Dear Wikibase Suite Community,
As we move into a new planning cycle, we’d like to share the strategic
priorities guiding our work at Wikimedia Deutschland, developed in
collaboration with the Wikimedia Foundation. We’ve identified three central
pillars—Sustainable Growth, Reuse, and Community—to anchor our efforts over
the next three years. Below is a summary of our key focus areas and
measurable objectives.
Pillar 1: Sustainable Growth of Wikidata
2028 Targets:
-
Improve Federation
Our goal for Sustainable growth of Wikidata in 2025 are as follows:
1.
Improve Federation
1.
Objective: The ability to federate knowledge across instances has
improved, creating a viable path for taking load off of Wikidata.
2.
Indicator: Ontology federation and query federation increase
Pillar 2: Communities
2028 Targets:
-
Wikibase maintainers are more engaged and resilient as their communities
grow.
-
Holders of marginalized or underrepresented knowledge are empowered to
share their knowledge as LOD and govern and model it in a way that is
appropriate for their knowledge.
Our goals for Communities in 2025 are as follows:
1.
Engagement of Wikibase maintainers increase as communities grow
1.
Objective: We have made self-hosting operations more accessible,
robust and easier to manage, fostering project success.
2.
Indicators:
1.
We identify the top 3 reasons why project maintainers are not
upgrading to the latest version of Wikibase Deploy and have
decided how to
address them.
2.
We establish a baseline to evaluate the easiness of self-hosting
operations and we set a target accordingly.
2.
Increase and support diversity in the self-hosted user base
1.
Objective: Users holding and contributing marginalized knowledge find
the Wikibase LOD ecosystem (Wikidata + Suite + Cloud) attractive
for their
use cases.
2.
Indicators:
1.
Support and/or co-develop at least 4 capacity-building initiatives
(e.g., training, mentorship, resources) for marginalized
knowledge projects.
2.
We establish a baseline to measure the prevalence of marginalized or
underrepresented knowledge.
Next Steps
We will collaborate with the Wikibase Cloud and Wikidata teams to align
efforts on federated queries, data governance, and infrastructure
sustainability.
We’ve also set up a survey to update our understanding of who is a part of
the Wikibase Cloud and Suite ecosystem, as well as to provide a space for
Wikibase Cloud users to share their thoughts on the new strategic update.
We ask about which product(s) and features they use, for what purpose(s),
and how their experience is with them towards continuing to support our
community's needs in the next chapter of our product development.
Link to survey can be found here
<https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/Shared-Wikibase-Survey-Q2-2025->
To stay updated on development progress:
-
Report technical issues at Wikibase Suite Phabricator Board
<https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/project/board/5755/>
-
Get in touch via Telegram Channel <https://t.me/wikibasesuite>
Deepesha will also be at the Wikimedia Hackathon in Istanbul. A great time
to connect and get to know each other!
Best regards,
Valerie and Deepesha on behalf of the Wikibase Suite Team at Wikimedia
Deutschland
Valerie Wollinger (She/Her)
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
Dear Wikibase Cloud Community,
We’re excited to share some important updates on Wikibase Cloud’s direction
for the rest of 2025 🎉
First of all, we want to thank you. We know that many of you are investing
significant time and energy into this platform, and we’re deeply grateful
for your support.
As we move forward, we want to provide more context about our priorities
and elaborate on the changes we’re making to ensure a sustainable,
mission-aligned future for Wikibase Cloud.
One reason why Wikibase exists is because of its capacity to support
Wikipedia and Wikidata communities. The software helps to redistribute
certain types of specialized knowledge currently hosted on Wikidata across
multiple dedicated Wikibase instances. This reduces the load on Wikidata’s
technical infrastructure but also lessens the burden on the Wikidata
community, allowing them to focus on curating encyclopedic content rather
than handling every specialized dataset contributed to Wikidata.
In the past years, we built and developed Wikibase Suite and Cloud in ways
that benefited the products on their own but not necessarily as databases
that could be potentially paired up, connected among each other and become
part of a greater ecosystem.
After thoughtful consideration, we decided to shift our focus towards
enhancing the interconnectedness of the knowledge being re-distributed
within the Linked Open Graph and ensuring responsible and impactful hosting
practices.
We will do so by working towards more facilitation practices of federated
querying
<https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikibase/Federation#Federated_querying>
(querying multiple Wikibase instances at once via SPARQL) as well as
establishing clear data governance policies. This work will support the
entire Linked Open Data
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/LinkedOpenData/Strategy2021> graph,
including Wikidata, self-hosted Wikibase instances and of course, Wikibase
Cloud.
Our Priorities for 2025
1.
Federated Queries: We are dedicated to improving the federated querying
experience. This will allow data from multiple Wikibase instances to be
accessed and integrated, enabling new insights and creating a foundation
for meaningful data collaboration across the broader ecosystem. This work
is essential to building a distributed and resilient Linked Open Data graph.
2.
Data Governance: As part of Wikimedia’s commitment to free, accessible,
and educational content, we’ll be implementing policies to ensure that the
data hosted in Wikidata and Wikibase Cloud’s infrastructure reflects
Wikimedia’s mission and is compliant with the law. This means establishing
clearer guidelines on the types of knowledge that can be hosted on Wikidata
and Wikibase Cloud and on aligning the standards for representation of
knowledge across databases so that the platform remains aligned with
Wikimedia’s values. This governance work will be shaped at the ecosystem
level to ensure consistent standards across the Linked Open Data graph. We
will facilitate community conversations to ensure a collaborative approach
to data governance decisions.
What This Means for You
-
Focus on platform stability and sustainability: To fully concentrate on
federated queries and data governance, we will not be adding features
unrelated to these releases to the product this year. Our resources will be
dedicated to building a stable and sustainable platform that supports
interconnected knowledge while ensuring responsible data hosting.
-
Changes to Sign-Up and Compliance Requirements: Moving forward, we will
be implementing a more structured sign-up process and compliance checks to
align with our data governance policies. We aim to provide a clear and
transparent process that respects both Wikimedia’s standards and the needs
of our community.
-
Continued Product Maintenance with Selective Instance Support: We are
committed to keeping the platform operational for all current users.
However, instances that clearly won’t meet the new data governance
requirements may need to transition to self-hosted solutions. We’ll work
with affected users to make this process as smooth as possible, providing
migration support and resources for those who need to relocate their data.
What Success Looks Like
Our objectives and success indicators for 2025 are being prepared for
publication. They reflect our commitment to building a meaningful and
inclusive Wikibase ecosystem:
-
Understanding Instance Purposes: By the end of the year, we aim to
understand the purpose of most of the active instances running on Cloud,
differentiating between knowledge-sharing and experimental use cases. This
understanding will help us create a balanced, mission-aligned community of
instances.
-
Defining Data Governance: Through community-centered discussions, we
will document and implement clear data governance policies that outline
which data and use cases are suitable for Wikibase Cloud. We will establish
processes for evaluating and re-evaluating instances, ensuring that they
align with our mission.
-
Increasing Federation Capabilities: Our work on federated querying will
enable knowledge sharing across instances, helping to relieve some of
Wikidata’s load while providing a collaborative data ecosystem. Success
here means that interconnectedness between instances improves measurably.
-
Inclusivity for Marginalized Knowledge: We’re committed to making
Wikibase Cloud an inclusive space for marginalized knowledge. Our policies
will be explicitly designed to welcome and support instances that represent
marginalized or underrepresented knowledge.
Moving Forward Together
We recognize that these changes may introduce new considerations for our
users, and we’re here to support you every step of the way. We believe that
with your continued engagement, we can create a sustainable and
mission-aligned platform that serves diverse knowledge communities. As
pioneers in this evolving ecosystem, your contributions are helping to
shape a responsible, interconnected knowledge network that will have
lasting impact.
We’ve also set up a survey to update our understanding of who is a part of
the Wikibase Cloud and Suite ecosystem, as well as to provide a space for
Wikibase Cloud users to share their thoughts on the new strategic update.
We ask about which product(s) and features they use, for what purpose(s),
and how their experience is with them towards continuing to support our
community's needs in the next chapter of our product development.
Link to survey can be found: here
<https://wikimedia.sslsurvey.de/Shared-Wikibase-Survey-Q2-2025->
Thank you for being part of our journey. If you have any questions or would
like further details, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
We’re looking forward to working together to make Wikibase Cloud a platform
that is both sustainable and impactful for years to come.
With gratitude,
Valerie on behalf of the Wikibase Cloud Team at Wikimedia Deutschland
Valerie Wollinger (She/Her)
Community Communications Manager Wikibase
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0)30-577 11 62-0https://wikimedia.de
Keep up to date! Current news and exciting stories about Wikimedia,
Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our newsletter (in German): Subscribe
now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in
the sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our
vision!https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR
23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für
Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende
Vorständin: Franziska Heine
Hello :)
*(survey incoming, apologies for the cross posting)*
The global GLAM community is buzzing with activity! Across the world, there
are meetings, campaigns, and projects all working to connect culture and
heritage with Wikimedia initiatives.
Earlier this year, the GLOSS working group was formed to explore what kind
of GLAM structure would best serve the community at this point, and what
needs it should address. This working group builds on years of
progress—especially the recent momentum—to further embed the GLAM community
within our movement.
As mentioned during last week’s Global Call, the working group is now
launching a needs assessment survey. Its purpose is to better understand
the global community and, ultimately, help shape a new approach that
supports GLAM activities around the world.
You can learn more about the GLOSS working group on the Meta page
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/GLOSS
Most importantly, if you have thoughts on what a centralized GLAM structure
could look like—what needs it should meet, how it could support your work
and contribute to the broader movement—please take 5 minutes to fill out
the survey!
*Deadline 12 May!*
*https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/GLOSS/Survey
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/GLAM/GLOSS/Survey>*
And feel free to spread the word! Share it with your local chapter, other
affiliates, or directly with fellow editors and volunteers.
The survey is already available in 4 languages. You can translate the
survey meta page, and we will update the survey with your translation!
Best,
GLOSS Working Group!
Hi everyone,
The next Wikidata + Wikibase Office Hour
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Events#Office_hours> will be held
on Wednesday, April 16th, at 16:00 UTC (18:00 Berlin) on the Wikidata
Telegram channel <https://t.me/joinchat/IeCRo0j5Uag1qR4Tk8Ftsg>.
*What’s the Wikidata + Wikibase Office Hour?*
It’s your chance to:
✅ Hear about what the WMDE development team has been working on and our
plans for the year ahead
✅ Ask questions, discuss topics that matter to you, and share your thoughts
on all things Wikidata and Wikibase
✅ Connect with fellow community members and discover what everyone’s been
up to.
📅 Make sure to mark your calendars!
Cheers,
--
Mohammed S. Abdulai
*Community Communications Manager, Wikidata*
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Phone: +49 (0) 30 577 116 2466
https://wikimedia.de
Grab a spot in my calendar for a chat: cal.com/masssly.
A lot is happening around Wikidata - Keep up to date!
<https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Status_updates> Current news and
exciting stories about Wikimedia, Wikipedia and Free Knowledge in our
newsletter (in German): Subscribe now <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>
.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. Help us to achieve our vision!
https://spenden.wikimedia.de
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR 23855 B.
Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin,
Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende Vorstände: Franziska Heine
Dear all,
We compiled a curated list of key Wikibase extensions
<https://professional.wiki/en/articles/wikibase-extensions>.
The list contains 17 Wikibase extensions, roughly in order of their general
usefulness and how much we recommend them.
Your feedback is welcome!
Best
--
Jeroen De Dauw | CEO Professional.Wiki <https://www.Professional.Wiki>
Create your wiki in seconds via ProWiki <https://www.Pro.Wiki> cloud
hosting.
We are MediaWiki, Wikibase, and software development experts.
Professional Wiki GmbH, Tieckstraße 24, 10115 Berlin
Geschäftsführung: Jeroen De Dauw, Karsten Hoffmeyer
Handelsregister: Amtsgericht Charlottenburg, HRB 246887 B
Sitz: Berlin, USt-IdNr.: DE356328845