User:Iopensa/Open Movement Global 2026
Open Movement Global 2026 is a proposal for Wikimania Paris 2026.
Application: https://wikimedia.eventyay.com/wm/wikimania2026/cfp
Title
Strengthening the Open Movement: The Role of Wikimedia
Session type
Lightening talk (5 minutes, in person only)
Track
| Wild Ideas | Everything else, and the unexpected |
Language
English
Abstract
In a world challenged by conflicts, big tech concentration, and fragile democracies, openness is more vital than ever. The open movement – through open content, open data, open science, open education, open licenses and openGLAM – sustains democracy, protects the commons, promotes transparency, fosters participation, and empowers community governance.
To reinforce this movement and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Wikipedia (a symbol of the open), Italy launched in 2026 Open Movement Italy: connecting institutions, communities, and individuals, celebrating open successes, and exploring new collaborative initiatives and advocacy.
At the international level, we are preparing a large-scale event in Brussels in February 2029 that aims to bring together the global open movement, creating opportunities for joint initiatives and greater visibility of open values.
This lightning talk will present the Italian initiative and the international vision, illustrating practical ways to reinforce and sustain the open movement in a challenging world.
How does the session relate to the event theme
Freedom. This presentation contributes to the topic of freedom by highlighting how the open movement expands access, participation, and agency in society. In a world threatened by concentrated power, fragile democracies, and restricted access to knowledge, openness ensures that information remains freely available, enabling individuals to learn, create, and engage without barriers. Initiatives like Open Movement Italia and the planned Open Movement Global event in Brussels 2029 demonstrate practical ways to strengthen networks, foster community governance, and support collaborative decision-making. By promoting transparency, protecting the commons, and empowering participation, the open movement directly enhances freedom of expression, freedom to innovate, and freedom to collectively shape shared resources. This talk illustrates how local and global open initiatives can reinforce democratic principles and individual liberties, showing that openness is not only a practical strategy but a vital safeguard for freedom in the digital age.
Audience
This presentation will be relevant to Wikimedia volunteers and affiliates, as well as like-minded organisations and aligned institutions, by demonstrating practical ways to connect communities, share resources, and amplify open values globally. It highlights how joint action can strengthen both the Wikimedia ecosystem and the international open movement.
Replication potential of the project presented
Wikimedia communities are often loosely connected to other open movement communities, limiting opportunities for collaboration, joint projects, and coordinated advocacy. Strengthening these connections – through shared initiatives, interoperability between platforms, and aligned campaigns –can reinforce both Wikimedia and the wider open movement. Wikimedia volunteers and affiliates already engage in such collaborations at a local level, but situating these activities within a broader, international framework would provide greater visibility, impact, and sustainability. This approach also reflects Wikimedia’s strategic goals of fostering partnerships, cross-community collaboration, and advocacy, which have not yet been fully realised.
Yourself and experience
In 2016, I proposed and organised Wikimania Esino Lario, a Wikimania held in a 700-inhabitant mountain village overlooking Lake Como: an idea that was initially strongly criticised and considered very risky, as it diverged from the traditional Wikimania format. Today, Esino Lario is remembered as a surprising, almost legendary event that reimagined what a conference could be and how to truly collaborate with local communities to generate real impact. I believe events are extraordinary spaces to experiment, create a “healthy state of emergency,” and foster genuine collaboration, because true collaboration happens only when what you want to achieve is impossible alone. This spirit also informs this proposal for Open Movement Global (OMG). In these challenging times, we must be “partigiani”: unapologetically committed to open values and determined to champion the triumph of the open.
Unique value of your presentation
I envision Wikimania 2029 in February in Brussels, bringing together 20,000 participants to show that the open movement is mainstream.
At this critical moment, we must not turn inward. We need to open up, showing the world our vision and our ability to drive epoch-making change. Let us embrace openness not just as a principle, but as a transformative force.
Convincing Wikipedians and Wikimedians won’t be easy: we are a conservative community, often cautious about novelty, yet we are also the passionate, hyper-productive “mad ones” who have repeatedly changed the world through our projects.
Bio
I am a researcher and wikipedian. I am head of the research area “Culture and Territory” at the Institute of Design of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI); I am the principal investigator of the project “Visual Analytics for Sustainability and Climate Change”. I am an active volunteer of Wikipedia: former chair of Wikimedia Italia (2020-2024), national coordinator GLAM for Wikimedia Italia and organiser of the Wikipedia world gathering Wikimania in 2016 in Esino Lario, a mountain village of 700 inhabitants. I also like open data (I am co-chair of the sounding board researcher for the Swiss open research data strategy).
Picture source
Iolanda Pensa. Photo by Adam Novak / Wikimedia Foundation, CC BY-SA.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iolanda_Pensa-229.jpg