Wikimedia Hackathon 2024/Participate

The Wikimedia Hackathon took place from May 3rd–5th 2024 in the charming city of Tallinn, Estonia. While the majority of the event unfolded in person, we're thrilled to announce that select program elements were broadcast online, ensuring broader accessibility. For a wealth of information on attending, venue details, travel recommendations, accommodation options, and scholarship opportunities, you've come to the right place.

3 – 5 May 2024 | Tallinn, Estonia

Overview

Participate

Here's the scoop: event attendance is absolutely free of charge. However, participants are responsible for managing their own travel and accommodation expenses, unless they secure a scholarship or receive support from their respective organizations (such as WMF or other affiliates).

A limited amount of masks and COVID-19 self-tests will be available onsite, but their use is not mandatory.

Registration

To attend the Wikimedia Hackathon in Tallinn, registration is required. Currently, the registration form is closed as we are in the process of screening and confirming attendance. For those interested in last-minute registration for the onsite event, please reach out to the organizing team via email - hackathon@wikimedia.org.

More information on registration

Register for the hackathon

The details you provide in the registration form will remain confidential and will solely be accessible to the Hackathon coordination team (WMF staff). In the case of scholarship applications, the data will be shared with the scholarship committee. The registration and scholarship application form is managed through Pretix, an open-source third-party service, which may be subject to additional terms. For a comprehensive understanding of privacy and data handling, please review our privacy statement.

How to register

To register, do the following:

Navigate to the registration page https://pretix.eu/wikimedia/wmhackathon2024/
Select "Hackathon onsite registration" by checking the corresponding box, followed by clicking the "Add to cart" button.
On the subsequent page, click "Continue" to proceed.
If you wish to apply for a scholarship, tick the box next to "scholarship application" (available until January 5th, 2024).
Click "Continue" to move to the next step.
Fill out the fields on the ensuing page, ensuring that all mandatory fields marked with * are completed.
Once the form is filled, click "Continue" to advance to the next stage.
Review the entered information on the subsequent page, then click "Submit registration" at the bottom.
[Optional] Following submission, you may receive an “E-mail address confirmation code” email with a 6-digit number; input the number to confirm your email.
Upon successful registration, the "Thank you" page will appear, accompanied by an email containing the registration link and a QR code. If you do not find the email in your inbox, please check your spam folder. For any concerns, reach out to us at hackathon@wikimedia.org.
Remember, your registration details remain private. If you wish to publicly indicate your attendance at the hackathon, feel free to add yourself to the public participants list.

Here are screenshots of the different steps:

Registration Page
Select “Hackathon onsite registration”
Click on “Continue”
For a scholarship, select the add-on and click on continue
Fill out the fields in order for us to process your registration
Fill out the Scholarship application field (if selected)
Thank you - Order Successfully Processed

Volunteering

We organize and co-create this event with the help of all participants! You are welcome to join in many different roles & capacities, see our spreadsheet and sign up if you'd like to help out!

Help desk: Help answer general questions about the Hackathon, facilitate connections between attendees, and provide technical support in various areas and projects. Group coordinator: Oyinyechi
Documentation: Make sure all documentation related to the event is up to date on the Hackathon wiki and Phabricator. Group coordinator: Deb Tankersley
Session coordination: Help with welcoming the speaker, taking notes, facilitating and time checks during a session, etc. Group coordinator: @KCVelaga_WMF
Event blogging: Document your experiences from attending Wikimedia Hackathon. Group coordinator: Joris Darlington Quarshie
Event photography Take photos during the event and upload them to Wikimedia Commons. Group coordinator: @Nes
AV operator: Help with live streaming opening and closing ceremonies, setting up, operating, and troubleshooting audio & video equipment for presentation-style sessions. Group coordinator: Andrew Lih / Robert Sim
Trust & safety: Ensure all participants adhere to Wikimedia's code of conduct for technical spaces and friendly space policy. Group coordinator(s): Nasma Ahmed & Janina Abrams
Announcements: Post updates about the event in various Hackathon-related venues (e.g., upcoming program session, time to go for lunch, or social event). Group coordinator: Onyinyechi
Logistics: Help with event logistics (e.g., moving things around, changing room setup between plenary and hacking, etc.). Group coordinator: Karen Hernandez

Online participation

The 2024 Wikimedia Hackathon is primarily an onsite event, and we couldn't enable full remote participation. However, there are various possibilities for people attending remotely to work on projects and interact with other participants:

Work on tasks: The tasks distribution and tracking takes place on Phabricator. Feel free to indicate that you are working on a task or to ask questions directly in Phabricator comments.

Interact with participants: The Hackathon social channels (IRC, Telegram, etc.) will be very active during the event, and the remote attendees are welcome to join these channels, talk about their projects and asks, and ask questions to the many technical contributors who are present on these channels.

Project presentations: The opening session (including project presentations) and the closing session (including showcase) will be broadcasted on Mediawiki's Youtube channel. However, it will not be possible for remote attendees to participate directly in these sessions. Remote participants are invited to present their projects on the Hackathon social channels instead.

Program and workshops: The onsite items of the program will not be recorded nor broadcasted online. However, notes will be taken on Etherpad documents, and the speakers will share their slides on Wikimedia Commons if any. If you are particularly interested in a session, feel free to contact the speaker so they can send you more information.

Scholarships

To foster a supportive and diverse technical community, the Wikimedia Foundation operates a scholarship program. This initiative is designed to offer crucial assistance to selected technical contributors, covering their travel and accommodation costs, thereby enabling their participation in the onsite event.

The scholarship application phase concluded on January 5th. It is no longer possible to apply for a scholarship.

More information on scholarship

The scholarship application process is scheduled to kick off on November 27th 2023, coinciding with the registration process, and will conclude on January 5th 2024. Notification of scholarship recipients will be sent out no later than January 31st, providing ample time for travel arrangements and visa requests if necessary.

Our scholarship program is tailored to champion engaged members of the technical community. Priority will be given to individuals who have actively contributed to Wikimedia technical projects for at least one year. We wholeheartedly encourage contributors from underrepresented communities to submit scholarship applications.

The scholarship committee, comprises of {Moriel Schottlender, Joseph Seddon, Deb Tankersley, and Kerdo Kristjan Tamm} will meticulously assess applications, evaluating participants based on the following criteria:

Engagement in Wikimedia's Technical Projects:
- Actively participating in technical initiatives within the Wikimedia ecosystem.
- Contributing to ongoing projects that enhance Wikimedia's technological landscape.

Innovative projects and Plans for the upcoming Hackathon
Underrepresented groups based on Gender & Regions to enhance diversity and foster inclusivity.

Please note that full-time WMF staff members are ineligible for scholarship consideration. If you are part of the WMF staff, kindly explore the internal selection process or engage in a conversation with your manager regarding your attendance.

Wikimedia affiliates have the option to conduct their own scholarship programs to facilitate community members' attendance at the hackathon. Further information on scholarships offered by Wikimedia affiliates will be included here as it becomes available.

Target audience

The theme for this edition aligns with last year's, emphasizing the gathering of individuals who have a track record of contributing to the technical aspects of Wikimedia projects. We're looking for those who are versed in navigating the technical ecosystem and are adept at working autonomously or collaborating effectively on projects.

This is a change to the previous “one-fits-all-model”. Our decision to explore a new model is rooted in valuable insights gained from past Wikimedia Hackathons and other tech events and workshops. Several factors have prompted us to innovate and adapt, aiming to enhance the overall participant experience:

Organizing an event that serves both experienced, regular technical contributors—providing them a platform to connect, collaborate, learn, and engage in specific technical discussions—while also welcoming newcomers to Wikimedia and/or development and assisting them in getting started, has proven to be a significant challenge.

Wikimedia's technical ecosystem covers a wide range of technical areas, offering numerous opportunities for contribution and learning. We require a dedicated space where our current technical community, encompassing various skills, interests, and expertise, can gather to connect, collaborate, and learn from one another through hacking and shared experiences.

Organizing workshops and smaller events tailored to specific skills and technical domains appears to be a more effective approach to facilitate newcomers in getting started. This might include regular local tech meetups, newcomer-focused tech sessions at Wikimania, local or regional conferences featuring a tech track, or a local hackathon geared toward newcomers with a focus on a specific field.

The international Wikimedia Hackathon isn't designed for onboarding and nurturing new local technical communities. Instead, it serves as a platform to unite individuals from across the globe, with the potential for them to act as conduits to their respective local communities.

Other Wikimedia Movement events cater specifically to newcomers, extending a warm welcome to those new to Wikimedia and/or development. Consider joining Wikimania 2024, which hosts technical sessions, or explore other newcomer-friendly events (you're welcome to explore additional options).

In terms of capacity, we're excited to welcome all participants up to the maximum capacity of the venue. For the scholarship selection process, we're seeking applicants with at least one year of active involvement in technical projects. The program features a project matching session during the opening, along with introductions to various tools and projects.