Give Wikipedia a Gift for their 25th Birthday!

On 15 January Wikipedia turns 25 - a remarkable milestone for a free online encyclopedia written and maintained by its community of volunteers, that has helped billions of people learn something new, settle a debate, or tumble down a late-night rabbit hole of curiosity.

From its humble beginnings 25 years ago, it's now available in over 300 languages, it’s the largest and most-read reference work in history, it powers AI and continues to keep knowledge free and accessible to all.

To mark the occasion, we’re inviting you to give Wikipedia a birthday present — a gift that will help Wikipedia to continue to grow into a reliable resource of knowledge which is accessible and free to all of humanity. Pledge your birthday gift to Wikipedia

Tell us what you would like to give Wikipedia for its special milestone, by completing this Google Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5u56XyaioufIeixswQ9tIlr-ijDdz-dh8sa_w6L2X1kZLhQ/viewform?usp=header .

Here are some suggestions from us;

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Content Gaps on Wikipedia -

Writing a biography / new article or improving an existing article (let us know if you would like ideas on content gaps on Wikipedia) -

Getting an article(s) to Good Article status https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Good_article_criteria or on the main page featured on Did You Know https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Did_you_know -

De-orphaning articles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Orphan#Suggestions_for_how_to_de-orphan_an_article - Incoming wikilinks are central to boosting visibility of subjects in the knowledge network. For example Women’s biographies have a higher rate of being orphaned https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_bias_on_Wikipedia#Article_visibility which makes them less visible. -

Adding images to Wikipedia articles https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Pages_Wanting_Photos/Participate also improves the discoverability of an article. Here is a list of pages where photos are needed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_requested_images. If you want to focus on a specific category you can use these instructions to run a PetScan https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_Pages_Wanting_Photos/Resources . -

Would you like to see more information on a particular subject which is currently underrepresented on Wikipedia? Build a worklist and find reliable sources that other editors / WMUK trainers can use at future events. -

Welcoming and Supporting New Editors -

Join the Teahouse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse/Host_start and support new Wikipedia editors -

Join the Birthday Committee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Birthday_Committee and wish Wikipedia editors a happy birthday. -

If you have led a Wikipedia training session recently, say hello to the people who attended and check in with them to see if they need any support. -

Take some time once a week / month to thank someone and recognise their contribution on their user page or use this simple feature https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Notifications/Thanks on the history page of an article. -

Maybe you’ve been impressed by someone’s contribution or used someone’s image in an article, send them a note to let them know their efforts are appreciated. -

Support Minoritised Languages -

Translating Articles -

English to other language of your choice -

Articles needing translation from a language of your choice to English https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pages_needing_translation_into_English -

Use the content translation tool https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Content_translation_tool as a starting point for your translation(s) -

Organise an edit-a-thon -

If you have been working with a group of editors, you could organise a special birthday edit-a-thon! -

Organise an Wikipedia event for a group / community that you would like to work with. Or maybe you would like to organise a themed edit-a-thon to celebrate Wikipedia’s birthday? -

If you’re not an editor yet, why not become an editor? You can create a new account here https://auth.wikimedia.org/enwiki/wiki/Special:CreateAccount?useformat=desktop&usesul3=1&returnto=Main+Page¢ralauthLoginToken=cfe3f3b785bb7685d64583af76f4deb8. And here is a tutorial on the basics of Wikipedia editing - The Wikipedia Adventure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Adventure -

Apply to run a Community sandbox session https://wikimedia.org.uk/2025/04/community-sandbox-sessions/ - email sara.thomas@wikimedia.org.uk if you have an idea. -

Enrich Wikipedia articles with images and make them more discoverable. -

Add images of Women, people of colour, LGBTQ people and subjects to relevant articles. -

Here is a list of articles needing images https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_requested_images. -

Use previous Wiki Loves Earth and Wiki Loves Monuments images to add to articles. -

Talk to people about why you edit Wikipedia and what it brings to your life! -

Organise a talk with a group who might be interested in finding out more about editing on Wikipedia or may be open to sharing their knowledge on Wikipedia. -

Apply to share your Wikimedia knowledge and experience at Wikimania 2026 in Paris from 21-25 July. The theme for this year’s Wikimania is Freedom, Equity, Reliability (Liberté, Équité, Fi abilité) https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/2026:Program -

Create a shareable resource to highlight a particular area / subject / country / culture using Wikipedia as a guide. -

This could be a geographical map taking people through Wikipedia pages in a particular location -

Or it could be related to a subject for example 19th Century Art, or Black Female Singers in the UK -

This list is by no means exhaustive! Let us know if you have any other ideas!

Wikimedia UK Will Support You to Give Your Gift

Once you’ve chosen your gift and let us know through this Google Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd5u56XyaioufIeixswQ9tIlr-ijDdz-dh8sa_w6L2X1kZLhQ/viewform?usp=header, we’ll send you a tailored set of resources to help you make it happen. A Thank-You from Us

If you complete the task you’ve set yourself, you’ll receive:

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A set of Wiki Loves Earth 2026 winners’ postcards, and

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A celebration of your contribution at our 2026 Community Celebration event in November.

Deadline

The initial deadline for submitting your gift pledge is *Monday** 16*th February.

If you have any questions please contact rupal.karia@wikimedia.org.uk Read more about Wikimedia UK's campaign Gift Knowledge, Your Way https://wikimedia.org.uk/gift-knowledge-your-way/ and find out other ways you can be involved.

Best wishes,