Newsletter Februari 2026
Literair Gent on Wikipedia
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Building sustainable literary heritage together
On February 19, the sixth writing session took place as part of Literair Gent. Volunteers worked together to transfer valuable web pages to Wikipedia, with the authors' permission.
This is necessary because the website Literair Gent will be archived in 2026. To prevent carefully accumulated knowledge from being lost, selected pages will be made available under a free CC BY-SA license. This will allow them to be integrated into Wikipedia and remain accessible in the long term.
Since the summer of 2025, writing sessions have been organized regularly for this purpose.
What is Literair Gent?
Literair Gent is an archive and heritage collection focusing on authors and literature connected to Ghent. The partnership was established in 2004 with the Ghent Public Library (De Krook).
The collection includes:
- a paper clippings archive;
- photographs, letters, and manuscripts;
- typescripts, posters, and book jackets;
- extensive biographies and literary context.
The heritage is preserved at the City Archives of Ghent and the Letterenhuis in Antwerp.
Literary Ghent is an initiative of the De Krook Municipal Library and the STAM Ghent, in collaboration with, among others, Ghent University, the Digital Library for Dutch Literature, and Wikimedia Belgium.
Writing together
The writing sessions bring volunteers together around a single goal: to create or improve reliable, well-structured articles based on the existing expertise of Literair Gent.
Anyone who wants to participate must register in advance with a Wikimedia user account. It is not possible to create an account on site, so it is advisable to register at home (preferably with a pseudonym).
Following previous sessions in 2025 and early 2026, the next sessions will be held on:
- March 19, 2026
- April 23, 2026
If you would like to contribute, please register via the event page.
This way, we can work together to ensure that Ghent's literary heritage does not disappear, but is given a new home that is freely accessible to everyone.
Wiki Loves Fashion 2026
Fashion, fiber & folklore
In February 2026, we will once again be organizing a writing challenge on fashion: Wiki Loves Fashion 2026. But this year, we are going one step further. We will not only be shining the spotlight on fashion, but also on textile techniques and intangible heritage. In fact, it will be called: Wiki Loves Fashion, Fiber & Folklore.
Why? Because clothing is more than just style. It tells stories about identity, craftsmanship, tradition, and social change.
On a photo safari to an exhibition
2026 is packed with fashion exhibitions. This is an excellent opportunity to create visual material together that we can use on the Dutch and international versions of Wikipedia.
The idea is simple: meet up with other Wikipedians and visit an exhibition together. A photo safari, in other words. It's not mandatory, but going out together increases the fun and often improves the quality of the results.
What should you bring?
- Your museum card 😉
- A camera or smartphone
- Curiosity
Don't just photograph the pieces themselves, but also room texts, context, scenography, and background information. Exhibition catalogs, podcasts, and online videos can help you write new or improved articles.
Exhibitions to discover
There are many inspiring exhibitions:
- Suit Yourself: 100 Years of Menswear 1750–1850 – Rijksmuseum (until March 15, 2026)
- Draad en Dracht – Scheveningen style in motion – Muzee Scheveningen (until May 28, 2026)
And particularly topical:
- https://www.momu.be/en/exhibitions/embroidering-palestine Embroidering Palestine – ModeMuseum Antwerpen (MoMu) (December 13, 2025 – June 7, 2026)
This latest exhibition shows how Palestinian embroidery conveys identity, history, and emotion, from traditional costumes to contemporary interpretations. Textiles as a silent form of resistance in violent times.
Institutions such as Kantcentrum Brugge and the Manneken Pis Museum also offer inspiration for those who want to delve deeper into textiles and crafts.
Writing together, enriching together
With this edition, we want to not only improve articles, but also make underrepresented topics related to textiles, crafts, and folklore more visible within Wikimedia projects.
So, do you feel like writing, taking photos, or just joining us on our journey? Join Wiki Loves Fashion 2026.
Because heritage only truly comes alive when we make it visible together. ✨
10,500 pages saved in one weekend
Mission Gourmande
What do you do when a museum is threatened with closure and a unique collection is at risk of being dispersed? You mobilize. Quickly.
On January 31 and February 1, 2026, a French-Belgian team of Wikimedia volunteers visited the Musée de la Gourmandise in Hermalle-sous-Huy (province of Liège). Their mission: to digitally preserve the museum's culinary heritage before it was too late.
The campaign was named Mission Gourmande. And it became a race against time.
Display case by display case
For two days, a dozen volunteers worked methodically and with great concentration. Objects were carefully removed from display cases, dusted, photographed in temporary studio setups, and accurately described.
The result:
- 700 objects photographed
- More than 1,200 images uploaded to Wikimedia Commons
- 39 rare books fully digitized
- More than 10,500 pages saved
Among the objects: fragile paper decorations from the 19th century, silverware, everyday utensils, and a solid iron knife over five feet tall. Not only masterpieces, but also ordinary kitchen heritage was given a digital future.
Tasty history
The books form a small treasure trove of culinary history. The oldest work dates from around 1660. There are also two Dutch-language gems among them:
From simple recipes to spectacular pièces montées, from wine literature to historical health advice: together they amount to more than 10,500 pages that are now freely available.
Heritage free for everyone
The digitization was organized in a matter of weeks, with support from Wikimedia Belgium and Wikimedia France.
In the year that Wikipedia celebrates its 25th anniversary, Mission Gourmande demonstrates what Wikimedia has stood for for a quarter of a century: preserving knowledge and cultural heritage and sharing it freely — for everyone.
Want to see all images on Wikimedia Commons? Then click here.
🚀 Wikimedia Futures Lab
Together toward the future
How can Wikipedia remain relevant in a world where artificial intelligence is generating more and more content and trust in information is under pressure? That question was the focus of the first Wikimedia Futures Lab conference in Frankfurt (January 30–February 1).
Approximately 100 selected participants gathered to reflect on the future of Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia ecosystem, with a particular focus on AI systems and ensuring truthful information.
Through a series of discussions, the Wikimedia Futures Lab aims to achieve three goals:
1. Promoting solidarity within the movement
Participants deepen their understanding of different perspectives and local contexts. Together, they work toward a shared understanding of challenges and opportunities, and explore possible future scenarios for Wikimedia.
2. Discussing important global trends and their impact on Wikimedia
Experts and researchers help to better understand global trends. In doing so, they explicitly examine how global developments can influence regional contexts.
3. Propose and adapt strategies to remain relevant
Participants develop and discuss possible strategies to respond to these trends, and formulate preliminary ideas that will be further developed into concrete experiments after the meeting.
During the conference, ten interviews were also recorded with participants, panel members, and members of the organization in order to share insights and perspectives more broadly within the movement. You can listen to them here.
The process will continue on April 26 in Prague, as an extension of the general meeting of Wikimedia Europe (WMEU). During this one-day workshop, we will also involve people who were not present in Frankfurt, and we will receive feedback from participants about the experiments they are currently working on.
Together, we continue to build the future of Wikimedia.
FOSDEM 2026
Digital sovereignty and open source under pressure
During the last weekend of January, Brussels once again hosted FOSDEM (Free and Open Source Developers' European Meeting) took place in Brussels. This annual, free two-day event on the ULB campus is organized entirely by volunteers and is considered one of the largest and most important open-source gatherings in Europe.
With thousands of visitors and hundreds of talks on the latest technologies, community projects, and software developments, FOSDEM remains a crucial meeting place for developers and users of free and open-source software. Its central goal is clear: to promote the use of free and open-source software.
Digital Sovereignty and AI
The opening speech focused on digital sovereignty and the risks to the open source ecosystem posed by non-democratic influences. Keynote speaker Michiel Leenaars warned developers about the rapid rise of artificial intelligence-based systems for software development.
Since the 1990s, open-source platforms have been systematically built around the World Wide Web and Linux, supported by contributions from hundreds of thousands of developers worldwide. Today, however, non-democratic systems and hostile botnets are emerging, posing new security challenges. The call was clear: vigilance and strengthening of the open ecosystem are essential.
Wikimedia infrastructure behind the scenes
Another noteworthy lecture was given by Effie Mouzeli, Software Reliability Engineer at the Wikimedia Foundation. She provided insight into the operation of the Wikimedia servers and data centers that support Wikipedia, among other things.
An important advantage of the MediaWiki platform is that the applications, middleware, and operating systems are all open source. The hardware and network are entirely under our own control. In addition, Wikimedia operates an active failover system, with handovers taking no longer than two minutes.
Twice a year, there is a switch between the two master data centers, a moment that is also used for software updates. Readers continue to use regional caches in principle. Attention was also paid to blocking online AI systems and encouraging such systems to work with replicas instead of burdening the primary infrastructure.
Open source and publication formats
Also striking was the large number of presentations on document management systems and the production of “paper” publications using open source solutions. These solutions utilize web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, with PDF as the final format.
Classic techniques such as CSS paged media, TeX, XML, SGML and WordPress were discussed in detail. The common thread: a book or printed document requires a different approach than a web page or screen. Open source also offers powerful and flexible solutions here.
FOSDEM 2026 made it clear that open source is alive and well, but also that the ecosystem must remain vigilant in an era of AI, geopolitical tensions, and digital dependency.
Wikibase discussion at FOMU
Building connected heritage data
On the initiative of Kunstenpunt, a consultation meeting on Wikibase took place on February 20 at FOMU. A dozen organizations were represented, institutions that already have their own Wikibase or are considering starting one.
The purpose of a Wikibase is to exchange data in a standardized way between your own collection management system (often Adlib or Axiell Collections) and Wikidata. In addition, Wikibase makes it possible to write federated queries and enrich websites with structured information.
Wikibase is free, open-source software for storing, managing, and sharing Linked Open Data. It is the technology behind Wikidata and enables organizations such as archives and museums to build their own flexible knowledge base — searchable by both humans and machines.
In practice, Wikibase is combined with tools such as OpenRefine, toolforge.org/ QuickStatements, Pywikibot, Python Wikibase Integrator, knowledge graph applications, and WordPress. Organizations use Wikibase hosting or Wikibase Cloud solutions, but a local prototype container on a laptop is also an option.
Because this infrastructure requires solid technical knowledge, this network is primarily aimed at specialists working at the intersection of collection management, data, and technology.
The next meeting will take place on May 22 at MoMu.
🏳️🌈 Queer History Month 2026
Help write queer history
From March 1 to March 31, 2026, it will once again be Queer History Month on Wikipedia. This annual campaign focuses on the history of LGBTI+ people, their rights, and queer art and culture. Since 2020, the initiative has been organized by IHLIA LGBTI Heritage, in collaboration with numerous cultural and heritage organizations.
Throughout the month, dozens of organizations will be highlighting queer history through forty historical objects from the Dutch context. A digital preview and additional activities can be found via the official channels of Queer History Month.
Meetings
- Friday, February 27, 2026 (1:00–4:30 p.m.), Amsterdam – WikiFriday, festive kick-off in the library of IHLIA LGBTI Heritage in the Amsterdam Public Library (Oosterdok). With a contribution from Queer to Support (Here to Support Foundation).
- Saturday, March 7, 2026 (1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.), Utrecht – WikiSaturday in TivoliVredenburg, as part of International Women's Day, organized by the Gender Gap and LGBTI+ projects.
Writing contest with prizes
Anyone who contributes to queer-related topics on Wikipedia in March has a chance to win a prize. You can write new articles or thoroughly expand existing pages with reliable and authoritative sources.
Entries will be judged in early April by representatives of the Wikimedia Netherlands Association. Winners will be selected by lottery from among the valid entries. The prize will be presented in person during a Wiki Friday or Wiki Saturday event, or sent by mail.
Join us and help make queer history visible and accessible to everyone.
Agenda
✍️ Wikipedia writing sessions for International Women's Day 2026
From March 8 to 10, 2026, Wikipedia writing sessions will take place at 16 locations in Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia as part of International Women's Day. More than 30 heritage organizations are supporting the initiative, which will accommodate at least 350 volunteers.
The aim is to increase the visibility of women on Wikipedia, as a significant proportion of biographies and articles about women are still missing worldwide.
The initiative is organized by FARO, meemoo, Bruges Public Library, and Wikimedia Belgium.
Participants must bring their own laptop and a pre-created Wikipedia account. More information about locations and registration is available here.
🎉 Wikipedia 25 Party – Celebrate with us in Brussels!
In 2026, Wikipedia will celebrate its 25th anniversary. What began as an ambitious idea has grown into a global knowledge project with more than 65 million articles in over 300 languages. Today, Wikipedia feeds our daily lives, from education and research to quiz questions and even AI applications.
That deserves a celebration.
🥳 You're invited!
📍 Les Ateliers des Tanneurs
Huidevetterstraat 60A Rue des Tanneurs, Brussels
(easily accessible by train from Brussels Central Station)
🗓 March 18, 2026
🕕 From 6:00 p.m.
Join volunteers, partners, and supporters in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the world's largest free encyclopedia.
📆 Wikimedia Belgium General Meeting
Dear members and supporters,
We cordially invite you to attend the Wikimedia Belgium General Meeting on Saturday, April 18, 2026, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., at Transport en Mobility in Leuven.
During this meeting, we will look back on the past year, discuss future projects and strategic plans, and there will be time for questions and ideas. This is an excellent opportunity to contribute your thoughts on the future of our association and to connect with other members. Confirming your attendance is mandatory.
📍Transport & Mobility Leuven
Diestsesteenweg 71
3010 Leuven
🕑 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
✍🏻 Registration required
Contact us
Wikimedia Belgium NPO (WMBE)
Antwerpselaan 40 Boulevard d'Anvers B-1000 Brussel/Bruxelles
+32 471 82 20 26 (voice/sms/Signal/Telegram/WhatsApp)
Enterprise 0563.775.480 – RPR Brussel
www.wikimedia.be •
info@wikimedia.be