Hi everyone,
The RightsCon deadline is fast approaching - don’t miss your chance to
submit a session! The submission deadline is *September 12th* (we expect
this deadline to be extended by one week). Application guidance below.
RightsCon, hosted by Access Now, is an important global digital rights
conference that brings together activists, academics, industry, civil
society, and more to discuss pressing issues related to human rights in the
digital age. Wikimedians have a long history of presenting at RightsCon
(see 2025
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/01/17/wikimedians-will-promote-cultural-pre…>
& 2023
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/09/14/takeaways-from-rightscon-22-a-convers…>),
and I encourage this group in particular to consider sharing your work.
*Where and when: *RightsCon will take place in Lusaka, Zambia, May 5-8th,
2026. This is a hybrid event.
*Travel support:* RightsCon provides a handful of travel scholarships.
Their policy and process from last year
<https://www.rightscon.org/rc25-travel-support/> provide guidance on what
you can expect.
*Application guidance:* RightsCon has an excellent guide to a successful
proposal <https://www.rightscon.org/your-guide-to-a-successful-proposal/> as
well as an office hour. The next one is on Tuesday, September 2nd (4 am New
York | 10 am Brussels | 4 pm Hong Kong). In the blog post links above you
can see what Wikimedia topics have been successful in the past. I have also
put together a resource
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QUF3a1iXvE7J7GFKiEP5OWvpX_FsiAlSR5O4Trf…>
that includes a template of the full application form as well as examples
of successful applications. My extra tips are below the line.
Please feel free to schedule a time with me if you have questions, or to
send me your draft application for input.
Best wishes,
Ziski
__
*Ziski's Tips*
- Tailor the topic to the region, either by involving allies from that
area or focusing on how lessons from your specific context could carry over.
- Collaborate with allies. Submit a session proposal with existing
partners, or with groups you want to work with more in the future. If you
do a Wikimedia only session, then you should at least include speakers from
other affiliates.
- Don't stick to panels. RightsCon is a fun conference because they
allow a host of creative session formats. We're a fun and quirky movement,
so those additional format options work well for us. Take advantage of them!
- Test ideas and run workshops. The RightsCon audience is always a great
group if you want to test a pitch or get feedback or ideas on a specific
project or challenge you're trying to tackle.
- Some areas where Wikimedians can bring a unique perspective:
- Work with indigenous languages (especially in the context of AI
discussions)
- Promoting and preserving cultural heritage in the 21st century with
open source tools so that communities can remain stewards of their
histories and cultures
- Epistemic justice / debates around knowledge rights and structures
of power, and how these need to be addressed in the digital age
- Data privacy practices
- Tactical experiences! What it takes to work in a global movement,
or build south-south alliances, or work with unlikely partners on a
campaign, or avoid burnout, or access useful grants, etc
- Using open data (WikiData!) to promote sustainable development goals
Franziska Putz (she/her)
Senior Movement Advocacy Manager
Global Advocacy, Wikimedia Foundation
Fputz(a)wikimedia.org
UTC Timezone
Hello everyone,
The Global Initiative on Information Integrity on Climate Change has
launched a "Mutirão":
https://cop30.br/en/news-about-cop30/global-initiative-for-information-inte…,
a call to action for civil society and other stakeholders to submit
initiatives that they have to promote information integrity on climate
change.
A bit of context: most international actors are pretty much unaware of the
value that Wikipedia can bring to the conversation on information integrity
on climate change. The only way to change this perception is by making sure
that they see all the work we're doing on the topic!
So this is an invitation for all affiliates to submit all the initiatives
you're working on related to the topic. The initiatives can be from
research projects to Wikimedians in Residence programs to content campaigns
or any other type of activity related to the topic.
cheers,
--
Evelin Heidel
Directora de Programas
Wikimedistas de Uruguay
Seguinos: Newsletter <https://wikimedistasdeuruguay.eo.page/boletin> |
Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/wikimedistasuy/> | YouTube
<https://www.youtube.com/c/WikimedistasdeUruguay>
Hi everyone,
I hope those of you who were at Wikimania (more on that soon!) are either
enjoying time off in Kenya or almost done with a safe journey home. For
now, I have an important update about WMF's legal challenge in the UK.
On Monday, 11 August, the High Court of Justice dismissed the Wikimedia
Foundation's challenge to the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA)
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/08/11/wikimedia-foundation-challenges-uk-on…>
Categorisation
Regulations. While the decision does not provide the immediate legal
protections for Wikipedia that we hoped for, the Court’s ruling emphasized
the responsibility of Ofcom <https://www.ofcom.org.uk/>and the UK
government to ensure Wikipedia is protected as the OSA is implemented.
The judge recognized the "significant value" of Wikipedia, its safety for
users, as well as the damages that wrongly-assigned OSA categorisations and
duties could have on the human rights of Wikipedia's volunteer
contributors. The Court stressed that this ruling "does not give Ofcom and
the Secretary of State a green light to implement a regime that would
significantly impede Wikipedia's operations", and indicated they could
face legal repercussions if they fail to protect Wikipedia and the rights
of its users. In order to achieve that outcome, he suggested that Ofcom
may need to find a particularly flexible interpretation of the rules in
question, or that the rules themselves may need amendment in Parliament.
If the ruling stands, the first categorization decisions from Ofcom are
expected this summer. The Foundation will continue to seek solutions to
protect Wikipedia and the rights of its users as the OSA continues to be
implemented.
Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions.
Best wishes,
Ziski
Franziska Putz (she/her)
Senior Movement Advocacy Manager
Global Advocacy, Wikimedia Foundation
Fputz(a)wikimedia.org
UTC Timezone
Hello,
I wonder what the Wikimedia Public Policy Group has to say on the recent
WMF decision of censoring parts of a Wikipedia article, and specially
giving away private data of 8 Wikipedia editors, including email and IP
addresses used by the accounts, to the Portuguese courts, with the stated
objective of being given to Cesar do Paço and individually sued by him [1].
And the reasons why the WMF decided to enforce that court decision in a
country where they have no assets or representatives.
And the position all this leaves all of us who are editing from Portugal,
who wouldn't be able to trust the WMF anymore to keep safe our private data.
And eventually also the data of who is editing from the US and other
places, since now we know that the WMF will for sure deliver what they see
fit about us to the courts, even when nothing visible indicates they
actually need to do that, as happened in this case.
Also alarming is the reason why the last appeal was promptly dismissed by
the court, according to the press:
"*In Ruling no. 282/2025, with Justice Rui Guerra da Fonseca as the
reporting judge, it is considered clear that the issue of constitutionality
was not raised in a procedurally appropriate manner by the Wikimedia
Foundation. Therefore, the Constitutional Court decides to dismiss the
complaint, not to take cognizance of the subject matter of the appeal, and
to order the claimant to pay the legal costs of the proceedings.*"
[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(WMF)#Office_action:_R…
[2]
https://www.dn.pt/pol%C3%ADtica/tribunal-constitucional-recusa-recurso-da-w…
Best,
Paulo
Dear all,
Congratulations, to you, you made it to the end of the week!
Congratulations to me, the Wikipedia Test resources are finally available!
What is the Wikipedia Test? A tool for policymakers and advocates to assess
whether a bill would break Wikipedia. If the answer is yes, it’s probably a
bad policy for other public interest platforms. How does it work? Why do we
need it? Those are great questions. Instead of making you read a long email
here, I recommend you can go straight to the blog post
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/07/17/introducing-the-wikipedia-test-a-tool…>,
click on the webinar details in the post, and decide how *you *would
describe it, and if you like it (I hope you do).
📅 We’re offering two sessions to accommodate different time zones —
please join whichever suits you best. Feel free to share widely with your
networks. This tool, and the webinars, are for everyone who wants to do
their part to promote a diverse, vibrant internet that includes platforms
that serve the public interest. Platforms like OpenStreetMap, digital
archives of cultural heritage, Reddit, and of course, Wikipedia.
Option 1: July 23rd @ 14:00 UTC (check your local time
<https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1753279200>)
Zoom link to register:
https://wikimedia.zoom.us/meeting/register/vatkUp33RQCuuYOW-QEgdw
Option 2: July 29th @ 3:00 UTC (check your local time
<https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1753758000>)
Zoom link to register:
https://wikimedia.zoom.us/meeting/register/UX4Wp9gZR02cCyBMfgbb0w
We hope you can join us and help protect the internet as a vibrant public
space!
Warm regards,
Ziski & the WMF Global Advocacy Team
Franziska Putz (she/her)
Senior Movement Advocacy Manager
Global Advocacy, Wikimedia Foundation
Fputz(a)wikimedia.org
UTC Timezone