research	-	Support the development of open hardware	Support open access among GLAMs
Hardware	Better documentation/content/data on the Wikimedia projects;	Use of open and free software	Use of open licenses	Providing training material as OER; producing training in the fields of robotics, digital fabrications and practical applications of coding	Using open geodata	Providing open hardware for research and services (also within academic fablabs)	Supporting the open strategies of governments	-	Developing 3D reproductions, involving citizens in fablabs, use of open hardware to produce museum design and installations
OpenGLAM	Synergies with open communities, uploads on the Wikimedia projects	Use of open and free software	Use of open licenses - in particular CC0	Production of OER in their didactic programmes	Use of open geodata	Production of research	Production of open government data (as public institutions)	Use of open hardware for installation design and participatory projects	-

Risk mitigation

Risks	Mitigation plan
People tend to stay in their own group, do not exchange practices, do not truly have the chance to talk to people they do not know.	Involving many volunteers to support and welcome participants. Organising games and activities which can facilitate socialisation.
A large-scale event is difficult to navigate and to take advantage of: too many talks, events and gatherings.	The program can be redesigned according to interests and communities.
Too many people wanting to participate in the same events. Rooms packed and no opportunities to participate.	Rooms with screens to attend talks also outside. Looking for larger rooms. Increasing the number of rooms. Estimated number of seats for the event.
The greater public sees the open movement as niche manned by small groups of specialist people.	Creating short videos to present people and communities. Communication campaigns to explain key concepts and show how the public already benefits from them.

Potential targets of the event

Please expand to see the full table.

	Community	Aligned communities	Specialised public	General public
Description	Active contributors of their specific community who would be keen to attend their own community event	Active contributors of other open communities	Critical minds, readers, people interested in the topic (i.e. professionals of cultural institutions, people working in ICT, artists, students and teachers, researchers, journalists, people working in and with media...)	Readers with no specific interest on the topics
Needs	They want to gather with their own tribe: sessions, discussions, special events They want to feel like they belong to their own group. They want to feel like the conference belongs to them. They don't want to feel new and disoriented: they want to feel a connection with previous events and to find something familiar in this one. They want to present and be actively involved in the production of the conference. Often, they do not like photos and they want to protect their privacy and their specific spaces	They want to take advantage of the conference and feel that the conference is serving them and providing them with something new and meaningful: knowledge, exchanges, new ideas, involvement. In general they like to be active and involved and they like a feeling that the event belongs to them. They want to easily find the most interesting sessions.	They have a general curiosity on the topic and they want to know more. They want to attend engaging and well-presented sessions. They enjoy being entertained with good and relevant content and possibly with good stories.	They are probably not interested in the event, but they might be surprised by the news about it and by some good stories. They can find information online and they might connect dots: getting a sense of what is behind the scene of Wikipedia, the Internet, the computer they use. They can get more aware of critical issues such as democracy of the Internet, misuse of personal data, proprietary software...
How to reach them	Tracks, dev rooms, list of conferences devoted to specific communities Specific programme Specific website (their own website) Their own graphic design or connection to their visual identity Easy to identify in the programme their sessions (logo).	General programme Sessions conceived for a general audience without specific background on the topic Easy to identify in the programme relevant sessions (logo)	A specific track (and highlight of recorded sessions?). It is important to involve in the event specific groups for specific sessions: schools, educators, GLAMs, politicians,...	Communication on social media, in the press. The more the event is large and surprising, the more it is likely to be visible and communicated. It is also important to involve in the event media partners, sponsor and other stakeholders that can increase the communication among their networks
Participation in the event	They probably prefer to attend their own conference or their own sessions.	They are likely to be interested to browse sessions related to other topics and communities. At the moment there is already a lot of overlapping among communities (i.e. licenses, advocacy, GLAMs, education, research, tech, infrastructures...): they can be engaged in the organisation of shared sessions	They could be interested in general sessions in particular if they have been invited specifically.	A guided tour of the open. Organising a visit to the conference to present what people are doing, meeting some of the contributors, visit the stands, maybe try a small game or experience of involvement (i.e. adding an information to StreetComplete https://streetcomplete.app/ or adding something to Wikidata)
Risks and critical issues to consider	Clear sign where photos are not authorised and maybe a specific green sticker for people allowing photos. Clear sign if there are closed sessions or avoiding closed sessions	Programme designed for different levels of expertise and interest in getting involved	They could take photos where not authorised.	We don't want the open communities to be observed as something "exotic"

Logistics

Please expland to see the full table.

Overview of the logistics

	Most of the time at Wikimania	Wikimania 2029 at Wikimania Open Movement	Why this change
Team	A COT Core organising team collaborating with the Wikimedia Foundation	A COT Core organising team involving a larger group representing also the different organisations involved. A specific COT for the online conference.	Groups and institutions involved need to be fully involved and to be part of the decision-making process. The online participation needs to have a specific programme and focus.
Venue	Conference centres, conference facilities at hotels.	University campus.	More sober, large and cheaper solution.
Programme	Around 6 tracks.	Over 30 tracks with at least one track conceived and designed collaboratively by all the institutions and groups involved.	The programme needs to include new participants and interests.
Hybrid programme	Most of the sessions (or all the sessions) streamed and recorded. Limited active participation by online participants.	All sessions streamed and recorded and made available rapidly. An independent COT (core organising team) for the hybrid conference with a specific event designed for online participation.	Online participation needs to be designed specifically for its participants; if we want a hybrid conference, it is not sufficient to stream and to include comments and online participation. Postproduction needs to be improved and made more efficient.
Registration	Registration fee of around 100 dollars (from 2024 set at 100 dollars; in the past was also more expensive).	No registration. Free and open conference.	The approach of FOSDEM with the collection of personal data and a more open and free (as freedom) participation
Food	Lunch is included in the registration fee and provided for all attendees at no additional costs. Some dinners offered within the event or organised directly by the participants.	People pay for their food. They can buy food at food trucks with different proposals, they can buy sandwiches or they can eat in restaurants near-by. People with scholarships can be provided with vouchers or other support.	It would not be possible to provide meals without registration. It is a cheaper and more sustainable solution.
Accommodation	Accommodation is organised for people receiving a scholarship and for Wikimedia Foundation staff. Other participants organise their own accommodation.	No significant changes.
Travel	Travel is organised for people receiving a scholarship and for Wikimedia Foundation staff. Other participants organise their own travel.	No significant changes.
Scholarshops	Around 200-240 scholarships provided, with a growing attention to increase the number. The scholarships also provide some pocket money to cover all the expenses of the participants (also evening meals)	Probably scholarships can be significantly increased with a specific focus on inclusion and diversity. The pocket money will cover also all the costs related to food.	By not providing catering and selecting a more sober venue, the event will probably cost significantly less and it can greatly benefit from more scholarships with a specific focus on inclusion and diversity.
Visa	An invitation letter is provided to people receiving a scholarship by the organisation affiliated to the local team and by the Wikimedia Foundation to facilitate access to visa.	We need to eventually ask support to Wikimedia Europe as local partner for visa. The event could be endorsed by a university and be facilitated by the international agreements for academic conferences.	There is a change in the structure of the organisation.
Volunteers	Volunteers involved in the COT Core organising team and during the event.	A large team of volunteers from all the groups and institutions involved.	The event will need a significant number of volunteers and people can be interested in participating in such a peculiar event as volunteers.
Party	There is normally a welcome party and a farewell party at Wikimania with food, some drinks, music and dance.	Participants will enjoy Brussels' pubs or other establishments to gather after the conference. There can be a programme of meetups, excursions and games.	Some games and activities can be organised. It will be difficult to manage numbers. At FOSDEM people often gather in the same pubs and most of the people hang out outdoors in the February weather with a surprising capacity to adapt to the adverse climate.
Trust and safety	Participants sign the code of conduct when they register. The code of conduct is enforced by a trust and safety team.	The code of conduct is presented on the website of the conference and it is printed and available in the venue. There is a team working on trust and safety during the event.	The event aims as usual at a respectful and pleasant atmosphere; the code of conduct shared by the partners is enforced.
Communication	The event is communicated on Wikipedia's site-notice, through the Wikimedia communication channels. The communication is essentially internal. There are often some articles coming out on national newspapers about Wikimedia with interviews to Jimmy Wales. Local press highlights the presence of the event in their territory.	The aim is to increase the international communication and visibility of the open movement. The focus is not on the event but on the power and value of the open. We expect a larger event with a large participation of groups and institutions can drive a specific interest. Having time ahead can facilitate a stronger communication with a crescendo.	The event aims at increasing the international communication and visibility of the power and value of the open. It aims at showing that the open movement is not a niche but a mainstream, large, sustainable, powerful and existing presence.
Funds	Supported by Wikimedia Foundation and volunteers. Involvement of partners and some technical sponsors.	Wikimedia Foundation would provide the normal support but funds would rather go to scholarships than to cover expenses. Work to involve partners and sponsors.	The size and the involvement of many groups and institutions can attract partners and sponsors. Wikimedia Foundation is asked to not reduce its support to Wikimania but to use it as much as possible to support scholarships.

Request to the Wikimania Steering Committee

To be able to start implementing this proposal, it is necessary to receive from the Wikimania Steering Committee and the Wikimedia Foundation event team a first expression of interest and support, which allows to contact the network, invite people to join the organising team, and express their support or remarks.

The feasibility of this proposal depends on many elements, but the event can only be organised if the value and relevance of a “Wikimania Open Movement" event is recognised and supported.

Before a decision is taken, the organizing team would like to hold a meeting (preferably a public one) to explain the event in detail to the Committee. We are looking forward to finding a date that works for everybody.

Bibliography

• Tarkowski, A., Keller, P., Warso, Z., Goliński, K., & Koźniewski, J. (2023). Fields of open. Mapping the open movement. Open Future. Retrieved from https://openfuture.pubpub.org/pub/fields-of-open
• Tarkowski, A., Janus, A., & Warso, Z. (2023). Shifting tides: the open movement at a turning point. Open Future. Retrieved from https://openfuture.pubpub.org/pub/shifting-tides.

What do you think?

Please add your endorsement on the related page, and comments and suggestions in the talk page. Thanks :)