Dear Wikimedians,
We are pleased to announce the upcoming Indic Wikimedia Hackathon Hyderabad
2026, organized by Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Indic_MediaWiki_Developers_User_Group>
(aka Indic-TechCom). The hackathon is scheduled to take place in Hyderabad
from 26 - 28 June 2026 (with 25 June as Day 0), in collaboration with the Open
Knowledge Initiatives team <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IIITH-OKI>and OSDG
club <https://www.osdg.in/> at International Institute of Information
Technology, Hyderabad
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Institute_of_Information_Techno…>
.
Wikimedia hackathons are spaces for developers, designers, content editors,
and other community stakeholders to collaborate on building technical
solutions that help improve tools, workflows, and overall user experience
across Wikimedia projects.
The hackathon is intended for:
-
Technical contributors active in the Wikimedia technical ecosystem,
which includes developers, maintainers (admins/interface admins),
translators, designers, researchers, documentation writers etc.
-
Content contributors having an in-depth understanding of technical
issues in their homes Wikimedia projects like Wikipedia, Wikisource,
Wiktionary, etc.
-
Contributors to any other open-source community or have participated in
Wikimedia events in the past, and would like to get started with
contributing to Wikimedia technical spaces.
-
Participants may work on curated hackathon tasks and are also encouraged
to propose their own ideas, supported by a clear problem statement and a
proposed approach.
To encourage participation and support promising contributions, we have
scholarships to support participants' related expenses.
You can apply by filling out the form below:
Scholarship application form (Deadline: 2nd May 2026): Google form
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSej8JvGsvQ7mYmkXdUDriMrKNPajCqH4e3…>
A curated list of hackathon tasks will be shared with the selected
participants once the application review is finalized.
Further details, including the venue and program schedule, will also be
shared soon. We encourage you to follow the essential details & updates on
Meta-Wiki regarding this event.
Event Meta-Wiki page: Indic Wikimedia Hackathon Hyderabad 2026
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Indic_Wikimedia_Hackathon_Hyderabad_2026>
If you have any questions, concerns, or need any support with the
application reach out via the Meta-Wiki talk page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Indic_Wikimedia_Hackathon…>
or email at contact(a)indicmediawikidev.org
Best regards,
Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group
Hello everyone 👋
We are happy to invite submissions for the *South Asia Newsletter*
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia/Newsletter> (pilot edition).[1]
This initiative aims to bring together updates, stories and highlights from
across the community, focusing on activities from the South Asia region.
We welcome submissions such as project updates, campaigns, collaborations,
announcements and community highlights - both big and small. :)
*👉 Submission form:* https://forms.gle/FFqbFek4EXyNBPfE8
*🗓️ Submission deadline:* End of day, 6 April 2026
We appreciate your contributions in helping build a stronger and more
connected South Asia <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia> Wikimedia
community.
You can also share your feedback or suggestions at:
connect(a)sa.wikimedia.asia
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Asia/Newsletter
Best regards,
*Jinoy*
[[User:Gnoeee]]
*Please don’t print this e-mail unless you really need to.Every 3000 sheets
consume a tree. Conserve Trees for a better tomorrow!*
The community proposal to host the regional [SAARC Conference in 2026 in Nepal](https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants_talk:Programs/Wikimedia_Commu… was declined. The reasons provided was the event would be redundant and an unnecessary expense because a similar conference is planned in India in the year of 2025. However in 2025 conference in India didn't happened and surprisingly our proposal was declined beacuse of that. But why.!!!
While Nepal’s proposal was viewed with skepticism regarding our capacity, the 2025 conference in India failed to materialize due to a failure in financial management and a lack of understanding regarding local FCRA regulations in India. This resulted in a substantial huge waste of Wikimedia Foundation resources. It is disheartening that the Conference Grant Program Officer applied Indian legal constraints as a blanket assumption for Nepal, hindering our community's growth based on a misunderstanding of our local context.
I have a question: How did the legal situation in India affect the decision on a proposal of Nepal?
Looking ahead to 2026 I was doubtful by the current grant applications from the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad. I see that a request for 207,000 USD has been submitted for WikiConference India 2026. Simultaneously, the same individual representing the same institution, has applied for an separate 87,554.81 USD for an Open Knowledge Conference within a gap of few months of the first event with same purpose and target participants.
As a Wikimedian this raises serious questions about the equitable distribution and potential misuse of community resources. While Nepal is told to scale down and gain experience with smaller events, a single institution is requesting nearly 300,000 USD for overlapping projects with same people in the organization role and same theme.
If the Wikimedia Foundation is concerned about redundancy and extra costs when it comes to Nepal, why is it being overlooked when a single institution in India applies for two major grants for nearly identical purposes? We need more accountability and a fairer distribution of resources to ensure that all communities not just one can grow. We urge the foundation and the community to investigate these for the benefit of the entire regional community and stop wasting the resources make the process more transparent and accountable.
Regards,Pankaj