WikiConference India 2026 brings open knowledge community to Kochi

September 8, 2026 /Posted byPrajwal EW / 0

The fourth edition of WikiConference India concluded in Kochi, Kerala, on September 6, bringing together more than 220 Wikimedia contributors, researchers, educators, technologists and open-knowledge advocates from India and South Asia.

Held from September 4 to 6 under the theme ‘Reimagining the Knowledge Commons’, the conference focused on the role of human-created knowledge as artificial intelligence and large language models increasingly rely on multilingual content from Wikimedia projects.

Nearly 100 participants from India and 25 from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan received scholarships to attend the conference.

Discussions covered community leadership in the age of AI, regional-language content, local knowledge, open participation, oral traditions, cultural documentation and ways to address knowledge gaps.

“From documenting places and cultural heritage to strengthening knowledge in regional languages, every contribution adds to a global common of freely available knowledge,” said Jinoy Tom Jacob, co-lead of the WikiConference India 2026 organising team and a member of the Kerala Wikimedia User Group.

Lorenzo Losa, chair of the Wikimedia Foundation’s Board of Trustees, said community-led, human-created knowledge had become more important amid declining trust in online information and the growth of AI-generated content.

The conference also marked the 25th anniversaries of Wikipedia and Creative Commons. Sessions explored Indigenous languages, community archives, cultural heritage and open knowledge.

Wikipedia is available in more than 25 Indic languages, including nearly all 22 scheduled Indian languages. India accounts for around 600 million Wikipedia page views each month, the fifth-highest traffic from any country.

Also Read: SuperGrads records 332 selections across IIM undergraduate programmes

Post Views: 14

Add comment Cancel reply

Media Bytes

“It must have seemed natural to me that the close-eyed obedience of the student was a form of bhakti. Bhakti was — this scene reminds us — a critique of the idea of god and bhakti itself. The andh bhakt worships the powerful, the academic-bhakt the powerless, so that both transform into a fetish. One wants to remain Hanuman, the other lives with the belief that it’s only a matter of time that they too will become Foucault. ‘Star professor’ should be an oxymoron in the classroom; but star professors lubricate the personality cult, seemingly unaware that it is a weapon of bullying and indoctrination. Instead of conquering the classroom like Alexander, I wish that teachers stood out of students’ sunlight.”

- Sumana Roy, The Indian Express, (7/9)

“Dalits in Indian academia are always managing themselves, projecting or living up to a certain image so as to keep hasty criticism at bay. If they stray a millimetre from the socially sanctioned script, disgrace of a kind that exists solely for them befalls them. To question someone’s academic credibility is one thing, but to violate their dignity is anything but responsible criticism. Black people and Dalits are forced to hold on to whatever dignity is left with them, enduring everyday racism and casteism. They know that what routinely bypasses the social gaze will be unforgivable in their case. In societies where race and caste continue to determine the majority’s standing, we ought to be mindful of the unethical foundations of such concerns for ethical conduct. To be Black, to be a Dalit, or any kind of minority, is a costly thing in society. Even in educational institutions, many of the marginalised continue to pay with their life.”

- Irfanullah Farooqi & Suraj Gogoi, The Indian Express, (3/9)

WikiConference India 2026 brings open knowledge community to Kochi

Add comment Cancel reply

Current Issue

Media Bytes

From The Archives

Independence day: Time for introspection