2026:Program/Research
Liberte, Equite, Fiabilite
What is the Research Track at Wikimania 2026?
Wikimania 2026 coincides with the 25th birthday of the first Wikipedias - a wonderful occasion to celebrate Wikimedia projects, as well as twenty-five years of the practice and research of free knowledge building.
But this is also a pivotal moment for the web as a whole. Generative AI, rapidly shifting information ecosystems, and increasing pressures on speech, community growth and inclusion, are reshaping how knowledge is created, verified, and used worldwide.
The Research Track is not yet another venue to present a paper. They are interactive spaces where we invite researchers from across disciplines to meet the extended Wikimedia community attending Wikimania Paris 2026.
Together we want to identify and discuss the key structural changes or challenges that the community and its projects will have to face within the next 5-10 years.
Call for Contributions -Lightning Talks at Wikimania 2026 "Research Track"
We invite contributions from researchers and Wikimedia community members to the Research Track of Wikimania 2026.
Format of the lightning talks
We're inviting two options for Lightning Talks to give presenters more flexibility and creative space:
Option A: 5-minute Lightning Talk A concise talk that makes one concrete point.
Option B: 5 + 5 minutes (Talk + Creative Plan)
A 5-minute talk followed by up to 5 minutes dedicated to a creative engagement element- this could be an interactive prompt, a short activity, a demo, or another format that helps the audience explore your idea.
Across both formats, our focus is on identifying turning points or challenges (technical, social, legal, or regulatory) and sketching community-oriented solutions. Your submission should center on (i) articulating powerful ideas or creative approaches that (ii) can be communicated effectively to a broad audience. This is not a venue for formal proofs or detailed demonstrations.
In this spirit, submitters are encouraged to:
- Make bold and/or tentative arguments based on their own research experience and background community knowledge.
- Experiment with the format of their talk, in the spirit of getting their message across and fostering engagement from the audience. For example, we invite you to share a prompt that participants can think about, provide a link to a short activity or interactive demo, or anything else.
Submit regardless of their background. We encourage submissions from researchers, community members, volunteers, and others.
Call for lighting talks proposals
Over three half-days, each individual day will have a central research question reflecting one theme of Wikimania Paris 2026:
Day 1 - Freedom / Liberte:
How do we keep knowledge free by redirecting human traffic and contributions to Wikimedia projects when AI is centralizing access to knowledge?
We are seeking perspectives on social and technical strategies for protecting open knowledge from potential gatekeepers. We are also interested in ideas around the adequacy of Creative Commons licenses in the age of large-scale AI data scraping.
Day 2 - Equity / Equite:
How can the community rethink the Wikimedia movement to maximize inclusiveness, increase contributor diversity, and improve newcomer retention?
We are looking for perspectives on rethinking participation models and incentives for underrepresented and marginalized groups. We are also interested in solutions around community-led metrics and methodologies for measuring impact and diversity.
Day 3 - Reliability / Fiabilite:
How can we measure content NPOV / content reliability at scale (at the editor or article level, but also for the broader web)?
We are looking for contributions around the technical and social detection of disinformation or bias. We are also interested in perspectives around coordinated manipulation (or editor tracking) detection on wiki at scale.
Submission format and forms
As part of your proposal, you will be required to submit a short (~200-300 words) overview including:
- Title and theme (Freedom, Equity, Reliability)
- Short description of your topic or perspective, including clear articulation of why the topic matters for the Wikimedia movement. This includes explaining:
- how the work relates to Wikimedia projects or communities,
- what challenges, opportunities, or questions it helps address, and
- why the findings or insights are relevant for contributors, organizers, developers, or readers.
- Format or interactivity plan (how you plan to engage participants)
- Your name, affiliation, and Wikimedia community or project involvement
Submissions to the research track will be made on the EventYay platform using Wikimania's general submission form:
Timeline
Deadline for submissions: March 2026, 31
Notification of acceptance/rejection: May 2026, 04
Final materials due (slides, recordings): June 2026, 1
Final program for the Research Track published: June 2026, 10