WikidataCon 2025 brought together contributors, researchers, tool builders, and data enthusiasts from across the globe — this time in a fully online format. To understand how the event was built, what stood out, and what the future holds, we sat down with Danny Benjafield, Community Communications Manager (Software Communications) at Wikimedia Deutschland and one of the key organizers of this year’s edition.
What is WikidataCon?
“WikidataCon is a conference for all Wikidata enthusiasts,” Danny explains. “Editors, academics, researchers, technical contributors — anyone who cares about free knowledge and Linked Open Data.” The event takes place every two years, with the next edition planned for 2027.
The importance of the event lies in its ability to bring a global communit…
WikidataCon 2025 brought together contributors, researchers, tool builders, and data enthusiasts from across the globe — this time in a fully online format. To understand how the event was built, what stood out, and what the future holds, we sat down with Danny Benjafield, Community Communications Manager (Software Communications) at Wikimedia Deutschland and one of the key organizers of this year’s edition.
What is WikidataCon?
“WikidataCon is a conference for all Wikidata enthusiasts,” Danny explains. “Editors, academics, researchers, technical contributors — anyone who cares about free knowledge and Linked Open Data.” The event takes place every two years, with the next edition planned for 2027.
The importance of the event lies in its ability to bring a global community together. “Most interaction on Wikidata happens asynchronously. WikidataCon creates a moment where the community can actually meet, exchange ideas, and reconnect.”
Building WikidataCon 2025
Developing the Program
Danny describes the process with a smile: “Admittedly, rather haphazardly.” The organizing team aimed for a clean structure through pretalx, but quickly realized the scheduling puzzle was more complex than expected. “That’s how we ended up with this kaleidoscopic mix of session types and durations.”
Partners and Volunteers
He highlights the contributions of several groups:
- MOR Design for “striking and dynamic graphics.”
- A cross-functional organizing team.
- Technical support and event staff who, Danny notes, “are the unsung heroes working behind the scenes.”
Organizing an Online-Only Event. What made it challenging?
“With community members everywhere, accessibility was the core challenge,” Danny says. Time zones, unstable internet connections, overlapping conferences, and even Halloween complicated planning — especially with concurrent events like GLAM Wiki 2025 and the 5th Wikidata Workshop.
Tools and Platforms
The event relied on several key tools:
- Wikidata.org and the CampaignEvents extension
- pretalx for proposal management and the schedule
- Jitsi for video conferencing
- startEVE for real-time captions and translations
Although Jitsi fit the open-source requirement, Danny reflects that “there may be alternatives with better moderation tools and interactivity.”
Highlights from WikidataCon 2025
Two sessions particularly stood out to him:
- **PoliLoom (Verification-First AI for Political Data on Wikidata) ** “This was the first time PoliLoom was presented at a Wiki event,” Danny notes. The tool uses AI to scrape political data and suggest contributions through a human-supervised workflow.
- Lexeme Modeling Across Languages, presented by Raisha Abdillah The session offered “rich insights into lexicographical data across 30+ languages,” despite taking place at a very early hour for Raisha’s timezone.
Trends That Emerged
Danny was especially excited about the number of sessions in the Data Reuse and Partnerships track. “Seeing all the ways tools, applications, and projects use Wikidata emphasizes how impactful the project truly is.”
Community and Participation
Who Was It For?
“Anyone interested in Wikidata,” Danny says, though he acknowledges the content can be quite advanced. Fortunately, all sessions were recorded for later viewing.
Community Involvement
Wikidata-powered games and workshops like Mahir Morshed’s lexeme MadLibs were among the few interactive elements. But this edition offered fewer hands-on activities than past years. “We want to improve that for 2027,” Danny notes.
Response to the Online Format
According to Danny, the community adapted well. “Wikimedians are used to interacting online. Not everyone can attend in person, so online-only is in many ways the fairest format.” The organizers also added a dedicated Oceania-friendly program day.
Reflections and Lessons Learned
This was Danny’s first WikidataCon as an organizer. “I’m happy it ran without major issues and that all speakers delivered their sessions. I’m excited to carry these lessons into future events.”
One particularly memorable lesson concerned the Call for Proposals. “In the final 48 hours, over 50 proposals came in,” Danny recalls. “I went from worrying about filling the program to worrying about how many sessions we’d have to reject!”
Looking Ahead
Impact on the Community
Danny hopes attendees rediscovered the human side of Wikidata. “Wikidata is built by the community. I hope people found something new this year – a tool, a project, or a collaborator.”
What the 2027 Edition Must Address
The next WikidataCon is planned as a hybrid event. “This will help strengthen community bonds,” Danny explains. “Meeting in person – and still including everyone online — opens new opportunities for collaboration.”
Want to get in touch with Danny?** User Talk: Danny Benjafield (WMDE) Email: danny.benjali…@wikimedia.de **Telegram: @benny.danjerfield
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