1 May 2026 by Tiven2240, Tiven2240, a dedicated advocate for the Open Movement, began volunteering in 2016. Their journey started with Marathi Wikipedia, contributing to freely accessible information. As chief coordinator for Wiki Loves Folklore and Feminism and Folklore, they lead international efforts to document and preserve cultural heritage.
What started as a vision to document and preserve the world’s living heritage has blossomed into a global movement. This year, I am entirely thrilled and deeply humbled to announce as lead coordinator that the Wiki Loves Folklore campaign has reached a historic milestone: over 100,000 media contributions in a single year!
Running from February 1st to March 31st, this year’s campaign captured the vibrant essence of local cultures, folklore, and traditions from approximately 150 countries – spanning nearly 75-77% of the globe. Rooted in the spirit of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, these images and media files serve as a timeless digital archive of humanity’s shared living heritage.
A Journey of Incredible Growth
When we look back, the growth of this campaign is nothing short of spectacular. In 2019, we celebrated gathering just over 7,000 files. Today, breaking the 100,000 mark stands as a testament to the passion and dedication of the global Wikimedia community.
This monumental achievement was driven by National Organizers from 56 countries and regions who took the lead on the ground, working hand-in-hand with local Wikimedia chapters and affiliates to make this campaign a resounding success.
“Reaching 100,000 contributions isn’t just a numerical milestone – it represents 100,000 unique stories, traditions, and memories that our incredible global community has preserved for future generations.” – Tiven, Lead Coordinator
It Takes a Village: Thanking Our Remarkable Team
Behind these numbers is an international team that has been working day and night. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to my core team: Joris Darlington Quarshie, Stella Sessy Agbley, Hrithik Salian, and Rupika Sharma.
A campaign of this scale requires a robust foundation and brilliant outreach:
- Technical Infrastructure: Flawlessly led by Nokib Sarkar and Mst Rukaiya Islam Tonni.
- Social Media & Brand Creatives: Masterfully managed by Meghna K, who brought our campaign to life visually.
- Language & Regional Ambassadors: Champions like Rotana Nawwaf Al Hasanat, Nwonwu Uchechukwu Pascaline, Nyirahabihirwe Clementine, Irvin P. Sto. Tomas, Jesse Asiedu-Akrofi, Shreya Dwivedi, Camelia Boban, Kouame N’guessan Aristide Bonaventure and Azogbonon Pephael Constant E played a crucial role. They built an ecosystem focused on community leadership, giving underrepresented communities a much-needed platform to participate and share their stories.
- Community liaison Isaac Chabota Kanguya and Kritzolina Commons Administration
- Advisors: A special thank you to Fiona Romeo, Praveen Das, Francesc Fort, and Alex Stinson for their invaluable and continued guidance.
Gratitude to Our Partners and Sponsors
Our microgrants program opened doors for communities to document new, unseen cultures and traditions, fostering a beautiful community spirit. None of this would have been possible without the necessary support from the WMF Community Resources team and the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Funds Committee. We are also incredibly grateful to Wikimedia Switzerland (Wikimedia CH) for supporting us with activity microgrants.
Furthermore, a massive thank you goes out to the Open Knowledge Impact Foundation, which has been a crucial backbone for this year’s campaign, providing vital institutional support and resource management.
Feminism and Folklore: Breaking Records on Wikipedia
Our sister writing campaign, Feminism and Folklore, has officially become one of the largest organized writing campaigns on Wikipedia!
This year, 319 users across 56 Wikipedia language communities contributed a staggering 11,700+ Wikipedia articles. To celebrate this incredible effort, and in honor of Wikipedia 25, we will be digitally sending out a special birthday postcard to all participants of Feminism and Folklore. Join us in this celebration!
What’s Next? The Jury Phase Begins
As we close the submission window, the exciting work of reviewing these phenomenal contributions begins. We are now officially entering the jury phase.
Suyash Dwivedi will be orchestrating the process to train our jurors. We look forward to announcing the final results of the campaign in late July.
Stay tuned, and thank you all for helping us preserve the world’s heritage, one upload and one article at a time!