Digital Hygiene in Wikimedia Spaces: Legal, Social, and Community Strategies for Sustainable Participation
Speakers
I joined the French Wikipedia in October 2004, was an editor for a while and then did a million other things. The real reason why I joined was because there was no article about Greta Garbo in the French Wikipedia. Now, there is one. The reason why I stayed is because I met people, who became friends and who amazed me by their dedication (or was it addiction?). I got involved in Movement affairs, helped organize Wikimania, was in many committees, and worked at the Foundation for a few years. I am back as a volunteer since 20022 and a member of the Global Resources Distribution Committee (GRDC). I am interested in the future of Wikimedia as a movement, and curious to see how we will manage to keep open knowledge free and reliable. I now work for APC as an HR manager, APC (the Association for Progressive Communications) is a human rights organization that works in the digital advocacy space, feminist internet and the defense of digital rights,
Username:Anthere (she/her).
French. Languages : FR N; EN-4.
- Co-Executive Director of Wiki in Africa
- Consultant for the Community Care Programme of Wikimedia CH
- Wikipedian-in-Residence at World Intellectual Property Rights (WIPO)
- Former Chair of Wikimedia Foundation
- Co-founder, former Vice-Chair and currently member of Wikimédia France
Key words : Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Africa, IP rights, Open Movement, Community Building, Open Source, Creative Commons, Life-long learning, accountability, Gender Gap, Equity, Care
More info and contacts
* fdevouard//@//anthere.org
* https://www.linkedin.com/in/devouard/
Owen Blacker is the chair of the board of the Wikimedia LGBT+ User Group, having started editing the English Wikipedia back in 2004. Contributing to English, French and Welsh Wikipedias now, as well as Commons and Wikidata, his interests include Queer history, especially the cultural history of the Early AIDS Crisis, Queer popular culture, and science fiction, human rights and labour rights, languages and language rights. He also runs editing events, in-person with Wikimedia UK and online, Off-wiki, Owen is a technologist working with the UK public sector and a trustee of an HIV-prevention non-profit with 25 years’ experience of non-profit governance. He is based in Cardiff, GB, with his wife and cat.
Owen Blacker est président du groupe d'utilisateurs Wikimedia LGBT+. Il est wikimédien dès 2004 ; maintenant il contribue aux Wikipédias anglaise, française et galloise, ainsi qu'à Commons et Wikidata. Ses intérêts incluent l’histoire queer, en particulier l’histoire culturelle du début de la crise du sida, la culture populaire queer et la science-fiction, les droits de l'homme et les droits du travail, ainsi que les langues et les droits linguistiques. Il organise des événements de rédaction : en présentiel avec Wikimedia UK ainsi qu’en ligne. Hors-ligne, Owen est un technologue travaillant avec le secteur public et administrateur d’une association sans but lucratif dédiée à la prévention du VIH, fort de 25 ans d’expérience dans la gouvernance des ASBL. Il vit à Cardiff, au Royaume-Uni, avec sa femme et son chat.
Executive director of Wikimédia France
Session presenters are representatives of the Human Rights Team.
Abstract
🎥 Session recording: https://youtu.be/x2TWgWM3NvE?t=18663
Wikipedia’s future depends not only on content quality, but on whether contributors feel safe, respected, and supported while participating.
“Digital hygiene” in Wikimedia spaces goes beyond cybersecurity. It also includes how we manage conflict, prevent harassment, support moderators, protect contributor privacy, and create conditions where diverse communities can thrive. When contributors burn out, withdraw, or feel unsafe, our movement’s freedom, equity, and reliability are directly affected.
This panel explores digital hygiene as a structural question for the movement: How do we balance openness with protection? How do we ensure equity when safety is experienced differently across communities? How do we sustain reliable governance without overburdening volunteers?
The session will combine short interventions, structured dialogue around key tensions (openness vs. safety, transparency vs. privacy, volunteerism vs. sustainability), and audience participation. Instead of prescribing solutions, we will propose a Digital Hygiene Experiment Canvas, to help communities identify risks, test small-scale initiatives and share learnings with the intent of strengthening sustainable participation across projects and languages.
If Wikimedia is to remain free, equitable, and reliable, contributor well-being must be treated as core infrastructure.
The panelists currently confirmed are
* Florence Devouard (host). Co-ED of Wiki in Africa. Expert on the Community Care Programme at Wikimedia CH. Former chairwomen of the Wikimedia Foundation.
* Sanda Sandu. Senior Human Rights Specialist at the Wikimedia Foundation
* Owen Blacker. Chair of Wikimedia LGBT+ User Group
* Rémy Gerbet. ED of Wikimédia France
* Delphine Ménard. Global Ressources Distribution Committee
Additional information
Freedom: Contributors must feel safe to edit without intimidation or undue risk. Equity: Safety and participation are not experienced equally across genders, regions, or languages. Reliability: Sustainable governance and healthy communities are essential to producing trustworthy knowledge. Digital hygiene directly supports all three pillars.
We are targeting 1) Active editors and administrators 2) Affiliates and movement organizers 3) Trust & Safety practitioners and 4) Contributors concerned with community health and retention To reflect the diversity of the audience and the need for diverse perspectives mentionned in the abstract, several experts have been approached: Wikimedia governance practitioner, Trust & Safety team member, contributor from an underrepresented community, movement or affiliate leader working on community health, researcher on online communities and moderator well-being etc.
Everyone can participate in this session