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  "path": "/2026/07/02/building-connections-across-languages-highlights-from-the-wikimedia-language-diversity-hubs-first-general-assembly/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-02T12:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://diff.wikimedia.org",
  "tags": [
    "Language\nDiversity Conference",
    "Guillermo Carlos Gómez",
    "https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_Diversity_Hub"
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  "textContent": "More than 40 participants from diverse language communities around the world gathered for the Wikimedia Language Diversity Hub’s (LDH) first-ever General Assembly, marking a significant milestone in the Hub’s efforts to strengthen collaboration, support language communities, and advance linguistic diversity across the Wikimedia movement.\n\nThe gathering brought together contributors representing minority and majority language communities to share experiences, learn from one another, and help shape the future direction of the Hub. Participants introduced themselves by sharing their countries, language communities, and unique facts about their languages, creating an atmosphere of mutual learning and cultural exchange.\n\n## A Historic Gathering for Language Communities\n\nThe General Assembly was the first event of its kind in the history of the Language Diversity Hub. Planned over five months with support from the Steering Committee, the assembly was designed as a space for communities to connect, exchange ideas, and contribute to the hub’s ongoing work.\n\nThe meeting operated under the Chatham House Rule and the Friendly Space Policy, encouraging open and constructive discussion while protecting participant privacy.\n\nThe objectives of the General Assembly included:\n\n  * Sharing updates on Language Diversity Hub activities\n  * Gathering community perspectives and feedback\n  * Exploring opportunities for collaboration\n  * Identifying ways to support both minority and majority language communities\n  * Sharing tools, resources, and best practices for language representation across Wikimedia projects\n\n\n\n## Reflecting on the Hub’s Journey\n\nParticipants learned about the origins of the Language Diversity Hub, which emerged from research initiated by Wikimedia Norway. Driven by a desire to strengthen collaboration, inclusion, and support for language communities, a small group of volunteers secured funding to conduct initial research and establish the foundation for what would become the Hub.\n\nToday, the Language Diversity Hub supports a broad range of language communities, including groups that are not formally affiliated with Wikimedia user groups or chapters.\n\nThe Hub’s governance structure includes a staff team; a steering committee composed of representatives from language-focused Wikimedia affiliates and individual members; a Wikimedia Foundation liaison; and now an emerging general assembly designed to connect and engage the wider community.\n\n## Updates on Ongoing Programs and Impact\n\nThe assembly provided an opportunity to share progress across several key initiatives.\n\nThe Hub’s monthly upskilling workshops continue to attract strong interest, with more than 140 registered participants engaging in capacity-building activities.\n\nA partnership with Capacity Exchange has generated impressive results, leading to 5,559 contributions across 48 languages. Meanwhile, collaboration with the Wikimedia Foundation’s product localization team is helping ensure Wikimedia products better serve diverse language communities.\n\nThe Hub also shared updates on its advocacy efforts related to Wikinews. Following discussions about the future of incubator projects, the Hub advocated for maintaining Wikinews in a read-only state, helping preserve access to valuable community-created content.\n\nIn addition, the Hub has provided direct support to eight language communities facing technical challenges and continues to mentor fourteen communities through needs assessments, guidance, and technical assistance.\n\n## Supporting Communities Through Mentorship\n\nA key focus of the General Assembly was the Language Diversity Hub’s Community Mentorship Program.\n\nCreated in response to repeated requests from language communities seeking help with technical and organizational challenges, the program aims to build local capacity, strengthen community leadership, and equip participants with practical skills to solve problems within their own language ecosystems.\n\nParticipants heard directly from two mentee communities that shared their experiences and progress.\n\n### Tibetan Community\n\nRepresentatives from the Tibetan community shared insights into the unique characteristics of Tibetan scripts and the geographic distribution of Tibetan speakers. They also highlighted ongoing developments within Tibetan Wikipedia, which has been active since 2004, and discussed recent progress achieved through mentorship support.\n\n### Runyankore Community\n\nThe Runyankore community presented ambitious goals focused on graduating from Wikimedia Incubator, improving article quality, strengthening leadership structures, expanding partnerships, and securing sustainable funding.\n\nThe community reported that several targets had already been surpassed. Through renewed partnerships with universities and media organizations, as well as successful access to a grant, the community has accelerated efforts to grow content and participation.\n\n## Exploring a New Language Ambassador Program\n\nOne of the top conversations during the general assembly was the introduction of a proposed language ambassador role.\n\nThe concept envisions trained volunteer ambassadors serving as bridges between the Language Diversity Hub and language communities in different regions. Ambassadors would help ensure smaller and underrepresented languages remain connected to opportunities, resources, and support systems available through the Hub.\n\nPotential responsibilities include:\n\n  * Sharing updates and opportunities with communities\n  * Connecting volunteers to resources and programs\n  * Supporting participation in events and initiatives\n  * Conducting needs assessments\n  * Communicating community priorities back to the Hub\n\n\n\nThe proposal draws inspiration from community engagement models used by initiatives such as Global Voices and Rising Voices.\n\n## Community Conversations and Feedback\n\nParticipants joined breakout discussions conducted in English, French, and Indonesian to explore the ambassador concept and identify community priorities.\n\nDiscussions focused on the usefulness of the proposed role, the support ambassadors would need, concerns regarding implementation, ongoing challenges faced by language communities, and opportunities for future collaboration.\n\nA recurring theme across discussions was volunteer sustainability.\n\nParticipants generally agreed that the ambassador role could provide significant value but emphasized the importance of clearly defining expectations and responsibilities. Several contributors noted that volunteer burnout remains a challenge across many language communities and cautioned against creating roles that place excessive demands on a small number of volunteers.\n\nParticipants also highlighted challenges including limited technical skills, resource constraints, and communication barriers. Suggested opportunities for collaboration included partnerships with universities, media organizations, digitization initiatives, and emerging AI projects focused on language preservation and revitalization.\n\nCommunities expressed interest in additional support through training opportunities, funding pathways, translation resources, and more streamlined communication channels.\n\n## Looking Ahead to the Language Diversity Conference\n\nThe General Assembly also provided updates on the upcoming Language\nDiversity Conference.\n\nWikimania Preconference 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya. Image by: \nGuillermo Carlos Gómez **CC BY-SA 4.0**\n\nOrganizers announced that scholarship decisions had been finalized and selected applicants had been notified. However, community members who were not awarded scholarships are still encouraged to participate by submitting proposals, including recorded video presentations.\n\nThe conference is being developed as a pilot initiative with a broader vision than Wikimedia alone. In addition to Wikimedia contributors, it aims to bring together researchers, language activists, AI specialists, digitization experts, technologists, and language revitalization practitioners to explore shared challenges and opportunities.\n\nOrganizers also shared plans to introduce self-funded participation options for Wikimedia affiliates and interested community members.\n\n## Next Steps\n\nSeveral action points emerged from the discussions:\n\n  * Explore whether previous Wikimedia outreach coordination models can provide lessons for the ambassador program.\n  * Refine ambassador responsibilities to reflect regional and community-specific realities.\n  * Strengthen communication through existing channels such as newsletters and community updates.\n  * Continue conducting needs assessments to better tailor support for language communities.\n  * Finalize self-funded participation pathways for the Language Diversity Conference.\n  * Further develop the language ambassador concept using community feedback gathered during the general assembly.\n\n\n\n## A Shared Commitment to Language Diversity\n\nAs the General Assembly concluded, participants expressed optimism about the future of language preservation, representation, and collaboration within the Wikimedia movement.\n\nThe conversations demonstrated a strong collective commitment to ensuring that all languages, regardless of size, geography, or level of digital presence, have opportunities to thrive within Wikimedia projects and beyond.\n\nBy bringing together communities, sharing experiences, and jointly shaping future initiatives, the Language Diversity Hub continues to strengthen the global network of contributors working to preserve and promote linguistic diversity in the digital age.\n\nLearn more at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Language_Diversity_Hub",
  "title": "Building Connections Across Languages: Highlights from the\nWikimedia Language Diversity Hub’s First General Assembly"
}