Wikipedia:Meetup

This is an information page. It is not a Wikipedia policy or guideline; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia's norms, customs, technicalities, or practices. It may reflect varying levels of consensus.

Shortcuts WP:MEETWP:MEET WP:MEETUPWP:MEETUP WP:MEETUPSWP:MEETUPS

Wikipedians and other Wikimedians organize meetups to socialize and collaborate around the common goal of sharing information. Anyone can organize a meetup. Although it helps to plan a bit and have some awareness of how Wikipedia works, no one needs permission to have a meetup and there is no requirement for anyone to have a meetup in a certain way.

Some meetups are in person but online programs and events are great too. Some meetups are for discussing Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects, while others have the goal of convening people to edit. Many meetups have at least one experienced Wikipedia editor present, but lots of meetups have organized and accomplished their goals without an experienced editor attending.

This page is used as a starting point for Wikipedians organising meetups, and subpages are used for finalising the details once a meetup has been agreed. For meetings in other languages/places please use the interlanguage links from this page.

Basics for beginners

There are lots of ways to organize a Wikipedia meetup. There is no need to request anyone's permission. Feel free to publicly advertise that you are hosting a Wikipedia meetup for anyone who wants to edit the wiki with the community of volunteer editors.

Although there are not particular requirements, for anyone who wants orientation, here is a proven model that works. As you plan your event, start here and modify this plan as appropriate for your situation.

1. Get commitments from a few people, each of whom will serve one role and not be responsible for the other roles:
   1. Wikipedia editor – it is very useful to have at least one person who has edited Wikipedia before. At the very least, consider having someone take an online tutorial, make a few edits, and know how to ask questions in Wikipedia's help forums.
   2. Venue host – there has to be a place to meet. If the meeting is in a coffeehouse then someone should reserve a table. If the meeting is in a community center, like a library, museum, college, or similar, then confirm with a host that everyone has a space to meet.
   3. Subject matter expert – Wikipedia is a summary of information from reliable sources. To edit Wikipedia, someone has to curate and suggest reliable sources to summarize and cite. For example, if a Wikipedia event is in a library, then get a subject matter expert to select some books in advance – perhaps around a common theme for the meetup – and make them available to the event participants
   4. Community organizer – this is the person who invites people to the event. Since the event is for the benefit and enjoyment of the participants, then the person who can recruit participants to the event is typically also the person who sets the theme of the event. Common themes are local history, biographies of a certain group of people, or some set of social topics.
2. Consider whether you want a record of outcomes
   1. If anyone involved in presenting the event is part of an organization, then typically they will want "outcome metrics" or "proof of impact".
      1. Organizations which support wiki events like getting evidence that participants actually accomplished something useful
      2. In general, a useful outcome is a list of what Wikipedia articles everyone edited and perhaps a record of how many people read those articles
   2. While there are many ways to get outcomes, the most popular way is to have participants sign up to the "Programs and Events Dashboard"
      1. Hopefully a new user can set up a program page in the dashboard in 10 minutes
      2. To use the dashboard, share the weblink with all attendees. If they register Wiki accounts, then they can join the dashboard participant list with a click
3. Consider whether you want to connect with the broader Wikimedia community
   1. If you want a referral, then perhaps ask at Wikipedia:Pump
   2. Advantages:
      1. If you collaborate with others then you can join discussions about what you are doing
      2. If you are doing something similar to others then everyone shares in the outcomes toward a common goal
   3. Disadvantages
      1. Some people want to get started immediately without planning in advance
      2. Everyone is a volunteer, so probably to collaborate you have to join a global campaign like Wiki Loves Monuments, Art+Feminism, or some other project which rallies around a particular theme. If the themes match what you want, then great. If not, then those communities may not be available.

Projects and events

Procedure and advice

• Create the page
  • Use or create a sub page of Wikipedia:Meetup to organize the meeting.
  • Make it easy to sign up, with simple subsections like Likely attendees, Possible attendees and Regrets for signup lists, as at Meetup/NYC.
  • See Wikipedia Meetups – A design pattern catalogue for advice about Locations, Timing, People, and Topics.
• Attract attendees
  • Solicit invitations of geographically local Wikipedia users.
  • Create a geonotice request.
  • Create a list of Wikipedians interested in future and regular meetups for a given location where they can sign up (alternatively, userboxes with corresponding categories can be used).
    • Use an info box like {{Wikipedia:Meetup/Melbourne/Invite}} for mass invitations.
  • Use other media outside of Wikipedia to advertise to non-Wikipedia users
    • Post a couple of notices on Craigslist (free).
    • Word of mouth is always an option.
  • Don't be afraid to spam people: Make a big list like Meetup/NYC/Invite list from all people who have ever expressed interest in attending a meetup, as well as all people in categories like Category:Wikipedians in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia userbox and other regional categories.
    • Don't manually post notices to all the editors who are listed in a geographical category. Simply post a request at WP:BOTREQ, asking for a bot owner to have a bot deliver the (specified) message to everyone in the category.
  • Place notices at talk pages like Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Philadelphia and even Talk:Philadelphia.
  • Contact your local chapter – if you have one – who will be able to contact people in the local area, or help you in other ways.
• Organize event
  • Organize location
  • Organize eating arrangements
  • Settle on a definite time and place, and don't change it. If someone is just bold, people will know about the date a few weeks in advance (instead of a couple of days), which will make planning easier for individuals. Getting input from everyone is good, but you don't need a formal vote on everything, which can delay the process.
  • Consider whether you want any sort of agenda for the meetup (like a discussion on a specific topic, or forming a local chapter).

Pictures

A gallery from many different cities can be found at:

• Meetup/Gallery
• Wikipedia 10 – Photo gallery

• 
  First meetup
  Dhaka, Bangladesh
  July 14, 2007
• 
  Fifth meetup
  Philadelphia, United States
  November 11, 2007
• 
  First meetup
  Vancouver, Canada
  May 5, 2008
• 
  1st WikiMeetup
  Mumbai
  September 20, 2010
• 
  1st WikiMeetup
  New Delhi
  September 22, 2010
• 
  19th Bangalore Meetup
  Bangalore
  September 24, 2010
• 
  1st WikiMeetup
  Kolkata
  December 11, 2010
• 
  Bangalore Odia Wiki Workshop
  Bangalore
  March 6, 2011
• 
  Wikimedia Kenya meet up
  Kenya
  May 26, 2012
• 
  Third meetup
  Chittagong
  February 7, 2015
• 
  AfroCROWD Kickoff Event
  Brooklyn, United States
  February 7 and 8, 2015
• 
  2015 Art+Feminism @ MoMA
  New York City, United States
  March 7, 2015
• 
  Wikipedia Singapore Meetup 8 @ National Library, Singapore
  November 8, 2015
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 1 @ Mall of Medini, Iskandar Puteri, Johor, Malaysia
  May 22, 2016
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur Meetup 1 @ Berjaya Times Square, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  June 5, 2016
• 
  Wikipedia Selangor Meetup 1 @ Sudo Brew, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
  December 11, 2016
• 
  Wikipedia Selangor Meetup 2 @ Sunway Tower, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
  February 25, 2017
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur Meetup 2 @ Feeka Coffee Roasters, Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  April 22, 2017
• 
  Wikipedia Indonesia-Malaysia Meetup 1 @ Wikimedia Indonesia Chapter Headquarters, Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia
  August 10, 2017
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 2 @ Larkin 2 National Primary School, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  October 8, 2017
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 3 @ Big Bites Café, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  October 22, 2017
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 4 @ Crescendo International College, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  December 9, 2017
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 5 @ Sunway College Johor Bahru, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  January 20, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 6 @ Q House, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  February 24, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 7 @ Handicapped and Mentally Disabled Children Association Johor Bahru, Saleng, Kulai District, Johor, Malaysia
  April 14, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Malaysia-Taiwan Meetup 1 @ Leaf Cafe, Da'an District, Taipei, Taiwan
  April 28, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Sabah Meetup 1 @ Sandakan District Education Office, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
  May 17, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur 3 @ AIA Cap Square Tower, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  June 30, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 8 @ Crescendo International College, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  July 14, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Kelantan Meetup 1 @ Kamil National High School, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, Malaysia
  Augusts 6, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur Meetup 4 @ Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  August 26, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Indonesia-Malaysia Meetup 2 @ Wikimedia Indonesia Chapter Headquarters, Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia
  September 10, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur Meetup 5 @ Malaysia Design Archive, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  September 15, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Melaka Meetup 1 @ Multimedia University, Bukit Beruang, Melaka, Malaysia
  October 10, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur Meetup 6 @ National Library of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  December 12, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Penang Meetup 1 @ University of Science, Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
  December 12, 2018
• 
  Wikipedia Kedah Meetup 1 @ Northern University of Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia
  April 14, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Kelantan Meetup 2 @ Sungai Petai National High School, Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, Malaysia
  April 24, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 9 @ Pelangi Plaza, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  May 1, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 10 @ Pelangi Plaza, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  May 19, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 11 @ Johor Bahru City Square, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  May 31, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 12 @ Crescendo International College, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  June 22, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Johor Meetup 13 @ Pelangi Plaza, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
  July 25, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur Meetup 7 @ National Library of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  August 1, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Malaysia-Thailand Meetup 1 @ Thaksin University, Hat Yai, Thailand
  September 5, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Penang Meetup 2 @ University of Science, Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
  October 9, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Kelantan Meetup 3 @ KFC, Pasir Puteh District, Kelantan, Malaysia
  October 31, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Kelantan Meetup 4 @ Taman Masjid Ibrahimi, Pasir Puteh District, Kelantan, Malaysia
  November 9, 2019
• 
  Wikipedia Sabah Meetup 2 @ Inanam, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
  December 24, 2020
• 
  Wikipedia Sabah Meetup 3 @ Harbour City, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
  December 30, 2020
• 
  Wikipedia Sabah Meetup 4 @ Harbour City, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
  January 3, 2021
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur Meetup 8 @ University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  November 10, 2021
• 
  Wikipedia Johor 14 @ Sutera Mall, Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia
  December 12, 2021
• 
  Wikipedia Johor 15 @ Treasure Trove, Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia
  February 16, 2022
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur 9 @ Sunway Velocity Mall, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  March 20, 2022
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur 10 @ Kuala Lumpur Library, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  March 21, 2022
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur 11 @ Malaysia Tourism Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  June 4, 2022
• 
  Wikipedia Johor 16 @ Paradigm Mall, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  July 2, 2022
• 
  Wikipedia Kuala Lumpur 13 @ Sungei Wang Plaza, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  December 16, 2022

Tools

• Systemic Bias Workshop Kit

See also

• Wikipedia:Meetup/Calendar
• Friendly space policies
• Geonotice
• Meta Meetup
• WikiCon (WikiConference/WikiConvention)
• Wikipedia:How to run an edit-a-thon
• Community of Wikipedia
• Program evaluation: edit-a-thons
• Link to a list of all subpages:
  • Wikipedia:Meetup

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wikipedia events.

• Wikipedia Meetup at Meta Wiki
• Events at Meta Wiki
• Events at MediaWiki
• Wikipedia + meetup tagged photos at flickr