2026:Program
Liberté, Équité, Fiabilité
The call for submissions for the program will open in early January 2026.
Submissions will follow the Wikimania 2026's theme.
You can contact the Program team at: wikimania26-programme@wikimedia.fr
Macro program
The following table is a draft. It may change until June 1st, 2026.
| Time bands | Tuesday 21 July | Wednesday 22 July | Thursday 23 July | Friday 24 July | Saturday 25 July | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | Hackathon launch | Day trips (optional tourism) | Thematic days
|
Hackathon Day 2 | Wikimania Conferences | Wikimania Conferences ― 11:00 - keynote Liberté (Freedom) |
Wikimania Conferences
― 11:00 - keynote Équité (Equity) |
Wikimania Conferences
― 11:00 - keynote Fiabilité (Reliability) |
| Afternoon | Hackathon | touristic tours or pre-conference workshops | Hackathon Day 2
― End of the hackathon challenge at 15:30 |
Wikimania Conferences | Wikimania Conferences | Wikimania Conferences | Wikimania Conferences | |
| 16:00 - Wikimania Opening ceremony | Wikimania closing ceremony | |||||||
| Evening | to be determined | Opening ceremony party | Closing ceremony party | |||||
Theme
This guide is intended for people who wish to submit a proposal for participation in Wikimania 2026. It details the philosophy, selection criteria and participation procedures to build a rich program faithful to the values of the movement.
The call for submissions for the program will open in early January 2026.
This entire Theme section can be edited by the Program team until the opening for submissions.
Our Intention
As with all Wikimania, a theme has been defined: Liberté, Égalité, Fiabilité (Freedom, Equity, Reliability).
This theme should be the guiding principle of every submission, as it forms the very foundation of the 2026 conference. It is not just a motto, but a framework for thinking about “protecting knowledge, equity, and freedom” at a time when the free encyclopedia and its ecosystem are facing political and media challenges.
Our engagements
- Fit the audience: We take the liberty of departing from the usual hierarchy of academic conferences. We prefer that a presentation find its audience through an appropriate format. We count on you to think about the best format for your project, keeping in mind that the important thing is that knowledge be shared. Our commitment is that the audience consider each type of session equally in terms of quality.
- Equity in participation: The Wikimedia movement is diverse and varied. We want this diversity to be represented, giving everyone an equal opportunity to participate. To ensure equity in the submission process, we have decided to launch the call for grants before the call for programs. This means that the results of the grants will be known before anyone has to submit their proposal, allowing everyone to plan their participation (in person or online) on an equal basis.
- We will give equal consideration to the four languages of the conference (English, Arabic, French, and Spanish) when selecting presentations.
- The intention to submit a presentation was not a determining factor in the scholarship committee's selection process. The reverse is also true: having been granted a scholarship is not a determining factor in being selected for the program.
- Reliability and quality: We aim to create a quality program, where every person leaves satisfied. The confidence we have in the reliability of your proposals will allow us to build this program. This requires a high level of rigor in terms of content, but also support to help you build, prepare, and present your presentation.
- Co-construction: Wikimania is a gathering. In order to enable the broadest and most equitable sharing of knowledge, we reserve the right to merge similar proposals. Our commitment is to enable you to co-construct a new presentation, in the same spirit as our wiki projects.
Deepening the 2026 Theme
To help you anchor your proposal in the theme, here's how the organizers see it:
| Value | Meaning and possible angles for your submissions (examples) |
| Freedom | Exploration of fundamental freedoms: universal participation, freedom of publishing, free licenses, pseudonymity, freedom of association and innovation. How does your work contribute to maintaining a healthy and open space? |
| Equity | Beyond equal opportunities, it is about providing fair means according to individual needs. How does your work ensure accessibility, correct bias, and guarantee a healthy and safe environment for truly universal knowledge? |
| Reliability | Highlighting the verifiability, factuality and neutrality. What is the role of sources? How can we ensure the sustainability and integrity of the movement in the face of attacks on the reliability of information? |
Selection Criteria
The selection committee will evaluate the proposals on the basis of the following points, in order of importance:
- Link to the theme, relevance: The relationship to themes Freedom, Equity, Reliability is central. We remain open to proposals that are off-topic but perfectly relevant to the movement.
- Interest in movement: The more impact a project has in terms of wikis, languages, replicability, or inspiration for others, the more likely it is to be selected. How important is the content to Wikimania's audience?
- Quality of intention: Your willingness to share knowledge. Like a wiki article, how flexible and open are you to your proposal evolving through collaboration? What is your expertise on the topic?
- Innovation and originality: New content or formats are welcome to demonstrate that it is possible to innovate in the way knowledge is shared. Is this a unique and original session that helps us deepen or broaden our understanding of the subject? Is it an original presentation and not one that the speaker repeats at every conference? Is the way the content is presented original?
- Reliability of information: We will pay particular attention to the solidity of the information that will be shared, as well as to the impact and the potential of replication of the project presented.
- Suitability of content and format: The type of session proposed must serve the content.
- Example: The results of a quantitative study are ideal for a poster.
- Example: A concrete and replicable project will be perfect for a workshop.
Criteria for distinguishing two presentations with the same intention:
- Language and Francophonie: Presentations in French and those from or related to the French-speaking world could be given priority, in line with the location of the event.
- Solidity– Is the content coherent in its presentation, or is it disjointed? Is the proposal interesting and well-thought-out? Does the background information suggest that the speaker will deliver an effective presentation?
Thematic tracks
The intention is to have fewer tracks to allow for better review by the evaluation teams. Some themes from previous editions are merged to reflect the trends in submissions from previous editions. They take into account new trends. All tracks are of equal importance.
| Proposed track | Definition | Notes & Ideas for Inclusion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Education and Advocacy | Talking about the movement to the outside world | |
| 2 | GLAM and partnerships | Partnerships with institutions (cultural and heritage, or otherwise) | |
| 3 | Technology | Everything that makes wikis work (Mediawiki, extensions, third-party services, gadgets and scripts, servers, etc.) | |
| 4 | Artificial intelligence | Everything about AI | Can cover the impact on community dynamics, content reliability, new tools, etc. |
| 5 | Community | Diversity and inclusion, contributor/community engagement, community health | |
| 6 | Research | Research dedicated to Wikimedia communities | This track is reserved for the research community, with a dedicated call for submissions and specific selection criteria. |
| 7 | Governance & Strategy | Everything about governance and strategy | |
| 8 | Wild Ideas | Everything else, and the unexpected | |
| 9 | New generations | Youth in age but also in contribution | To highlight initiatives that target the newest generations (for instance the CEE Youth Group, Vikidia, or Txikipedia), and also, all the initiatives around people who are starting out. |
Formats
Preamble
Regardless of the type, the following conditions apply:
- The presentation must have been selected by the program committee.
- As the goal is to have a diversity of presenters, you can't submit or be involved in more than three presentations (except as a resource person for a workshop, or as a person proposing a meetup or lunch).
- The organizers reserve the right to convert a submitted presentation to another format (including a format not listed below).
- The organizers reserve the right to change the initial duration of a session if necessary.
Poster (permanent display)
Have you completed a great project and want Wikimania to know about the results? Submit a poster.
The poster will be designed by you using a template provided by the organizers, printed by the organizers, and displayed throughout the conference. You will be able to answer questions from the audience during the poster review session.
Requirements and conditions:
- Submit your poster by the date specified by the organizers so that it can be printed. You cannot bring your own poster.
- Unless you arrange for someone attending Wikimania in person to be your spokesperson, you will not be able to present your poster remotely.
Lightning talk (5 minutes)
Have you completed an awesome project and want Wikimania to know about it? Submit a lightning talk. You'll have 5 minutes to present your work in a creative way.
Requirements and conditions:
- Up to two people can present.
- You must attend at least one preparation session before Wikimania, as well as participate in rehearsals during Wikimania.
- Submit your final presentation materials by the date specified by the organizers so that they can be included in the master presentation shown on screen during Wikimania.
Panel (60 minutes)
Do you have a project that brings together different people around a common theme? Get together at Wikimania to present the results of this project and how it can be replicated within the Wikimedia movement.
Requirements and conditions:
- One person will moderate the panel, and at least two people are guests.
- No more than 50% of the people present at the panel may belong to the same organization.
- Two-thirds of the people participating in this panel must be present on site to facilitate post-panel discussions. The possibility of participating via video-conference is to be confirmed with the organizers.
Workshop (60 or 90 minutes)
Would you like to put a project you have developed into practice, or help others using a tool you master? If your goal is that participants leave Wikimania with concrete knowledge, then organize a workshop.
Requirements and conditions:
- In your submission, list the objectives you would like to achieve during this workshop: what skills will be improved?
- The people who will lead the workshop can call on resource persons to help facilitate certain aspects of the workshop.
- The person leading the workshop must be present at the conference. However, any resource persons who will help with facilitation or contribute knowledge may be present online.
Other types of formats
The organizers reserve the right to create or consider other types of formats, or to propose changes to certain formats.
Meetups & Lunches (60 minutes)
Meetups and Lunches are themed gatherings organized by formal or informal groups within the Wikimedia movement. They are used to discuss specific topics. Lunches take place during lunchtime.
This year, meetups are fully integrated into the official Wikimania program.
Meetups will be themed by day, as much as possible:
- Day 1: Themed meetings (WLM, OSM, etc.)
- Day 2: Geographic and linguistic meetings
- Day 3: Other
Conditions (apply to both Meetups and Lunches):
- A meetup must be requested from the organizers , using the session submission process.
- A person attending Wikimania must be designated as the point of contact with the organizers.
- Meetups and lunches have a limited number of slots, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.