EduWiki Workshop Highlights Practical Uses of Wikimedia Commons in Education

How can Wikimedia Commons move beyond being seen only as an image repository and become a stronger tool for education? That guiding question shaped the latest EduWiki Workshop, Making the Most of Wikimedia Commons in Education, which convened educators, Wikimedians, trainers, and community organizers for a practical learning session focused on using open media to support teaching, learning, and participation.

Hosted by the EduWiki Hub, the two-hour online workshop welcomed 75 participants from across the globe, including Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), East, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (ESEAP), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), Northern and Western Europe (NWE), North America (NA), South Asia (SA), and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regions, reflecting the growing global interest in Wikimedia education initiatives. Live interpretation was available in French, Spanish, Chinese, and Bahasa Indonesia, helping make the session more accessible to multilingual communities.

The workshop was moderated by members of the EduWiki Hub team and opened with welcome remarks introducing the goals of the session and the importance of equipping educators and organizers with practical strategies for using Wikimedia Commons more intentionally.

The main training was led by Hilary Onuh Ogali, Wiki Loves Africa Facilitator, who explored Wikimedia Commons as a space for contribution, documentation, creativity, and collaboration. His session introduced participants to the breadth of content available on Commons, including images, audio, and video, while also demonstrating how educators can use Commons in assignments, classroom activities, campaigns, photowalks, and documentation projects. He also highlighted key considerations such as licensing, categorization, file quality, attribution, and how educational communities can become contributors rather than only users of open media.

The session then moved into a series of community case studies that demonstrated how Wikimedia Commons is already being used creatively across different educational and cultural contexts.

Riddhi Sharma from Wiki Club SATI, India, presented Wiki Loves Folklore in Education , showing how the campaign became an effective entry point for student participation and contributor retention in her campus community. She explained that the clear thematic focus of Wiki Loves Folklore helped students know what to document, while the instant visibility of uploaded images on Wikimedia Commons motivated them to continue contributing. Through workshops, photowalks, and collaborative activities, students developed photography, documentation, and organizing skills. She also shared measurable growth: contributions increased from 300+ images in 2025 to 1,200+ images in 2026 , while related article creation on Awadhi Wikipedia grew from 15 to over 200 articles , demonstrating how Commons-based campaigns can strengthen broader Wikimedia participation.

Mariana Lozano Cano from Wikimedia Colombia shared Glaciers on Wikis: Images, Data, and Stories , highlighting how Wikimedia platforms can support environmental education and climate awareness. She presented the National Glacier Course , an open initiative led by the National University of Colombia, Wikimedia Colombia, and IDEAM, which engaged 300+ students , 30+ experts , and 15 interdisciplinary sessions focused on glaciers, climate change, and high-altitude ecosystems. She also showcased a follow-up photography contest on glaciers and mountain regions that generated 208 Wikimedia Commons uploads , evaluated through criteria such as usefulness, territorial relevance, and visual impact. Her presentation demonstrated how Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, and open storytelling can connect classroom learning with public environmental engagement.

Nataliia Tymkiv from Wikimedia Ukraine presented Wiki Loves X Campaigns in Education , showing how Wiki Loves-style contests can serve as low-barrier educational models for introducing students to Wikimedia projects. She shared examples from Wiki Loves Monuments Italy, where schools joined regional contests through guided photowalks, exhibitions, and award ceremonies, helping students learn about local heritage while documenting it. She also highlighted Wiki Loves Monuments Ukraine, where university students participated in guided tours, photo documentation, progress tracking through Outreach Dashboard, and opportunities to enter the national competition. Additional examples from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay showed how campaigns have been adapted for teacher training, science photography, documenting schools, and improving structured data on Wikidata. She emphasized that campaigns work best when paired with mentorship, activity tracking, and experienced Wikimedians who can guide newcomers safely into the movement.

Luis Deltell and Florencia Claes from InnovaWiki presented Teaching Film Directing in Open Spaces with Wikimedia Commons , sharing how they have integrated open platforms into university film and communication courses. Their presentation showed how students used Wikimedia Commons to upload and analyze visual materials, recreate cinematic scenes, and document spaces for film direction exercises. They also introduced collaborative projects such as a Faculty Sound and Visual Map , combining Commons media, geolocated content, and interactive tools. In later phases of the project, students documented the Alfonso XIII Royal Botanical Garden and created structured Commons categories for educational reuse. They further demonstrated the use of OpenStreetMap and Leaflet on innovawiki.es to build interactive learning resources, showing how open ecosystems can support creative pedagogy, spatial storytelling, and audiovisual education.

Following the presentations, participants engaged in an interactive discussion with questions on motivating newcomers, designing educational activities, sustaining student participation, and adapting Wikimedia Commons projects to local realities. Speakers shared practical insights from their own communities and experiences.

Participants were also invited to complete a follow-up exercise to develop and share their own ideas for using Wikimedia Commons in education. The activity was designed to extend learning beyond the live session and gather fresh ideas and initiatives from the community.

The workshop concluded with updates from the EduWiki Hub, including upcoming opportunities for participation, future events, and ways to remain connected with the global Wikimedia education community. The recording and resources are available on the Meta page.

The EduWiki Workshop series continues to create spaces where practical skills, peer learning, and community experience come together to strengthen the role of Wikimedia projects in education.

Get involved!

The EduWiki Hub invites you to take part in its growing initiatives:

Join the EduWiki community

Submit your Wikimedia education story to the Education Newsroom

Follow EduWiki Hub on social media Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram

Subscribe to the Education Newsletter to have This Month in Education delivered to you: Here

Explore the Hub’s monthly Open Educational Resources documentation

Watch the recordings of the Workshop here: English, French, Chinese, Bahasa Indonesian, and Spanish.

Collaborate with the Hub by contacting eduwikiug@gmail.com****