Hello all,

As you may already know, the Wikimedia Hackathon 2023 will take place in Technopolis, Athens, Greece, on May 19-21. This in-person event will gather the global Wikimedia technical community to connect, hack, run technical discussions, and explore new ideas.

*If you plan to join, please register as soon as possible.*

Registration for the Hackathon will be open until we reach the event's maximum capacity [0]. If you plan to join, we encourage you to register as soon as possible, as there are currently around ten slots left. We also encourage you to book your travel and accommodation shortly. You will find more information on the travel [1] and accommodation [2] pages. You are also welcome to help us improve those pages by adding additional information about Athens and how to travel there.

For people who already registered, remember to confirm your attendance by filling out the additional field in the registration form (see the email sent by hackathon@wikimedia.org on March 13). Please note that WMF's scholarship process concluded in January, and aside from the 51 people who got a scholarship confirmed, we cannot support people with funds or visa documents. Therefore, most participants must organize their own travel to stay in Athens.

This year's edition will focus on bringing together people who already contribute to technical aspects of the Wikimedia projects, know how to find their way around in the technical ecosystem, and can work or collaborate on projects more autonomously. For people new to our technical environment, there are other newcomers-friendly events you can join throughout the year - feel free to improve the list. [3]

*You can organize a satellite event with your local community.*

For people new to the technical aspects of the Wikimedia projects or who cannot attend the in-person event, a great option could be to organize an autonomous, local satellite event to the Hackathon. These events can occur before, during, or after the in-person event. If you are considering running an event like this, contact your local community to get started! If you need financial support, please note that the deadline to apply for the current round of Rapid Funds is March 20 [4].

*Proposals for the in-person program are welcome until April 4.*

The Hackathon is organized as a participant-driven event and lives from the active participation of its attendees. Because this year's edition is focused on reconnecting with your technical community peers in person, most of the program will take place onsite. You can propose a session by creating a task on the Phabricator board. Find more information on the Program page [5].

Similar to the satellite events, some online sessions, in parallel or ahead of the event, may be organized autonomously by participants. In any case, participants are free to work on their projects, whether in-person or online, and connect to the technical community on the Hackathon channels [6].

If you have any questions, feel free to use the Hackathon talk page or to reach out to the organizers at hackathon@wikimedia.org.

Cheers, Srishti

On behalf of the Hackathon organizing team

[0] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2023/Participate#Registra...

[1] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2023/Travel

[2] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2023/Accommodation

[3] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2023/Documentation#Events...

[4] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2023/Satellite_events

[5] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2023/Program

[6] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Hackathon_2023/Connect

*Srishti Sethi* Senior Developer Advocate Wikimedia Foundation https://wikimediafoundation.org/