Hi everyone,
I am writing to share an important opportunity for the offline wiki community to shape the conversation in one of our most geographically and technologically diverse regions.
The *ESEAP Conference 2026* (East, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific) will be taking place in *Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from May 15–17, 2026*. The Call for Program Submissions is currently open, and the *deadline is December 20, 2025*.
*Why this matters for us:* The theme for this conference is *"New Era of ESEAP: Pioneer the Future Together!"*
There is perhaps no region where "offline" access is more critical to the future than ESEAP. From the remote archipelagos of the Pacific Islands where connectivity is often expensive or unreliable, to rural educational settings in Asia, the "last mile" is still a massive barrier to knowledge equity.
If we want to "pioneer the future," we must ensure that the future includes the millions of people in this region currently disconnected from the sum of all knowledge.
*Synergy & Language for Your Proposals:* If you are working on projects involving Kiwix, Internet-in-a-Box, WikiFundi, or local offline deployments, I strongly encourage you to submit a proposal. To help align your offline work with the conference theme, here are some suggested "synergy angles" and language you can adapt for your submission:
-
*Angle 1: The "Equity" Synergy* -
*Language:* "Bridging the digital divide in the region is not just a technical challenge; it is an equity imperative. Offline access ensures that the 'New Era' of ESEAP leaves no community behind, regardless of their connectivity status." -
*Focus:* Rights to information, indigenous communities (e.g., Manobo, Kadazan-Dusun), and rural education. -
*Angle 2: The "Resilience" Synergy* -
*Language:* "In a region prone to natural disasters—from typhoons in Asia to cyclones in the Pacific—offline knowledge databases serve as critical, resilient infrastructure when the grid goes down." -
*Focus:* Climate change adaptation, emergency preparedness, and resilient networks. -
*Angle 3: The "Education" Synergy* -
*Language:* "Empowering the next generation of ESEAP editors starts in the classroom. Tools like Kiwix allow us to bring Wikipedia into schools in East Timor, Cambodia, Indonesia, and beyond, fostering digital literacy before reliable internet arrives." -
*Focus:* Partnerships with local schools, Ministries of Education, and digital literacy programs.
*Key Details:*
-
*Conference Wiki:* ESEAP Conference 2026 on Meta https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/ESEAP_Conference_2026 -
*Submission Page:* Program Submissions https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/ESEAP_Conference_2026/Program/Submissions -
*Deadline:* December 20, 2025
Let’s ensure that the *Offline* story is front and center in Kaohsiung. Please reply here if you are planning to submit so we can coordinate our message!
Best regards, Butch Bustria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information contained in this message is privileged and intended only for the recipients named. If the reader is not a representative of the intended recipient, any review, dissemination or copying of this message or the information it contains is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please immediately notify the sender, and delete the original message and attachments.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
Hi Everyone,
Today is the deadline of program proposals/ submissions for this May's conference.
Go to https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/ESEAP_Conference_2026/Program/Submissions and submit one!
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Butch Bustria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information contained in this message is privileged and intended only for the recipients named. If the reader is not a representative of the intended recipient, any review, dissemination or copying of this message or the information it contains is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please immediately notify the sender, and delete the original message and attachments.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
On Thu, Dec 4, 2025, 7:37 PM Butch Bustria bustrias@gmail.com wrote:
Hi everyone,
I am writing to share an important opportunity for the offline wiki community to shape the conversation in one of our most geographically and technologically diverse regions.
The *ESEAP Conference 2026* (East, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific) will be taking place in *Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from May 15–17, 2026*. The Call for Program Submissions is currently open, and the *deadline is December 20, 2025*.
*Why this matters for us:* The theme for this conference is *"New Era of ESEAP: Pioneer the Future Together!"*
There is perhaps no region where "offline" access is more critical to the future than ESEAP. From the remote archipelagos of the Pacific Islands where connectivity is often expensive or unreliable, to rural educational settings in Asia, the "last mile" is still a massive barrier to knowledge equity.
If we want to "pioneer the future," we must ensure that the future includes the millions of people in this region currently disconnected from the sum of all knowledge.
*Synergy & Language for Your Proposals:* If you are working on projects involving Kiwix, Internet-in-a-Box, WikiFundi, or local offline deployments, I strongly encourage you to submit a proposal. To help align your offline work with the conference theme, here are some suggested "synergy angles" and language you can adapt for your submission:
*Angle 1: The "Equity" Synergy*
*Language:* "Bridging the digital divide in the region is not just a technical challenge; it is an equity imperative. Offline access ensures that the 'New Era' of ESEAP leaves no community behind, regardless of their connectivity status."
*Focus:* Rights to information, indigenous communities (e.g., Manobo, Kadazan-Dusun), and rural education.
*Angle 2: The "Resilience" Synergy*
*Language:* "In a region prone to natural disasters—from typhoons in Asia to cyclones in the Pacific—offline knowledge databases serve as critical, resilient infrastructure when the grid goes down."
*Focus:* Climate change adaptation, emergency preparedness, and resilient networks.
*Angle 3: The "Education" Synergy*
*Language:* "Empowering the next generation of ESEAP editors starts in the classroom. Tools like Kiwix allow us to bring Wikipedia into schools in East Timor, Cambodia, Indonesia, and beyond, fostering digital literacy before reliable internet arrives."
*Focus:* Partnerships with local schools, Ministries of Education, and digital literacy programs.
*Key Details:*
*Conference Wiki:* ESEAP Conference 2026 on Meta https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/ESEAP_Conference_2026
*Submission Page:* Program Submissions https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/ESEAP_Conference_2026/Program/Submissions
*Deadline:* December 20, 2025
Let’s ensure that the *Offline* story is front and center in Kaohsiung. Please reply here if you are planning to submit so we can coordinate our message!
Best regards, Butch Bustria
The information contained in this message is privileged and intended only for the recipients named. If the reader is not a representative of the intended recipient, any review, dissemination or copying of this message or the information it contains is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please immediately notify the sender, and delete the original message and attachments.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
On 2025-12-04 12:37, Butch Bustria wrote:
*Angle 3: The "Education" Synergy*
/Language:/ "Empowering the next generation of ESEAP editors starts in the classroom. Tools like Kiwix allow us to bring Wikipedia into schools in East Timor, Cambodia, Indonesia, and beyond, fostering digital literacy before reliable internet arrives."
/Focus:/ Partnerships with local schools, Ministries of Education, and digital literacy programs.
Hi Butch
Thank you very much for take time to explain to us how we could onboard offline topic to the ESEAP Conference. I really appreciate it and want already to apologize for the pretty late feedback on our side.
But I have been thinking since many days already what would make more more sense because, like you have written, Kiwix can be use in various scenarios.
At the end, I propose to follow the "Education" track. I also think that there is no effective education if you keep the poorest just aside, so the "Equity" is quite unsubstantial to the education.
My overall feeling is that maybe not everybody might know well about Kiwix, so an approach would be: * Kiwix presentation * Scenarios how it can help in the classroom/library * Homegrown initiative like kiwix4schools * How we can collaborate
I think we could do that in a form of a "Workshop" in the "Technology" track. I made the submission under the title "20 years of Kiwix: your library without Internet"
I have very open to remarks/critics to change it. The ESEAP region is not so well understood within our organisation, but I would really like to fill the gap on this during the next years.
BTW, next year Kiwix will be 20! So glad if we can celebrate this in Kaohsiung as well.
Regards Kelson
Hi Kelson,
Thank you for the update and for taking the time to submit your proposal.
I think your decision to place this under the Technology track as a Workshop is a great strategic choice. Given the outline you provided—specifically the hands-on scenarios and collaboration aspects—a workshop format will likely be much more engaging for attendees than a standard lecture. It bridges the gap between the technical tool and the educational application perfectly.
Also, congratulations on Kiwix turning 20 next year! It would be wonderful to mark that milestone in Kaohsiung.
Just a gentle reminder that, as per our standard procedure, all Call for Proposals (CFP) submissions will undergo a review process by the program committee to ensure a balanced conference schedule. You can view the full timeline and review details here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/ESEAP_Conference_2026/Program/Submissions
We appreciate your commitment to bridging the gap in the ESEAP region.
As for others, you are more than welcome to submit your proposals. This is a great moment for ESEAP to collaborate with the community members and stakeholders in the Offline Wiki.
Best regards,
Butch Bustria
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information contained in this message is privileged and intended only for the recipients named. If the reader is not a representative of the intended recipient, any review, dissemination or copying of this message or the information it contains is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please immediately notify the sender, and delete the original message and attachments.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
On Sat, 20 Dec 2025 at 19:23, Emmanuel Engelhart kelson@kiwix.org wrote:
On 2025-12-04 12:37, Butch Bustria wrote:
*Angle 3: The "Education" Synergy*
/Language:/ "Empowering the next generation of ESEAP editors starts in the classroom. Tools like Kiwix allow us to bring Wikipedia into schools in East Timor, Cambodia, Indonesia, and beyond, fostering digital literacy before reliable internet arrives."
/Focus:/ Partnerships with local schools, Ministries of Education, and digital literacy programs.
Hi Butch
Thank you very much for take time to explain to us how we could onboard offline topic to the ESEAP Conference. I really appreciate it and want already to apologize for the pretty late feedback on our side.
But I have been thinking since many days already what would make more more sense because, like you have written, Kiwix can be use in various scenarios.
At the end, I propose to follow the "Education" track. I also think that there is no effective education if you keep the poorest just aside, so the "Equity" is quite unsubstantial to the education.
My overall feeling is that maybe not everybody might know well about Kiwix, so an approach would be:
- Kiwix presentation
- Scenarios how it can help in the classroom/library
- Homegrown initiative like kiwix4schools
- How we can collaborate
I think we could do that in a form of a "Workshop" in the "Technology" track. I made the submission under the title "20 years of Kiwix: your library without Internet"
I have very open to remarks/critics to change it. The ESEAP region is not so well understood within our organisation, but I would really like to fill the gap on this during the next years.
BTW, next year Kiwix will be 20! So glad if we can celebrate this in Kaohsiung as well.
Regards Kelson
-- Kiwix - Wikipedia Offline & more
- Web: https://kiwix.org/
- Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@kiwix
- Wiki: https://wiki.kiwix.org/