Meetups (Kopdar) are always highly anticipated moments for Wikimedia volunteers. Aside from being a space to connect, meetups often spark extraordinary collaborations. Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a very unique meetup event titled WikiRempah in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia on Sunday, August 9, 2026.

True to its name, this event highlighted the richness of spices and culture, but with an interesting cross-cultural twist: we documented the culinary and cultural heritage of Eastern Indonesia, yet channeled it into Sundanese-language Wikimedia projects and other global platforms. This activity was not just about editing; it was a contribution marathon involving four Wikimedia projects simultaneously.

Crafting Recipes and Visualizing Flavors

The first session, which was highly memorable for me, was culinary documentation. Eastern Indonesian cuisine, famous for its rich herbs and spices, was the main star. We went to an authentic Eastern Indonesian restaurant, photographed, and documented these signature dishes, then uploaded the best visuals to the Wikimedia Commons repository so they could be freely used by anyone. One example I uploaded was a photo of a Ayam Woku Khas Sulawesi.

Pijri Paijar, Ayam Woku khas Sulawesi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

We then moved on to the Sundanese Wikibooks project, which is currently still in the incubator. There, we worked together to write down these authentic Eastern recipes in Sundanese. Translating the spice measurements, cooking methods, and ingredient names into our mother tongue offered a unique sensation, as if we were serving Eastern Indonesian flavors right in the kitchens of the Sundanese people. On that occasion, I tried writing down the recipe for grilled skipjack tuna (ikan cakalang bakar).

Bridging Cultural Heritage to the Sundanese Wikipedia

After being satisfied with crafting recipes, the meetup’s focus shifted from the dining table to historical sites. Eastern Indonesia has an abundance of cultural heritage sites whose histories are vital to the civilization of the archipelago. Unfortunately, information regarding these sites is still very minimal, especially in regional languages.

This is where we contributed through the Sundanese Wikipedia. We wrote and expanded new articles discussing cultural heritage in the eastern part of Indonesia. Writing about geographically distant topics in Sundanese is a tangible manifestation of Wikimedia’s mission: freeing knowledge for everyone, in the language closest to them. I wrote several titles, including Bénténg Middelburg (Middelburg Fort), Bénténg Amsterdam (Amsterdam Fort), and Bénténg Barneveld (Barneveld Fort).

Bringing the Dictionary to Life with the Sounds of Spices

The highlight of this WikiRempah Meetup, and in my opinion the most interactive activity, was the voice recording session. Since the overarching theme was “Spices,” we compiled a long list of vocabulary related to spices and typical Indonesian cooking ingredients.

Using the Lingua Libre software, we took turns recording the pronunciation of this spice vocabulary one by one. The atmosphere became very lively and fun as we had to ensure our Sundanese articulation sounded clear and precise. After the recording process was complete, the audio files were not just left there. We immediately embedded them into the existing entries in the Sundanese Wiktionary.

Now, the digital dictionary does not only present text but also “speaks.” Anyone looking for entries about spices in the Sundanese Wiktionary can instantly hear how the word is pronounced orally by a native speaker. Some of the recorded words included lauk (fish), sagu (sago), and sampeu (cassava).

A Comprehensive Contribution Experience

Oceanmuse, Kopdar WikiRempah Bandung, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY 4.0

Participating in the WikiRempah Meetup gave me a new perspective on how the Wikimedia ecosystem works. From a culinary dish and a historical story, we could unpack them into photos on Wikimedia Commons, recipes on Wikibooks, encyclopedic articles on Wikipedia, to audio pronunciation recordings on Wiktionary and Lingua Libre.

This activity proves that contributing to the Wikimedia movement is never boring. There is always room for creativity, cross-cultural collaboration, and new ways to preserve the richness of the archipelago in the digital realm. Endless thanks to the organizing committee for this incredibly valuable and memorable opportunity. My hope is that a multi-contribution meetup model like WikiRempah can inspire other communities to keep exploring!

As the Iranian Wikimedians User Group (IWUG) started preparing its plans for the coming year and its next grant proposal, we wanted to hear directly from the community about what kinds of activities they were interested in and where we could do better.

In June 2026, we conducted a survey asking people around the user group about their current involvement with IWUG, their interest in future activities, and the kinds of programs and training they would find useful.

We received 147 responses. The results are now helping us shape our plans for the next year.

Who responded?

The survey ran from 8 to 23 June 2026. It was mainly intended for IWUG members and people connected with the user group community.

We shared it through the IWUG Telegram group and channel, as well as the Persian Wikipedia Village Pump (قهوه‌خانه). Anyone who had the link could respond.

Because participation was open and self-selected, the results should not be treated as representative of the entire Persian Wikipedia community. The survey was intended to help us understand the community around IWUG and what people in that community expect from the user group.

Almost all respondents were active on Wikipedia. 146 of the 147 respondents selected Wikipedia as one of the Wikimedia projects where they are most active. Some also reported contributing to Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, Wikiquote, Wiktionary, Wikisource and other Wikimedia projects.

Interest is high, but participation is much lower

One of the clearest results was the difference between people’s interest in IWUG activities and how much they currently participate.

85% of respondents reported at least a medium level of interest in participating in IWUG activities. Of those, 44.9% described their interest as high or very high.

Current participation was much lower.

65.3% said their current participation in IWUG was none, very low or low. Only 9.5% described their participation as high or very high.

The survey also showed that many respondents were not very familiar with IWUG. 70.1% said they had no, very little or low familiarity with the user group, while only 11.6% reported high or very high familiarity.

Taken together, these results suggest that there are people who are interested in getting involved but do not yet participate regularly, and in many cases may not know enough about IWUG or how to take part.

This is something we want to work on during the coming year.

Online education was the most popular activity

Education was one of the strongest themes in the responses.

When we asked which types of activities people would be interested in joining, online educational and skill-building programs were the most popular option, selected by 92 respondents (62.6%).

Article-writing campaigns and competitions were selected by 70 respondents (47.6%), while 62 respondents (42.2%) were interested in in-person social gatherings.

We also asked what people would like to learn through online programs.

97 respondents (66%) selected introductory training about Wikipedia and editing. 83 (56.5%) were interested in tools and scripts. 78 (53.1%) wanted to learn more about contributing to other Wikimedia projects such as Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons and Wikisource, and 67 respondents (45.6%) were interested in learning more about the wider Wikimedia movement.

Some of the written responses also mentioned that learning how Wikipedia works can be difficult, especially for newer contributors. Several respondents asked for clearer and more accessible educational material in Persian.

This fits closely with some of the programs we were already considering.

During the coming year, IWUG plans to create short educational videos in Persian and organize online workshops and webinars introducing users to different ways of contributing to Wikimedia projects. The survey results will help us decide which topics to prioritize.

What other activities are people interested in?

Respondents also showed considerable interest in collaborative campaigns and competitions.

The most popular option in this area was competitions organized together with other countries or Wikipedia communities, selected by 79 respondents (53.7%).

Among established Wikimedia campaigns, Wiki Loves Earth was selected by 74 respondents (50.3%), followed by Wiki Loves Folklore with 70 (47.6%). Wiki Loves Monuments was selected by 49 respondents, while Women in Red and Wikipedia Asian Month each received 38 selections.

For possible in-person programs, educational workshops were selected by 90 respondents (61.2%). Informal meetups were selected by 81 (55.1%), Wikipedia birthday celebrations by 79 (53.7%), and technical sessions focused on bug fixing and tool development by 63 (42.9%).

We also asked how people would like to hear about future IWUG activities. 114 respondents, or 77.6%, said they would like to receive information about programs by email.

These responses give us a useful picture of both the programs people are interested in and how we can do a better job of informing them about those opportunities.

Using the results in our planning

The main purpose of this survey was practical. We are currently preparing our annual plan and our next grant proposal, and we wanted community feedback to be part of that process.

Some of the results have confirmed ideas that were already under discussion, particularly our plans for educational videos, webinars and online workshops.

Other results, especially the difference between interest and current participation, showed us that we also need to pay more attention to outreach and communication. It is not enough to organize activities if interested contributors do not know about them or are unsure how to get involved.

We hope to use the coming year to make IWUG’s activities more visible and make it easier for interested contributors to participate.

A larger Persian Wikipedia survey is coming

This survey was focused on the community around IWUG. We are also planning a much larger survey aimed at the wider Persian Wikipedia community.

There is some history behind this. From 21 May to 20 June 2016, Iranian Wikimedians conducted a large survey of the Persian Wikipedia community that received 1,780 responses. It was promoted very widely, including outside the usual Wikimedia community channels. The results of that survey were never formally published.

Later in 2026, we plan to conduct another broad survey of the Persian Wikipedia community. Like the 2016 survey, it will be promoted well beyond IWUG’s own channels and will also use outreach outside Wikimedia spaces.

The purpose of that survey will be different from the June IWUG survey. We want to hear from a much wider range of Persian Wikipedia users and contributors and get a broader picture of the community.

After the new survey is completed and its results are published, we also plan to prepare a separate report comparing the findings with the 2016 survey.

For now, the June survey has already given us useful information for our immediate planning. It showed strong interest in educational activities, identified areas where contributors want more support, and highlighted a clear gap between people’s interest in IWUG and their current level of participation.

Those findings will be part of how we shape our programs for the coming year.

From Tsuvadi to Shingini: Building a Wikimedia Community for the Kambari Language in Nigeria

What began as an outreach project focused on the Tsuvadi language grew into a broader initiative to introduce Wikimedia projects to speakers of the Kambari language and lay the foundation for a sustainable Kambari Wikimedia community.

The project was initially designed around Tsuvadi, but consultations with the Language Development Translation and Initiative (LDTI), traditional leaders, and community members revealed that Tsuvadi is one of the varieties of the broader Shingini (Kambari) language. Based on these consultations, the project was expanded to include three major varieties: Tsishingini, spoken in the Salka area; Cishingini, spoken in the Agwara area; and Tsikimba, spoken in the Auna area.

This change made the project more representative of the Kambari-speaking community and provided contributors with the opportunity to work in the variety they were most familiar with.

Bringing Wikimedia to the Kambari Community

The outreach took place over three days in Salka, Niger State, and brought together community members interested in language preservation, digital knowledge, and Wikimedia projects. Attendance exceeded the original expectation of 43 participants, with 46 on the first day, 36 on the second, and 37 on the third. In total, 45 editors participated in the project. Danjuma Anthony coordinated the project. Experienced Wikimedia facilitators Kambai Akau and Kuyet Friday Musa guided participants through editing on the Wikimedia Incubator and introduced them to Wikimedia’s broader ecosystem. Additional support from the community, Danladi Matthew and Dr. Aliyu Dantata, also helped make the event successful. Participants received practical training, learning materials, internet support, meals, transportation assistance, and follow-up support to help them participate effectively.

The support of the Language Development Translation and Initiative (LDTI) and traditional leaders, including the Mogono Salka, was particularly important in building trust within the community. Their involvement helped encourage participation and demonstrated the value of combining local community leadership with Wikimedia activities.

More Than Expected

The results went far beyond the project’s original targets. The initial plan was to create 200 new articles, improve 200 existing articles, upload 100 images, and recruit 40 new editors. Instead, participants created 647 new articles, improved 736 existing articles, and made 2,980 edits. They also uploaded 430 images to Wikimedia Commons, while contributing approximately 71,700 words and 53 references.

These contributions provided a substantial amount of new Wikimedia content in the Kambari language varieties and helped establish a foundation for continued work toward a Kambari Wikipedia. The project also created a Kambari Wikipedia Post-Outreach Engagement Program, allowing participants to continue receiving support and contributing online after the physical training ended.

What We Learned

Several factors contributed to the project’s success. Working closely with local language organizations and traditional leaders helped the organizers understand the community’s linguistic situation and encouraged people to participate. Experienced facilitators also provided the mentorship needed to help new contributors understand Wikimedia editing.

Providing internet access, transportation reimbursement, meals, learning materials, and follow-up data support helped participants remain engaged during the outreach. At the same time, the project faced some challenges. The poor road between Abuja and Salka made transportation difficult. The original venue was also changed from Kontagora to Salka after consultations showed that Salka provided better access to speakers, language experts, and literacy materials.

The team also planned to introduce participants to Translatewiki, but contributors could not begin practical translation work because the necessary permissions were not granted before the event. After the physical outreach, some participants also struggled to continue editing because of the cost of internet data. These challenges highlighted the importance of beginning technical preparations earlier, extending post-event mentorship, and providing dedicated internet support for contributors after physical training.

Building for the Future

One of the most encouraging outcomes was the community’s commitment to continue the work. During the closing discussions, Kambari-speaking participants expressed their willingness to continue translating and developing content for the Kambari Wikipedia Incubator.

Community members also asked facilitators to be patient during the rainy season, when many participants are busy with farming and may have less time for editing. They explained that activity may increase during the dry season, when participants expect to have more time to contribute.

The experience showed that Wikimedia outreach can do more than create articles. It can bring together language experts, community leaders, new editors, and experienced Wikimedians to build the foundations of a sustainable digital language community.

The Kambari project is only a beginning. With continued mentorship and community participation, the contributors who started editing during this outreach can continue expanding Kambari-language content and help bring a future Kambari Wikipedia closer to reality.

If you speak a Shingini (Kambari) language variety or are interested in helping preserve Kambari knowledge online, you can join the community, learn Wikimedia editing, and contribute to the growing body of content in Tsishingini, Cishingini, and Tsikimba.

Wikimedia Kinyarwanda Community Hub (Wikipedia Kinyarwanda): A Wikimedia language community in Rwanda (Africa). The main focus is to build a sustainable community, increasing free content in Kinyarwanda on open Wikimedia projects in Rwanda.

Mentorship program focuses on overcoming specific technical, organizational, and outreach barriers to sustainable growth. This was a good program for Kinyarwanda language, we had a significant participation, a lot of contributions on Kinyarwanda Wikipedia. Number of articles has been increased and article quality has been improved.

The LDH mentorship program was very important for the whole community. We appreciated the time our mentors ( John & Tochi) took to train us , to teach us new things, and to gain technical knowledge about language diversity. The mentorship also helped better understand how to develop sustainable activities, engage the Kinyarwanda community, and create meaningful impact for the Kinyarwanda language. 

Recruitment of new contributors:

Recruit and train new editors : This goal has been well achieved, currently we have new active editors 42.4% new Wikimedians recruited, 15.2 % are trained from scratch and they are contributing without any issue.

Created new articles and improve content on Kinyarwanda Wikipedia

During this period, we organized 3 different events, On the 1st dashboard, period of April-May 2026, we had an event: Kwibuka edithaton Kwibuka32, On the second dashboard Kinyarwanda Editathon – LDH 2025–2026, 81 articles created and 432 improved, Finally we had the last dashboard of online event organized on 20 July 2026 where up to now 11 articles created and 116 articles improved articles improved.

The main objective of all 3 events was to create and to improve articles on Kinyarwanda Wikipedia and this was well done with success!

Community Health

The community is motivated, collaborative, well engaged as you can see on the above dashboard the results show how much they were. On the side of organizers, working with a motivated, collaborative community is a pleasant experience.

Web accessibility is not merely a technical feature. It is a prerequisite for truly free knowledge. During the recent Wikimedia Hackathon 2026, held in Milan, we came together as a dedicated group hailing from Italy to confront a quiet yet persistent issue: the barriers that prevent visually-impaired individuals from fully engaging with Wikipedia and its sister projects.

Thus, Valcio, Daimona Eaytoy, and Piergiovanna Grossi (WMIT) led the unconference session “Wikipedia for Everyone: Closing the Accessibility Gap”, which served as both a wake-up call and a collaborative workshop. By examining how community-made templates and interface elements often fail our users, we aimed to transition from identifying problems to building sustainable solutions.

This is a short recap for those who missed it.

The Reality of the Digital Barrier

The session opened with a candid look at the current state of our interfaces. While MediaWiki provides a robust foundation, years of community-driven customisation have inadvertently introduced many accessibility violations. Key issues discussed included:

• Missing Alt-Text: Images essential for understanding content often lack descriptions or alternative text which is readable by screen readers, assistive technologies that read out graphic content to visually impaired users.
• The “HTML Wall”: Many tables and templates lack proper semantic markup, forcing text-to-speech tools to read out raw code rather than structured information.
• Contrast and Colour: Numerous gadgets and banners still fall short of the WCAG 2.2 AA (a web-accessibility standard) minimum contrast ratios, rendering them invisible to users with colour blindness or low vision.

Measuring Missing Alt-Text

The unconference session also sparked a small follow-up experiment. CristianCantoro set out to measure how widespread the issue of missing alt-text is on Italian Wikipedia and Lombard Wikipedia, combining the Wikipedia HTML dumps provided by Wikimedia Enterprise with the XML dumps published by the Wikimedia Foundation. The initial results confirm the scale of the challenge: more than 90% of images used in Italian and Lombard Wikipedia articles lack alternative text.

This is not an isolated finding. In 2023, a team of researchers from Stanford University and Google Research presented a cross-lingual analysis of image accessibility across 108 Wikipedia language editions finding that, on average, only around 10% of images had alt-text. This research was presented at the 2023 edition of the Wiki Workshop.

These numbers are a reminder that missing alt-text is still an open and large-scale challenge across languages. If we want Wikipedia to be truly open to everyone, we need better tools, workflows, and community practices to help editors add alt-text and meaningful descriptions to images.

From Discussion to Action: The MediaWiki Accessibility Checker

To move from awareness to action, one of the session participants — Super nabla from the Indic MediaWiki Developers User Group — built a concrete solution during the hackathon itself. The tool, available on Toolforge, assists editors and developers in meeting accessibility standards: the MediaWiki Accessibility Checker. Try it out: https://accessibility-checker.toolforge.org/

Built on the industry-standard axe-core engine and Playwright, the tool is specifically adapted for the MediaWiki ecosystem. It allows editors and developers to (i) perform deep audits (queryable both from the frontend interface as well as from a dedicated RESTful API) based on WCAG 2.2 AA (and other standards) on any wiki URL, including project pages; (ii) generate professional reports in multiple formats, including PDF and Wikitext for easy sharing on-wiki; (iii) utilise a modern interface designed with the Wikimedia Codex design system, ensuring a seamless experience for contributors.

This tool represents a small yet important step forward in democratising accessibility auditing, allowing gadget authors — even those without formal expertise — to identify and rectify errors before they impact our readers.

A Legacy of “Wikiricci” and Community Care

The roots of this technical collaboration extend back to 2018 at itWikiCon in Como (Italy), where the “Officina” (the Italian Wikipedia’s technical project) was honoured for its quiet, essential labour, carried out by the smanettoni (hackers) — the tinkerers and wizards who operate behind the scenes to ensure the platform’s gears continue to turn. This community recognition is personified by the Wikiriccio (wiki hedgehog), a physical trophy whose travel history has become something of a legendary saga within the Italian community. Traditionally held in rotation, after years of near-misses, it finally found its way to Daimona Eaytoy during this hackathon, reminding us that accessibility work is also about human connections and shared care.

For us, this light-hearted tradition and award serve as a reminder: behind every accessibility tool or interface fix is a human connection, a shared community-based vision and history, and a commitment to “making the shop run” for the benefit of all users.

Next Steps and Community Involvement

The hackathon session was only the beginning. The outcomes of our session are being synthesised into a formal proposal in the Italian Wikipedia and a Phabricator task to help standardise CSS custom properties and automated linting workflows.

Yet, technology alone cannot solve a cultural challenge. We invite all UI/UX designers, developers, and experienced wiki-editors to join the effort. Whether you are improving the alt text on a high-traffic policy page or helping modernise an old template, your contribution ensures that Wikipedia remains truly accessible, enabling everyone to share in the sum of all knowledge.

A special thanks to the hackathon organisers and all the participants who shared their lived experiences; your insights are what drive these technical improvements forward.

There was a time when Wikipedia was the go-to source for information and one of the most trusted tools for research across the world. From students and journalists to researchers and everyday internet users, millions relied on the platform for quick and accessible knowledge. However, as technology continues to evolve, the way people consume information has also changed.

Today, Wikipedia faces growing competition from emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and social media platforms, which now shape how many people search for and engage with information online. As a result, the platform has experienced a decline in page views over the years, raising important questions about its future relevance and visibility in the digital age.

To address these concerns, about 100 Wikimedian affiliates, volunteers, and external experts gathered in Frankfurt am Main from 30 January to 1 February 2026, for the Wikimedia Futures Lab event organised by the Wikimedia movement. The Futures Lab serves as a space for research, experimentation, and forward-thinking conversations on the future of free knowledge.

At a time when technology is rapidly transforming the internet and information-sharing, the event provided an opportunity for participants to reflect on how Wikipedia can continue to remain relevant, visible, and trusted in an increasingly digital and AI-driven world.

From the attendees

The conversations and ideas shared during the event formed the AWW Voices Podcast episode “Can Wikipedia Evolve with the Digital Age?”. In this episode, host Oluwapelumi Aina joined by Ruby D Brown, Co-Founder of African Wiki Women, Tochi Precious, Language Advocate and Co-Founder of the Igbo User Group, and Olubusola Afolabi, Community Engagement Lead at Free Knowledge Africa. 

Having attended the Wikimedia Futures Lab event, the guests shared their experiences, reflections, and key takeaways from the discussions held in Frankfurt. 

“The world around us is changing really fast. When you think about how people trust information online, AI-generated media, new laws, and shifting technologies, it becomes important to understand how these trends affect us as the Wikimedia community,” says Tochi.

Wikipedia vs Digital Age

Despite technological advancement, Wikipedia, once regarded as one of the most trusted digital information platforms, has seen a decline in page views since 2016 as more people turn to AI tools for information. However, it is important to recognise that many AI systems are trained using content from platforms like Wikipedia.

“For example, when you search for something on Google, the AI overview provides a summary alongside references. Very few people actually click on the Wikipedia link for the longer version. This shows that people are still consuming Wikipedia content, but AI tools now act as middlemen,” explains Olubusola.

According to her, this shift means Wikipedia can no longer rely solely on users visiting the platform directly. Instead, it must adapt to changing online habits and find ways to bring information closer to the spaces where audiences already spend their time.

She adds that Wikipedia must adapt by meeting audiences where they already are, bringing information directly to the platforms people use instead of expecting them to always visit the main website.

The solution

The rise of AI and social media has also changed how people consume information. Many users now prefer short-form content over long-form reading because of shrinking attention spans. Since Wikipedia is traditionally a long-form platform, there is growing pressure for it to evolve alongside these changing habits.

For many younger internet users, information is no longer consumed through lengthy articles alone. Videos, creators, podcasts, and short-form explainers are increasingly becoming the preferred way to learn and engage online.

“People are moving away from institution-based information and increasingly relying on personalities. They want direct interaction, and video content makes information easier to consume. As Wikimedia, we need to pay attention to these shifts so we can meet people where they are,” says Ruby.

The Dilemma

Wikimedia exists because of the volunteers who edit and write the content on the platform. While keeping up with technological change is necessary, the movement also faces the challenge of ensuring that technology does not overshadow the human element that has always been at the centre of Wikimedia projects.

As conversations around AI continue to grow, many community members believe the focus should remain on supporting contributors rather than replacing them.

Last year, the Wikimedian community launched its AI Strategy, which clearly showed that AI should not replace the human writers and editors but rather support their work.

After a few years away from Thai Wikipedia, I returned to find that the Main Page had become stagnant. It lacked the dynamic energy a landing page needs. So, my colleagues and I decided to revitalise it—and here is exactly how we did it.

Before diving into the details, let me explain the structure of Thai Wikipedia’s Home Page. It was heavily inspired by the original English edition‘s layout, featuring four core content sections:

• This Month’s Featured Articles (TMFA): An excerpt of a well-written article (Thai Wikipedia lacks the volume to change this daily like the English site).
• Did You Know (DYK): Interesting facts pulled from recently expanded or created articles.
• In The News (ITN): Recent global (and occasionally space-related) events.
• On This Day (OTD): A look back at historical events on the current date.

When I returned to active editing in mid-2024, I realised these sections were frozen in time. Sometimes, content remained identical for days. After a thorough review, I found the issues were threefold: stagnant content, unpredictable update schedules (except for the strictly automated OTD), and complex, opaque backend procedures for publishing content to the Main Page.

To build a sustainable solution, we had to attack the problem from two angles: community contribution and technical infrastructure.

On the contribution side, we introduced clear, easy-to-follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure nominators and reviewers wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. We also lifted several legacy constraints that were discouraging newbie and intermediate editors.

On the nerdy side, we introduced a “Nested Transclude Template System” to make pulling content to the main page seamless. No more messy, bespoke coding required. All nominations can now be tracked and recalled without digging through a chaotic page history.

For the less tech-savvy, here is how simple it is now: You no longer need to deal with any messy, complicated coding. As shown in the diagram, everything is built like a set of nesting dolls:

• Write your content: You just write your proposal or excerpt in a standard form.
• Name it with the date: You save it inside a specific date format (like YYYY-MM-DD).
• The system does the rest: When that day arrives, the Main Page template automatically fetches the correct date’s content and puts it live—completely on its own!

This means no one has to lift a finger to update it manually, and we can track past nominations without digging through a chaotic page history.

Did You Know it’s now easier than ever to nominate your articles?

The first backlog I tackled was the DYK section. There, I crossed paths with Taweethaも, a renowned Thai Wikipedian. That chance encounter inspired a complete revolution of our process. We teamed up to clear backlogs that had been sitting untouched for over six months. Together, we drafted new SOPs and built a backend system to support them—queuing content chronologically by nomination date, enforcing character limits, and scheduling release dates.

Once the system stabilised, we launched a content contest to diversify the topics and test our new workflow under pressure. The campaign was a massive success: 16 contributors created or improved over 90 articles. Crucially, three of those contributors remain highly active “DYK editors” today.

We also noticed that while some nominators were incredibly prolific, they rarely helped review others’ work. To keep the backlog manageable, we implemented a Quid Pro Quo (QPQ) policy, requiring nominators to review a peer’s submission to qualify their own.

Opening the Gates: Allowing Good Articles onto the Main Page

With DYK running smoothly, we turned our attention to TMFA. This section had suffered from a decade-long drought of new Featured Articles (FAs) to showcase. Beyond adapting our new DYK SOPs, we made a major policy shift: we lifted the strict FA constraint and allowed Good Articles (GAs) to be featured. To reflect this, we renamed the section from This Month’s Featured Article to Recommended Articles.

Whilst long-form, high-quality writing requires significantly more energy from contributors—meaning it wasn’t as explosive as the DYK campaign—the initiative still successfully brought 7 brand-new, high-quality articles to the front page from 7 different writers.

A new solution brings a new quirk

Every new system has its bugs. Just a day into the DYK campaign, a participant noticed that logged-out readers were seeing stale, outdated main page content, while logged-in users saw the updates perfectly.

We spent days hunting for a fix. Thankfully, User:Chlod—a perennial savior of Wikipedia infrastructure—pointed out that the server cache just needed to be manually “purged” (which simply means appending ?action=purge to the URL string).

To automate this, I sat down for some classic “vibe coding” and wrote a Python script. Hosted on Toolforge (Wikimedia’s dedicated server for customised scripts within the Wikimedia Movement) and linked to my bot account, it now runs via a cron job twice a day to keep the page fresh. I also added a secondary feature to the script: it automatically archives the Main Page to the Internet Archive‘s Wayback Machine daily.

For those unfamiliar with the tech jargon, here is the simple version: I asked the AI chatbot, Google Gemini, to help me write a program in the Python language. After testing it repeatedly until I was sure it worked, I uploaded the code to Toolforge—which is essentially a free, 24/7 computer server available to Wikipedia volunteers. I set the server to run my code twice a day to automatically fix the glitch and keep the Main Page fresh. As a bonus, I also programmed it to save a daily copy of the Main Page to the Wayback Machine (a digital archive of the internet) so we always have a historical record.

I’ve published my source code in GitHub if you’re looking for: https://github.com/sarawutkhs/wthpurge

What about the other two sections?

You might be wondering why I haven’t mentioned ITN or OTD. To be completely honest, I tried to implement similar reforms for OTD, but couldn’t find anyone in the community available to jump in. If you have ideas on how we can spark interest and bring that same magic to the remaining sections, please drop a comment!

Acknowledgements

This transformation wouldn’t have been possible without an incredible support system. Beyond those already mentioned, I want to thank the original architects of the Main Page structure, as well as every single campaign participant who dedicated time to improving Thai Wikipedia. Finally, my deepest respect goes to Taweethaも, whose guidance both on- and off-wiki was invaluable.

Declaration: This case study was previously presented at the ESEAP Conference 2026 and the October 2025 ESEAP Community Call. The initial phase of this project was also published on the ESEAP’s Substack.