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.

When I applied for Train the Trainer (TTT) 2026, I expected to learn how to organize better events, facilitate workshops, and become a more effective trainer.

Over three days in Hyderabad, I certainly learned those skills but I also came away with something far more valuable: a new understanding of how strong Wikimedia communities are built and sustained.

Rather than focusing only on editing or technical skills, the program explored the people behind Wikimedia the contributors, organizers, mentors, and volunteers who make free knowledge possible. Through discussions, hands-on activities, and collaborative exercises, TTT encouraged participants to think beyond individual contributions and toward building welcoming, resilient communities.

Here are some of the lessons that stayed with me long after the program ended.

Communities come before content

One of the biggest surprises on the first day was that very little time was spent talking about editing, and all.

Instead, sessions explored trust, belonging, leadership, contributor motivation, and community participation.

The panel discussion “What Makes Us Stay? Trust and Participation in Communities” highlighted something every Wikimedia community experiences: attracting contributors is only the first step. Helping people feel welcomed, supported, and valued is what encourages them to stay.

Another activity challenged participants to analyze contributor data across language communities. Looking at the gap between the large number of people who consume knowledge online and the relatively small number who actively contribute made me rethink community growth. I realized that successful outreach is not measured only by how many people join an event it is also measured by how many continue contributing afterwards.

The sessions on leadership, trust, and the Universal Code of Conduct reinforced another important message: healthy communities are built intentionally. Trust is earned through respectful collaboration, inclusive spaces, and consistent support for newcomers.

Wikimedia Commons is about preserving knowledge not just photographs

Before attending TTT, I believed I already understood Wikimedia Commons.

I had uploaded photographs, organized Wiki Science competitions, and knew the basics of licensing and file uploads.

The Commons sessions completely changed that perspective. Rather than focusing on uploading more images, the discussions emphasized documenting knowledge in ways that remain useful for future contributors. We explored why metadata, categories, descriptions, geolocation, and licensing all play an essential role in making media discoverable and reusable. One idea particularly stayed with me. Commons does not necessarily need another photograph of a monument that has already been documented hundreds of times. It needs photographs that document the subject well.

That simple idea changed the questions I ask before uploading an image. Instead of asking whether I can upload a photograph, I now ask whether it genuinely helps someone understand a place, object, or tradition better.

The photo walk around the IIIT Hyderabad campus gave participants an opportunity to apply these ideas immediately. Rather than simply taking attractive photographs, we practiced documenting subjects from angles that communicated information clearly and added educational value.

The licensing session also helped demystify Creative Commons licenses through practical examples, making it easier to understand how open licensing enables collaboration across Wikimedia projects.

Good communication keeps communities growing

The final day focused on communication an area that is often overlooked but essential for sustaining volunteer communities.

A session on Visual Storytelling in Practice demonstrated how photographs and personal stories can help communicate knowledge more effectively than facts alone. It reminded me that contributors often remember stories long after they forget presentations.

Another workshop explored communication strategies for different audiences. Working in groups, participants designed outreach plans tailored to specific communities rather than relying on a single approach for everyone. That exercise reinforced a simple but important lesson:

There is no single Wikimedia audience. Students, teachers, heritage enthusiasts, language learners, and professionals all engage with Wikimedia for different reasons. Effective outreach begins by understanding those motivations.

The session on Wikivoyage also introduced me to another Wikimedia project that I had not previously explored in depth. It demonstrated how documenting travel knowledge, local culture, and places contributes to the broader free knowledge ecosystem.

Finally, a session on community communication platforms highlighted how mailing lists, Telegram groups, discussion forums, and social media help communities stay connected long after events have ended.

Building a community is not only about organizing an event. It is about creating ongoing conversations.

Learning by doing

One aspect of TTT that I particularly appreciated was its emphasis on practical learning.

Rather than relying entirely on presentations, participants engaged in group discussions, storytelling exercises, communication planning, case studies, and hands-on Commons activities.

These exercises encouraged us to apply ideas immediately instead of simply listening to them.

The collaborative nature of the program also created opportunities to learn from participants representing different language communities, projects, and experiences across the Wikimedia movement.

That diversity of perspectives became one of the most valuable parts of the training itself.

What changed after TTT?

The impact of Train the Trainer extended well beyond the three days of the program.

It changed how I think about community building.

Instead of focusing primarily on organizing events, I now think more about contributor retention, mentorship, and creating welcoming spaces for newcomers.

It changed how I contribute to Wikimedia Commons.

I now pay much greater attention to documentation quality, metadata, licensing, and preserving local heritage through meaningful photographs.

It also influenced my later work within the Wikimedia movement. Many ideas that I developed while preparing proposals for WikiConference India, as well as my growing interest in documenting local heritage and strengthening community communication, can be traced back to discussions and activities during TTT.

Most importantly, the program encouraged me to think beyond individual edits and toward strengthening the communities that make those edits possible.

Why programs like Train the Trainer matter

Every Wikimedia community faces different challenges, but many of those challenges share common themes: welcoming newcomers, retaining contributors, building trust, documenting knowledge responsibly, and communicating effectively.

Train the Trainer creates a space where volunteers can exchange experiences, learn from one another, and return home with practical ideas that can be adapted to their own communities.

For me, the greatest takeaway was not a single workshop or activity.

It was a shift in perspective.

Wikimedia is sustained not only by articles, photographs, or software, but by people who collaborate, mentor, listen, and continue learning together.

That is what I brought home from Train the Trainer 2026 and it is why I believe programs like TTT continue to play an important role in strengthening the Wikimedia movement.