Wikimania:Expressions of Interest/2030/Brazil
Expression of interest: Brazil
Abstract/description
Wikimedia Brasil proposes to organize Wikimania 2030 in São Paulo, Brazil, in partnership with a network of affiliates from across the Global Majority.
São Paulo is Latin America's largest city and one of the world's great metropolises: a global hub for finance, culture, and higher education, home to institutions such as the University of São Paulo (USP), and a dense ecosystem of museums, libraries, and civil-society organizations. It is also home to the largest and most active Portuguese-language Wikimedia community in the world, alongside vibrant communities working in Spanish, Indigenous languages, and other languages of the region.
2030 is a horizon the Wikimedia Movement set for ourselves. It marks the target year for the Wikimedia 2030 Movement Strategy, the framework that has shaped a decade of collective decisions about knowledge equity and the movement as a service. Hosting Wikimania in the year our own strategy names as its milestone gives the conference a distinctive purpose beyond celebration: it is the natural moment for the global community to gather, take honest stock of what the 2030 process achieved and what it did not, and collaboratively design what comes next. Wikimania 2030 in São Paulo should hold all three registers at once: celebration of our communities' achievements, rigorous and open evaluation of our projects, and forward-looking discussion of the movement's next chapter.
Bringing Wikimania to Brazil --a country where Wikimania was never hosted-- for this milestone year reaffirms a broader commitment: that the movement's defining moments should not be set only from its historical centers. A São Paulo Wikimania, led by an affiliate from the Global Majority and built together with sister affiliates from Latin America, Africa, and Asia, is itself a small enactment of the future the 2030 strategy calls for.
Organizers
- Wikimedia Brasil (lead proponent)
- João Alexandre Peschanski — CEO, Wikimedia Brasil
- Wikimedia Brasil volunteers and staff members
- Representatives of partner Global Majority affiliates
Wikimedia Brasil is proposing this bid as lead affiliate, nevertheless intends to build the Core Organizing Team as a pluricultural coalition, actively inviting affiliates from the Global Majority (Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia) into co-organizing roles from the earliest planning stages.
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Wikimedia Brasil has organized and co-organized a number of national and regional Wikimedia events and programs in recent years, including Wikimania Santiago 2027, and has staff and community experience with program design, community engagement, partnerships with universities and cultural institutions, and fundraising through Brazilian and international grant mechanisms.
Wikimedia Brasil maintains active, ongoing partnerships with universities, research centers, cultural institutions, and civil-society organizations in São Paulo and across Brazil.
Requirements
Venue + lodging
São Paulo has extensive experience hosting large-scale international conferences, trade fairs, and cultural events, and offers a range of venues with the scale and infrastructure required for Wikimania. Possible venues include:
- Centro de Convenções Rebouças, a traditional event space in Brazil, which can host up to 2,000 participantes. Connected to the University of São Paulo.
As one of the largest cities in the Americas and a major business-travel destination, São Paulo has an extensive hotel inventory across a wide range of budgets, heavily concentrated near likely conference venues --including Centro de Convenções Rebouças -- and well served by public transit.
Travel + visas
São Paulo is mostly served by three major airports: Guarulhos International Airport (GRU), Brazil's busiest international gateway, Viracopos International Airport (VCP), also an international airport, and Congonhas Airport (CGH), a domestic airport close to the city center. GRU offers direct flights from major hubs across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and increasingly Asia and the Middle East, making São Paulo one of the best-connected cities in the Global South for international travel.
Brazil's visa policy varies by nationality and has changed significantly in the past two years. As of 2026:
- Visa-free entry is available to a large number of nationalities (over 100 countries), typically for stays of up to 90 days, subject to standard passport-validity and proof-of-funds requirements.
- Since April 2025, citizens of the United States, Canada, and Australia must obtain an eVisa before travel, following the reinstatement of visa reciprocity with those countries. Processing has historically taken from several business days up to a few weeks, so early application will be essential guidance for attendees from these countries.
- A number of other nationalities require an eVisa or a consular visa, considering the visa policy of Brazil.
Wikimedia Brasil will pursue an official invitation-letter process for attendees who need one to support a visa application, in coordination with Brazilian immigration authorities, and will provide clear, centralized guidance to attendees on visa pathways well in advance of the conference —-recognizing that visa access is itself an equity issue for a globally distributed movement.
Facilities + services
Candidate venues will offer high-capacity Wi-Fi and professional AV for live streaming; simultaneous interpretation at minimum between Portuguese, Spanish, and English, reflecting both the host country and the Global Majority affiliate network the bid is built around; catering with vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, and allergen-aware options; full physical accessibility (step-free access, accessible restrooms, elevators); dedicated quiet/reflection spaces; on-site first aid and clear emergency protocols; multilingual signage; and a help desk staffed by Wikimedia Brasil and partner-affiliate volunteers able to assist with everything from registration to visa-letter questions on-site. [Confirm specific capacities, accessibility certifications, and providers once venues are shortlisted.]
Safety + security
Like any large global city, São Paulo requires attendees to take ordinary urban precautions, and organizers would provide clear, practical safety guidance tailored to specific conference neighborhoods, as is now standard practice for Wikimania host cities.
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Brazil has strong legal protections for LGBTQ+ people, including nationwide recognition of same-sex marriage and legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. São Paulo in particular has a large, visible LGBTQ+ community and hosts one of the world's largest annual Pride celebrations.
Alternate locations
Brazil has hosted several global events in the past years, such as 2024 G20 Summit and 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, and besides São Paulo Wikimania 2030 could be hosted in:
Hybrid format and remote participation
- Technology and internet connectivity are no challenge in larger Brazilian cities.
Time
- July 2030.