SINGAPORE, 15 AUGUST 2023 – In its eighteenth edition, Wikimania, the flagship annual conference that celebrates Wikimedia projects like Wikipedia and the volunteers who make them possible, is set to take place in Singapore. Returning in-person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will bring together over 600 Wikimedians — dedicated volunteers who contribute to Wikimedia projects — and key leaders in the digital information and education landscape.
Held at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre from 16 to 19 August, Wikimania 2023 will be hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia volunteers, chapters, and user groups from the East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (ESEAP) region. The conference will also be available to watch live on virtual streaming platforms.
Wikimania 2023’s theme is DIVERSITY. COLLABORATION. FUTURE. The event will showcase the rich and diverse culture of the Wikimedia community and its work.
The four-day conference will be packed with engaging sessions around the future of technology and generative AI, advancing gender equity on Wikimedia projects, preserving cultural heritage on Wikipedia, closing knowledge gaps by and for underrepresented communities, and much more.
Wikimania 2023 highlights include:
- The Wikimedian of the Year awards, presented by Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales. The award recognizes exceptional volunteers that contribute to Wikimedia projects around the world.
- Keynote presentations and speeches from partners and other major organizations, including Catherine Stihler (CEO, Creative Commons); Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa (Director, UNESCO); Yeo Kirk Siang (Senior Director at National Heritage Board in Singapore); Ashley Boyd (Senior VP of Global Advocacy, Mozilla); and more.
- An announcement of the winners of the Wiki Loves Living Heritage in Singapore photography competition, part of a campaign supported by the National Youth Achievement Award and the National Heritage Board to record and preserve tangible cultural heritage assets in Singapore and Asia.
- The WikiWomen Summit at Wikimania is a series of events centered on advancing gender equity and inclusion across Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. The Summit includes presentations related to gender equity and a side event that will be held at Google Singapore.
- The Wikimania Hackathon invites attendees of all experience levels to collaborate on software and database projects related to Wikimedia projects.
- Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in workshops (including a Malay language training), interactive sessions, and panel discussions on diverse topics such as developments in open-source technology, the value of Wikipedia in the age of generative AI, and closing knowledge gaps.
“This is the first in-person gathering of global Wikimedia communities in over four years, and a unique opportunity to celebrate volunteers from around the world. It will also showcase the remarkable work being done in the East Asia, Southeast Asia and Pacific region to expand access to dozens of local languages and welcome new contributors to the Wikimedia projects. The ESEAP region’s deep commitment to share knowledge openly and freely is one we should uplift and can learn from during our time at Wikimania,” said Maryana Iskander, Chief Executive Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation.
“We are delighted to be a partner of Wikimania 2023,” said James Soh, the Executive Director of the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) Singapore. “Throughout this exceptional event, NYAA is particularly thrilled to witness the long-awaited announcement of the Wiki Loves Living Heritage photography competition winners. The competition, which we proudly co-hosted with the collaboration of the National Heritage Board and the Wikimedia community, has brilliantly showcased the extraordinary cultural heritage of Singapore. We eagerly anticipate unveiling the winning images, which promise to be a captivating highlight during Wikimania’s closing ceremony.”
To ensure the participation of diverse people from various countries, the conference will be translated into multiple languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, and Spanish.
The program for Wikimania 2023 and registration details are available online at wikimania.org. Follow the event on social media using #Wikimania2023.
ABOUT WIKIMANIA
Wikimania is the annual gathering bringing together Wikimedians around the world to connect with one another, share new projects, and shape the future of Wikimedia projects. Everyone is invited to join and learn more about the humans that make Wikipedia possible for free. The first Wikimania was held in Frankfurt, Germany from 4 to 8 August 2005. It has been an annual event ever since.
ABOUT THE WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION
The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects; build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content; support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.
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Aaron Nair
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