Jacek Durski, Knowledge Mine 2025, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-4.0

The 20th anniversary of Wikimedia Polska’s founding provided the perfect occasion to host an international edit-a-thon. 72 Wikipedians from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany met on October 4, 2025, in the historic Guido mine in Zabrze, a town situated in the heart of Silesia, Poland. All participants ventured 320 meters underground to edit Wikipedia jointly. The Knowledge Mine event was a resounding success, and we are proud to share our recipe for it:

Come up with an important editing topic

For us, the choice was simple: Silesia is home to an exceptionally engaged community of Wikipedians. The multiculturalism resulting from the region’s past was another major asset. We chose the history, heritage, and people associated with the area as the core theme of the edit-a-thon. We are happy that the event resulted in over a thousand edits, the creation of several dozen new articles, and the correction of many others. This demonstrates that, despite previous involvement from editors of various nationalities in creating articles about this unique place, there is still much work to be done.

Find an attractive venue

You don’t have to leave your favorite armchair to edit Wikipedia. But when the meeting point is unusual, it serves as a powerful call for many to join fellow Wikipedians and create free knowledge together under unique circumstances. When you put on a helmet and ride down in a mine elevator like a real miner, you realize this is an unmissable adventure! For many, it was their first visit to a mine, so we ensured a guided tour was provided once the editing session concluded.

Find partners

Joint activities not only make work easier but also help promote Wikimedia projects. Sometimes a partner can support you financially. We collaborated with two institutions: the Polish Ministry of Education, which financed a large part of the expenses with a grant, and the University of Silesia, which placed a Bebok statue on its campus. We are grateful for the support we received; it’s a great feeling to be able to share our success with others.

Make sure to provide information about the event in the languages of your guests

While English is an international language, it’s easy (and convenient) to simply assume that providing all information in English will suffice. However, translating at least the event’s main page into other languages can significantly boost diversity and participation. Therefore, we provided information in all languages historically used within Silesia: Polish, Czech, German, and even the regional Silesian dialect (as Silesian also has its own Wikipedia!). We wanted to honor our guests’ heritage and actively encourage them to edit in these languages.

Prepare additional attractions and surprises

Do you remember bumping into the beboks – legendary creatures spread across the town in the form of tiny figurines – during Wikimania 2024 in Katowice? Before the main event in the Guido mine began, Wikimedia Polska funded a figurine of a Bebok-Wikipedian. It was placed in Katowice, at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Silesia, and was ceremoniously unveiled the day before the edit-a-thon in nearby Zabrze. That wasn’t the only attraction we prepared – the Wikipedians were also treated to more surprises underground! At the edit-a-thon venue 320 meters below the surface, we drank regional beer and ate a delicious birthday cake. Everyone was excited to celebrate Wikimedia Polska’s 20th anniversary, and the underground feast proved to be a wonderful highlight of the program.

Remember the great value of bringing people together

The greatest value of an event like this is bringing people together, giving them a chance to connect and get to know each other better. This is especially important for Wikipedians from different countries who have never met before. Thanks to our event, they were able to exchange experiences of editing different language versions of Wikipedia and make new friends. We are convinced it’s crucial to continue organizing such events. Therefore, we encourage all of you to follow in our footsteps and prepare the next extraordinary international edit-a-thon. We truly hope that our advice serves as a good starting point for your future initiatives.

Rudolf H. Boettcher, Bebok-Wikipedian figurine, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-4.0 W2k2, Knowledge Mine 2025, Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-4.0

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