Group photo of Wikimedians, with Baby Globe From October 23–25, a hundred LGBT+ knowledge enthusiasts from over 30 different countries gathered in Montréal, Québec, Canada, for Queering Wiki 2026. …

'Queering Wikipedia' és la principal conferència del grup d'usuaris que promou el coneixement sobre temes LGTBI+ a la Viquipèdia.

More than 150 people from at least 30 countries gathered in Montreal to strengthen a global effort to preserve LGBTQ+ history online.

‘Classics, Queered’ [C,Q] is a new multi-issue series operating as part of Res Difficiles, The Journal. This initiative was inspired by the conference panel ‘Queering the Ancient Body’ at the 2024 …

For decades, amidst the bright lights, studio-audience laughs, and absurdly large apartment sets, the real-life story of American LGBTQ+ liberation unfolded in plain sight in front of millions of view...

‘Classics, Queered’ [C,Q] is a new multi-issue series operating as part of Res Difficiles, The Journal. This initiative was inspired by the conference panel ‘Queering the Ancient Body’ at the 2024 …

Group photo of Wikimedians, with Baby Globe From October 23–25, a hundred LGBT+ knowledge enthusiasts from over 30 different countries gathered in Montréal, Québec, Canada, for Queering Wiki 2026. Organized by Wikimedia LGBT+ and Wikimedia Canada, funded by the Wikimedia Foundation, and sponsored by Wikimedia CH and Wikimedia Deutschland, this conference marked the first in-person global gathering of LGBT+ Wikimedians and allies, following virtual Queering Wiki events held annually from 2022–2025. ## Programming and activities Pride flags in the Gay Village, Montreál The QW2026 program kicked off with a Culture Crawl, offering a guided bus tour with information about the host city’s rich LGBT+ history. Attendees then participated in three days of sessions, including keynotes, lightning talks, posters, and presentations in three tracks: Knowledge Without Borders, Queer Histories, and Queer Futures. Sessions were offered in English, Spanish, and French, with live translation and transcription available via a smartphone app. A keynote from Constance Crompton, the director of the Humanities Data Lab at the University of Ottawa, introduced the Lesbian and Gay Liberation in Canada (LGLC) project and its intersection with Wikipedia and Wikidata in making archival information available online. During the event, the Queering Wiki 2026 Challenge encouraged participants to create and improve articles and photos about queer history in Québec, as well as the QW2026 conference itself. Baby Globe plushies were awarded to two winners at the closing ceremony, with the Baby Globe mascot also making an appearance. Imacat, winner of the Wikipedia QW2026 challenge, embraces Baby Globe with enthusiasm as WM LGBT+ board member Freddy Veloz and executive director Bisi Alimi look on. ## Safety and access considerations The conference’s Trust & Safety team member Nacaru talks about the color-coded lanyards during the opening ceremony. Given the threats to LGBT+ community members throughout the world, safety for QW2026 attendees was a top priority during the event. The conference organizers followed the Wikimedia events safety and security protocols. The event venue was not publicly announced prior to the conference, bag checks were conducted at the entrances to the session areas, and Trust and Safety team members were present throughout. Color-coded lanyards highlighted T&S staff, as well as attendees who did not want their photos taken. Scholarships were granted to cover travel and accommodations for select attendees. Though every continent save Antarctica was represented at the conference, travel was a challenge for some, and fifteen prospective attendees were denied visas. “The blanket refusal of visas to all the delegates from Africa by the Canadian government cast a big dark cloud on the conference,” said Bisi Alimi, executive director of Wikimedia LGBT+. “Free knowledge is a collective human endeavor, and an act of exclusion based on region of birth is nothing but discriminatory and disgraceful.” ## Participant experiences Freddy Veloz, Sebastián Flores, Vjollka, and Michelle Jones Pérez speak on a panel presentation about Wiki Loves Pride. Sebastian Flores (he/him), a member of Wikimedia Chile, WikiProyecto LGBT+, and the Core Organizing Team for Wikimanía 2027, said that what he enjoyed most at QW2026 was “the opportunity to share my experiences with other users—particularly regarding the campaigns and activities I’ve been involved in over the last few years—and to learn about interesting projects and ideas that are helping to increase the visibility of LGBT+ communities worldwide. It was also wonderful to meet many people (including some wiki-friends!) in person, with whom I had previously only interacted virtually.” Michele Jones Pérez (she/her), a learning and development officer for Wikimedia LGBT+, said that the conference “gave me the opportunity to connect with LGBTQ+ Wikimedia activists from so many countries. Meeting people who shared my struggles around visibility gave me hope and a powerful sense of community.” Ege Atacan Doğan participates in a discussion from the audience. Ege Atacan Doğan (he/him), a Wikidata editor from Turkey who now lives in Germany and is active in WikiProject Ontology, said he “was pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of skills and networking opportunities in this conference. With a great social environment, it was really easy to find people to collaborate with. The majority of my work starts now, with the seeds having been planted in the conference!” Ege also expressed regret that those whose visas were rejected were unable to attend the conference. Kamila Ś. sings the queer anthem “Pink Pony Club” during a karaoke session. Kamila Ś. (they/them), a nonbinary Wikignome from Warsaw, Poland, said that they had a great experience at QW2026, their first in-person Wikipedia-related event. “The fact that I was surrounded by queer people (and probably allies) with the same goal and enthusiasm about Wikipedia as a source of open knowledge was also something miraculous,” they said. Kamila “loved talking to such different people in the breaks and learning about the situation on ‘their’ Wikipedia, in their countries, etc., giving me some ideas for plwiki,” the Polish-language edition of Wikipedia; that project was the subject of Kamila’s talk at the conference. They also loved seeing people from different generations “who seemingly refuse to be as conformist as so many people I’ve seen”. ## Resources and future plans Photos, videos, and presentations from QW2026 are available on Commons. Follow the Wikimedia LGBT+ user group for more information about our work.

YouTube video by Conservation Ireland

Ponad 150 osób z około 30 krajów spotkało się w Montrealu w Kanadzie na pierwszej międzynarodowej konferencji „Queering Wiki”. Autorzy Wikipedii, aktywiści, naukowcy, bibliotekarze i redaktorzy-wolont...