Hi everybody,
The next North Carolina Wikipedians monthly meeting will be this Tuesday, June 9 from 7-8pm ET on Zoom [1]. I unfortunately won’t be able to attend as I’m out of town for work, but I’ll check in at 7pm to make sure that nobody is stuck in the waiting room. Our agenda is on Etherpad [2], and so far includes:
- Update on the NC Wikipedians Facebook group, which is closing soon
- Should we do something for Wikidata 14th birthday on October 29, 2026? And if so, should we apply for funding?
- Annual report update: I’ve finally incorporated the suggestions from our last meeting into our annual report [3], so I think it’s ready to be submitted! If you can have a look and make any improvements before the meeting, that would be very appreciated.
Hope y’all have a good meeting — please let me know if I can help in any way!
cheers,
Gaurav
[1] https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83223394074?pwd=86Q62WDVUpUa9T1QBAI4alEFBaYYBD.1
[2] https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/North_Carolina_Wikipedians#L37
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Affiliates_Strategy/Im…
Another funding opportunity — the current Wikimedia Rapid Grant cycle ends at the end of this month (July 1) and will cover events or programs after August 31, 2026. While this works well for Wiki Loves Monuments, it would also work for Wikidata’s birthday party on October 29.
cheers,
Gaurav
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Lucy Iwuala via All-affiliates <all-affiliates(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Subject: [All-affiliates] Wiki Loves Monuments 2026 – Rapid Grant Timeline & Organisers Office Hour
> Date: June 6, 2026 at 9:02:09 AM EDT
> To: wlm-announce(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Cc: african-wikimedians(a)lists.wikimedia.org, wikilovesmonuments(a)lists.wikimedia.org, wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org, all-affiliates(a)lists.wikimedia.org, Lucy Iwuala <lucyiwuala(a)gmail.com>
> Reply-To: Wikimedia All-Affiliates <all-affiliates(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
>
> Dear Wiki Loves Monuments Organisers,
>
> As preparations for Wiki Loves Monuments 2026 continue, we would like to remind organisers planning to apply for Wikimedia Rapid Grants that Cycle 1 is the most recommended timeline to ensure funds are received ahead of the competition period.
>
> Rapid Grant Cycle 1 Timeline
> Submission deadline: July 1, 2026
> Review period: July 2 – July 29, 2026
> Compliance check & decision announcement: July 30 – August 12, 2026
> Grant processing & payment: August 12 - August 26, 2026
> Earliest project start date: August 31, 2026
>
> Organisers are encouraged to review the timeline <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Rapid#Timeline> carefully and begin planning early.
>
> For organisers who may not be able to access Rapid Grants or do not have Wiki Loves Monuments funding included in their Annual Plan, the Wiki Loves Monuments International Team also provides Micro-Grant <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Wiki_Loves_Monuments_2026/Organi…> support ranging from 300-500 USD to support local organising efforts.
>
> In addition, as part of preparations for WLM 2026, the International Team is planning an upcoming Office Hour session where organisers can ask questions, seek clarification, and discuss concerns related to the competition, funding, and campaign planning.
>
> Please stay tuned for the Office Hour call details and participation information.
>
> We look forward to another successful edition of Wiki Loves Monuments with communities around the world.
>
> Best regards,
> Lucy Iwuala
> For: Wiki Loves Monuments International Team
> _______________________________________________
> All-affiliates mailing list -- all-affiliates(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to all-affiliates-leave(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Hi everybody,
Wikidata has lots of information [1] on organizing Wikidata’s 14th birthday party on October 29, 2026, including funding opportunities: Wikimedia Deutschland micro grants (deadline June 30, needs to go through a registered US organization like Wikimedia NYC or Wikimedia DC) or WMF Rapid Funds (deadline September 1, can be received by an individual).
cheers,
Gaurav
[1] https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Fourteenth_Birthday/Run_an_event
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Mohammed Abdulai via Wikidata <wikidata(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Subject: [Wikidata] Re: Save the date: Wikidata turns 14 🥳
> Date: June 4, 2026 at 8:17:51 AM EDT
> To: Discussion list for the Wikidata project <wikidata(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Cc: wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org, Mohammed Abdulai <mohammed.abdulai(a)wikimedia.de>
> Reply-To: Discussion list for the Wikidata project <wikidata(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> A few quick reminders as we slowly gear up for Wikidata's 14th birthday <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Fourteenth_Birthday> on 29 October 2026.
>
> 👉 Add your event to the global calendar <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Fourteenth_Birthday/Calendar>.
>
> 👉 Apply for a microgrant <https://lime.wikimedia.de/index.php/897743?lang=en> from Wikimedia Deutschland to run your event. Deadline: 30 June 2026 UTC.
>
> 👉 Prepare a birthday message <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Event:Wikidata_Fourteenth_Birthday/Presents_%…> or "present <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Event:Wikidata_Fourteenth_Birthday/Presents_%…>" (tool, video, documentation, etc) and add it to the list.
>
> 👉 Mark the date for the online celebration call <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Event:Wikidata_Fourteenth_Birthday/Presents_%…> (29 October at 17:00 UTC) and add it to your calendar.
>
> If you need help with anything feel free to get in touch with me directly.
>
> Cheers,
>
> -Mohammed
>
> On Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 7:17 PM Mohammed Abdulai <mohammed.abdulai(a)wikimedia.de <mailto:mohammed.abdulai@wikimedia.de>> wrote:
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> Wikidata turns 14 this October, and it’s time to start thinking about birthday celebrations. Since we launched on 29 October 2012, Wikidata has grown into a thriving open-source knowledge base, thanks to all of you.
>>
>> Each year, we come together to mark this milestone. Events and contributions will happen throughout October and November 2026, across regions and languages, online and offline.
>>
>> Why we celebrate:
>>
>> To recognize the work and impact of the Wikidata community
>> To connect and engage with others who care about open knowledge
>> To share Wikidata with new audiences and grow the movement
>>
>> How you can take part:
>>
>> 🎈 Host Your Own: Organize something with your local community. A short Wikidata intro, an editathon, or even a cake-cutting meetup. 👉 Visit the birthday page for support and resources <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Fourteenth_Birthday/Run_an_event> to help you promote it.
>>
>> 🎉 Join an Event: Whether you’re after a hands-on editathon or an informal hangout, there are many ways to get involved. 👉 Keep an eye on the list of events <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Fourteenth_Birthday/Calendar> and find one near you.
>>
>> 🎁 Prepare a Birthday Gift: Every year, volunteers create “birthday presents” for the community; new features, playful content, documentation, and more. 👉 Take a look at previous gifts <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata:Thirteenth_Birthday/Presents_%26_mes…> and add your idea to this year’s list.
>>
>> 💬 Join the Online Call On October 29: we’ll host a call where people can present their gifts, share updates, and celebrate live with the global community. Details will be published closer to the event date.
>>
>> 💡 Need support for your event or gift idea? Microgrants are available through Wikimedia Deutschland to help cover costs. You can apply until June 30th via this Lime Survey form <https://lime.wikimedia.de/index.php/638517?lang=en>.
>>
>> For questions, feel free to reply here, leave a note on the talk page or contact me directly <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Wikidata_talk:Fourteenth_Birthday>.
>>
>> Looking forward to celebrating together again.
>>
>> 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 <https://wikimedia.de/>
>>
>> Grab a spot in my calendar for a chat: cal.com/masssly <http://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 <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
> _______________________________________________
> Wikidata mailing list -- wikidata(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikidata@lists.wikimedia.org/me…
> To unsubscribe send an email to wikidata-leave(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Looks like an interesting challenge about water and sanitation in Africa!
cheers,
Gaurav
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Jael Boateng via GLAM <glam(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Subject: [GLAM] Join the launch of Africa Wiki Challenge 2026 – Water for Life in Africa
> Date: May 19, 2026 at 7:21:33 AM EDT
> To: Mailing list for African Wikimedians <african-wikimedians(a)lists.wikimedia.org>, Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>, glam(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Cc: Information Center <info(a)ofwafrica.org>, Jael Boateng <jboateng(a)ofwafrica.org>
> Reply-To: "Wikimedia & GLAM collaboration [Public]" <glam(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
>
> Hello Everyone,
>
> We are excited to announce the Africa Wiki Challenge (AWC) 2026 <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Africa_Wiki_Challenge_2026>, a continental open knowledge campaign dedicated to amplifying Africa’s presence in the global digital space.
>
> This year’s theme, “WATER FOR LIFE IN AFRICA – Liquid Heritage: Documenting Africa’s Water Resources and Sanitation Systems,” focuses on one of the continent’s most vital yet underrepresented areas. Read more about the campaign on diff <https://diff.wikimedia.org/2026/05/18/africa-wiki-challenge-2026water-for-l…>.
>
> Join the Launch
>
> The Africa Wiki Challenge 2026 will officially launch on Thursday, 28 May 2026 as a virtual event. Register <https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81070652031?pwd=utMO6xYTa0yh2bRGc9GKLJ898x4qi7.1> to join the launch to learn more about the campaign theme, participation guidelines, contribution areas, and available support for editors and first-time contributors.
>
> How to Participate
>
> Register to join the campaign here <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Africa_Wiki_Challenge_2026>. Participants can contribute in multiple ways, including creating new Wikipedia articles on water and sanitation topics in Africa, improving existing content across Wikimedia platforms, uploading images and videos to Wikimedia Commons, adding structured data to Wikidata to improve visibility and access, and documenting local water systems, innovations, and community practices.
>
> Weekly Virtual Office Hours
>
> To support participants throughout the campaign, we will host weekly virtual office hours. These sessions will provide guidance on editing and contributions, technical support for Wikimedia platforms, topic suggestions and collaboration opportunities, and space for questions and peer learning. Details for each weekly session, including dates, times, and access links, will be shared via this mailing list and our community channels.
>
> Remember to register <https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81070652031?pwd=utMO6xYTa0yh2bRGc9GKLJ898x4qi7.1> for the launch and contribute <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Africa_Wiki_Challenge_2026>!!
>
>
> On behalf of the organisers,
> --
> Jael Serwaa Boateng
> Executive Director
> Open Foundation West Africa
> _______________________________________________
> GLAM mailing list -- glam(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to glam-leave(a)lists.wikimedia.org
The results for the 2025 Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year contest are out!
cheers,
Gaurav
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "Md. Zillur Rahman via Commons-l" <commons-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Subject: [Commons-l] Announcing the Winners of Picture of the Year 2025!
> Date: May 3, 2026 at 9:37:16 AM EDT
> To: commons-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> Cc: commons-poty(a)lists.wikimedia.org, "Md. Zillur Rahman" <zi.jony93(a)gmail.com>
> Reply-To: Wikimedia Commons Discussion List <commons-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I am so pleased to finally announce the winners for this year's Picture of the Year contest! We had some truly incredible finalists to choose from, but the community has spoken.
>
> Here are your top three winning images:
>
> 🥇 First Place: Damage in the Gaza Strip
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Damage_in_Gaza_Strip_during_the_Oct…
>
> 🥈 Second Place: Baby cape fur seal sleeping at Cape Cross
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:014_Baby_cape_fur_seal_sleeping_at_…
>
> 🥉 Third Place: Gigantic jet photographed from the International Space Station
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gigantic_jet_photographed_by_Nichol…
>
> You can view the full results and see where all your favorite images placed here:
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Picture_of_the_Year/2025/Results…
>
> I also want to highlight what an incredible turnout we had. In the second round, we saw a massive jump in both the number of users voting and the total votes cast. We had exactly 13,979 votes cast by 3,509 users! To put that in perspective, last year we had 7,403 votes from 2,837 users. It is amazing to see that level of growth and community engagement.
>
> Thank you to everyone who voted, helped organize, and generally made the contest such a huge success this year.
>
>
>
> Regards,
> User:ZI Jony
> POTY Commitee
> _______________________________________________
> Commons-l mailing list -- commons-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to commons-l-leave(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Hi everybody,
Today is the "Country Music Rides Again" online editathon [1] -- we'll be meeting on Zoom [2] today from 5:30pm to 7:30pm ET to help improve country music articles on Wikipedia, Wikidata and the Wikimedia Commons. If you can swing by at any time during that time period, we’d love to say hi! Experienced editors will be available for the entire time period to help, so no experience is needed. If you have any questions or if you have any difficulties getting into the Zoom room, please send me an e-mail.
Hope to see you later today!
cheers,
Gaurav
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Event:Country_Music_Rides_Again_Online_Editat…
[2] https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87473954369?pwd=G9Pud1iBgG3bJ7avUWKgj7VjAO6PGT.1
A scholarship and conference that looks interesting!
cheers,
Gaurav
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "Meta-Wiki" <wiki(a)wikimedia.org>
> Subject: Queering Wiki 2026 - Scholarship open!
> Date: April 14, 2026 at 1:20:04 PM EDT
> To: "Gaurav" <gaurav(a)ggvaidya.com>
> Reply-To: "Vic Sfriso (WMLGBT)" <vic(a)wmlgbt.org>
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> Our Queering Wiki 2026 Scholarship application is now open, until May 1st. More information and application survey available here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Queering_Wiki_2026
>
> The 2026 edition will take place 23–25 October in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, bringing together participants from around the world, both within local communities and the diaspora.
>
> We hope to see you there,
> Vic Sfriso
> Wikimedia LGBT+
>
> --
> This email was sent by Vic Sfriso (WMLGBT) to Gaurav, a registered participant of the following event: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Queering_Wikipedia_Conference_2025. If you reply to this email, your email will be sent directly to the original sender, revealing your email address to them.
> To manage email preferences for user Vic Sfriso (WMLGBT), please visit the following URL:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Mute/Vic_Sfriso_(WMLGBT)
>
> Visit the Collaboration list to find more events and communities on the wikis: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:AllEvents
Hi everybody,
Thank you to everybody who attended the “Country Music’s Mythology” editathon [1] last week — we had a great time with 23 attendees, several organizers, special guest Rissi Palmer, discussions of the issue and playlist, an editing demo from me [2], lots of tacos and banana pudding, and enough time to create one new article, update three more, and add 977 more words and 28 (!) references to Wikipedia! That’s amazing!
We’re planning a follow-up virtual editathon on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm — exactly four weeks after the original event. I’ll set up a signup page for this event in a day or two, and I'll let y’all know on this mailing list once it’s ready for registration. Our idea is to meet on Zoom and use the same list of pages that need improvement from the first event page [1]. Experienced editors will be present to help you edit if you need help, or you can just edit by yourself. If you have any suggestions for this event, please send them to us so we can incorporate them before preparing the event page!
If you signed up for our mailing list on our signup sheet at the event last week, you’ll receive this email (as well as future events going forward). If you didn’t mean to do that or have changed your mind, you can unsubscribe yourself on the mailing list website [3] or e-mail me directly at gaurav(a)ggvaidya.com <mailto:gaurav@ggvaidya.com> for help.
Our next monthly meeting will be in two weeks on Tuesday, April 14 from 7-8pm ET on Zoom — we’ll send out a reminder before that event, as well as an agenda on our meeting notes document [4]. If you’d like to help us organize these events in the future, please join us — the more people are involved, the more events we can organize!
cheers,
Gaurav
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Event:Wikicurious:_Country_Music%27s_Mythology
[2] https://bit.ly/wikicurious-edit-2026mar25
[3] https://lists.wikimedia.org/postorius/lists/wikimedia-us-nc.lists.wikimedia…
[4] https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/North_Carolina_Wikipedians#L36
