Wikipedia:Förderung/Wikimania/English

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Wikimania participation grants: Overview

What's this about?		Wikimania is the Wikimedia movement's main annual international conference, where volunteers from the Wikimedia projects, staff members of Wikimedia organizations, and others interested in free knowledge come together. Wikimania 2027 will take place from August 18 to 21, 2027, in Santiago de Chile.

Participation grants		Deutschland Wikimedia Deutschland: 13 scholarships (7 individual scholarships and 3 tandem scholarships) Applications due by November 22, 2026

Covered expenses		Travel expenses (accommodation, flights and trains, local public transportation on-site and at home)), conference registration fee, per diem, visa fee

Application		Scholarship applications can submitted via the application form.

Decision		The jury will decide on the allocation of scholarships.

Documentation		Report on participation, participation in the scholarship survey

Contact		wikimaniawikimedia.de

Types of participation grants

Welt The Wikimedia Foundation is once again offering a large number of participation scholarships for Wikimania 2027; applications must be submitted by November 4, 2026. All relevant information can be found on the Wikimania wiki.

Osterreich Wikimedia Österreich is not offering participation grants for Wikimania 2027. Please use the Wikimedia Foundation's international scholarship process.

Schweiz More information on grants from Wikimedia CH will follow.

Deutschland Wikimedia Deutschland is offering two types of participation grants for Wikimania 2027:

1. Individual Scholarship

If you are a resident of Germany, you can apply for an individual scholarship to attend Wikimania 2027. The scholarship is allocated on an individual basis and covers your travel expenses (accommodation, flights and trains, local public transportation on-site and at home), conference registration fee, per diem, any applicable visa fees.

2. Tandem Scholarship

To foster international exchange, Wikimedia Deutschland also offers the option of tandem applications: As a community member from Germany, you can apply for a tandem scholarships together with an international community member—or, as an international community member, you can apply together with a person from Germany.

Since chapters in Northern, Western, Southern, and Central Europe often have their own processes for supporting participation in Wikimania, making it easier for members to attend, preference is given to international tandem partners residing outside these regions. Participants are responsible for finding a suitable tandem partner themselves. Both potential tandem partners must then complete the application form separately and briefly outline the planned joint activities as part of Wikimania in the fields provided.

It may be the case that not all tandems are able to receive a scholarship. However, as an applicant whose primary residence is in Germany, you are automatically eligible to be considered for an individual scholarship in such cases. You are therefore not at a disadvantage compared with applicants who applied exclusively for an individual scholarship.

Application

How do I apply for a participation grant?

To ensure that your application is eligible, you must meet the following formal requirements:

Show activity in the Wikimedia projects
Residence in Germany or a tandem partner residing in Germany for the tandem scholarship
Good communication skills in English
For previous supported people: have fully submitted participation reports
Age of majority, resp. permanent escorted by parent/legal guardian
Submit a fully and truly completed application form

Applications must be submitted via a form containing questions about the applicant’s activities and motivation for participating, which are explained in more detail below. Applications must be submitted via the specified form by November 22, 2026 (end of day, anywhere on Earth).

Which questions do I have to expect?

The jury decision will be based on the answers on these subjects in the application form:

Activity in the Wikimedia projects: How have you been active in and around the Wikimedia projects, especially in the last 12 months, or are you planning activities in 2027? A list of notes is sufficient and it’s also fine to provide links for your activities and documentations.
Motivation and goals for participating at Wikimania: What are your expectations from your participation at Wikimania? How would you like to contribute to this year's Wikimania theme? Do you also intend to participate actively there (e.g., submitting a presentation, organizing a meetup, maybe participating in the hackathon)?
Documentation: How would you like to share your experiences?

For each subject of questions we expect between 1500 and 2500 characters, including spaces.

For submitting your application, the only personal data which you have to transfer are your real name, user name, email address, country of residence. In case of a successful application, following private data is required: real name, residential address, phone number, contact data for your emergency contact and, in case your travel is booked by the Wikimedia chapter, additional information like date of birth or bank account data for reimbursements. For further information, please take a look at the privacy policy of Wikimedia Deutschland.

Who will decide on my application?

A jury composed of members of the German-language Wikimedia projects and a member of the Wikimedia Deutschland Board will decide on the allocation of participation grants.

The jury will receive a compilation of all applications and review and evaluate them. The results will be discussed at a final jury meeting, after which the final list, including alternate candidates, will be submitted to Wikimedia Deutschland. Wikimedia Deutschland will be responsible for communicating the results, which are expected to be announced by the end of January 2027.

Are there exclusion criteria for participation grants?

The decision on the allocation of participation grants is made by the jury. However, certain criteria lead to immediate exclusion from the allocation of a participation grant:

Not eligible for grants / volunteer support by Wikimedia Deutschland, z. B. e.g. due to Fördersperre (support ban).
Globally blocked / banned by the Wikimedia Foundation or the community; event banned by the Wikimedia Foundation.
Violation of the agreement for participation grants (“scholarship agreement”) in previous years, e.g., recipients of participation grants who have not fulfilled their reporting obligations within the agreed period.
For WMDE tandem scholarships: International application without a German tandem partner or without a submitted application from the potential German tandem partner.
Members of the jury for the allocation of the participation grants for Wikimania 2027.
MMinors who would be traveling without a parent or legal guardian. (Travel costs for a parent or legal guardian are not covered by the participation grant.)

Documentation

What is expected from me after Wikimania?

One requirement for receiving a participation grant is to publish a written report about your experiences at Wikimania. The report must be published by the end of September 2027. A dedicated Wikipedia page will be provided for this purpose, where you can publish your report.

Each report has to consist of these parts:

Report on an individual event, with a scope of 1,500 to 2,000 characters including spaces
For participants supported to attend the pre-conference: A report on your participation in the pre-conference, ranging from 500 to 1,000 characters, including spaces.
Respond to the questions What have I personally gained from participating in Wikimania and was I able to pass some of my experience along to others?, with a scope of 1,500 to 2,000 characters including spaces.

Beyond these formal reports, participation grant recipients are encouraged to voluntarily share their experiences and learning on other platforms like writing blog posts for the special edition of the Wikipedia:Kurier, through stories shared at regular community get-togethers, or as part of online and offline events.

How do I handle media files I've created?

Please tag all media files that you create during Wikimania and subsequently upload to Wikimedia Commons with the note {{Supported by Wikimedia Deutschland|year=2027}}, in accordance with the guidelines.

Information on Organization and Contact Details

Wikimedia Deutschland

Deadlines

Application deadline: November 22, 2026
Communication of the results: Ende Januar 2027

Number of scholarships

individual scholarships: 7 (volunteers based in Germany new or returning to Wikimania)
tandem scholarships: 3 (one person based in Germany with another person outside of North, West, South, and Central Europe)

Application
Applications must be submitted via this form. The application deadline is November 22, 2026; an overview of all questions within the application process can be found in this document.

Jury 2027
Information to follow

Contact details if you have further questions: wikimaniawikimedia.de, current contact persons: Sandro Halank (WMDE) und Mandy Okereke (WMDE)

Consultation hour
Wikimedia Deutschland offered consultation hours during which interested people could ask questions about the application process or Wikimania in general. Participation was spontaneous possible and does did not required prior registration:

Friday, October 30, 2026, 6:00–7:00 PM, CET, Link to the online conference room
Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 6:00–7:00, CET, Link to the online conference room

The consultation hours were held via Big Blue Button (instance of Wikimedia Deutschland, see Wikipedia:Förderung/WikiVideoCon for more information). Participation was subject to the support guidelines, data regulations of Wikimedia Deutschland and the rules for video conferences.

The support guidelines of Wikimedia Deutschland are valid for this program.