"Strengthening Language Communities in the Open Knowledge Movement"
October 2026 will see the first-ever “Language Diversity Conference” in Accra, Ghana. Organized by Wikitongues and the Dagbani Wikimedians User Group, with support from the Language Diversity Hub and Wikimedia UK, the event will bring together language activists, Wikimedians and experts working to advance underrepresented languages on and off Wikimedia platforms. By focusing on documentation, revitalization, and content creation for Indigenous and minority languages, the organizers aim to amplify voices often excluded from digital spaces.
The event is envisioned as a milestone moment for the Wikimedia movement. For years, communities have raised the urgent need to better support Indigenous and minority languages, which remain underrepresented on Wikimedia projects despite being vital to global knowledge equity. It builds on the foundation laid by community efforts such as the Celtic Knot and regional language gatherings, while connecting directly to the mission of the Language Diversity Hub and the long-standing work of Wikitongues.
The goals are to strengthen the presence of underrepresented languages on Wikimedia projects, tackle barriers to multilingual content creation, explore ethical ways of digitizing oral traditions, and critically examine how emerging technologies like AI and speech-to-text tools can be used responsibly for language revitalization, as well to build partnerships that extend beyond the conference, ensuring that the work continues in sustainable and inclusive ways.
The audience will be international (with strong Ghana presence). We welcome representatives from any language community that can respond to the themes below.
Organisers have an aspiration to support live translation, but the exact languages supported will be confirmed closer to the time.
The deadline for submissions is 30th April.
Formats
We are inviting applications to the programme;
Lightning talks – Short 10-minute presentations about anything you feel is relevant.
Workshops and tutorials – 50 or 110-minute sessions for group discussions and workshops, or tutorials on a particular topic such as Content Translation or Wikidata. This time includes questions from the audience.
Presentation – 20–25 minute presentations. This time includes questions from the audience.
Panel Discussion – 50-minute panel discussion to discuss a topic. Please feel free to collaborate with others to put a panel together. This time includes questions from the audience.
Themes
All submissions could take the angle of sharing skills/approaches (capacity building), provocations (highlighting issues, discussing problems) or aligning on next steps.
We encourage proposals to link to the conference themes of:
Presence
Suggested angles include:
- Innovative strategies, success stories, and challenges overcome in advancing various language projects and strengthening their presence within the Wikimedia community.
- Documentation, revitalization, and content creation, ideally with consideration for how open source, free knowledge, and Wiki tools can advance language revitalization
- Strategies for addressing barriers to multilingual content creation
suggestions for partnerships that extend beyond the conference, ensuring that the work continues in sustainable and inclusive ways
Ethics, advocacy for language support
Suggested angles include:
- Suggestions for paths in language advocacy and representation within Wiki communities as we collectively sculpt a shared vision for the future of language preservation and promotion within the Wikimedia landscape.
- Ethical ways of digitizing oral traditions
- Working with the Wikimedia Foundation for strategic support of language work within the movement
Languages in the age of AI
Suggested angles include:
- Examination of how emerging technologies like AI and speech-to-text tools can be used responsibly for language revitalization
- Exploration of issues around exclusion from digital spaces
Conditions
Our preference is for sessions to be delivered in person.
By submitting a proposal, you must agree that your proposal's abstract and any slides associated with it will be released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License 4.0; and if accepted, the session will be broadcast and/or recorded and made available in audio and/or visual form under the same license.
You can enter proposals until 2026-04-30 23:59 (UTC), 1 month from now.