Last weekend, over 150 people gathered in Montreal, Canada, for the first-ever in-person Queering Wiki international conference.
Hosted by Wikimedia LGBT+ and Wikimedia Canada (Wikimedia is Wikipedia’s parent company), the gathering brought together contributors, editors, activists, academics, and librarians from at least 30 countries under the theme “Knowledge Without Borders: Queer History and Queer Futures.”
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The goal: “Strengthen how the world’s largest free knowledge platform documents LGBTQ+ people, history, and culture,” a press release explained.
The decision to hold the gathering was fueled by the global rise in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and increased criminalization of LGBTQ+ people, which is no doubt affecting the information on LGBTQ+ issues to which people have access.
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“At this point in the history of open and free knowledge, a gathering of Queer Wikimedians was not only important, it was necessary,” Wikimedia LGBT+ Executive Director Bisi Alimi said in a statement.
“For many contributors who traveled to Montreal, editing Wikipedia articles about their own communities is not simply an act of documentation; it can carry real legal and personal risks in their home countries. As organizers of this crucial conference, we note that maintaining accurate, neutral, and safety-conscious coverage of LGBTQ+ topics on Wikipedia is increasingly one of the few ways some communities’ histories are preserved at all.”
Wikimedia Foundation Gender Lead Bridgit Kurgat added that AI systems are currently being trained with incomplete or inaccurate information about LGBTQ+ people.
“Wikipedia is a foundational source of knowledge for AI,” Kurgat said. “When queer histories and experiences are missing from Wikipedia’s pages, these gaps are carried into the AI systems learning from it, leaving future generations with an incomplete picture of our world. The Queering Wiki Conference was a crucial moment where contributors came together to discuss this important challenge and engage on how to build a more inclusive record of our shared history.”
One Wikipedia contributor and convention attendee told The Advocate that LGBTQ+ people are the only ones who will make sure this history is properly documented. “We’re in this together,” they said, “and we have to document our challenges.”
Alimi emphasized to the publication that this work really matters, especially in the context of book bans and anti-LGBTQ+ curriculum laws in the United States.
Alimi also celebrated that the conference could bring people together to just celebrate their identities.
“Wikimedia activities are predominantly online, so people spend a lot of time online without seeing other people. To be in a space with other queer people, and be queer without apologizing for it or seeking permission, is also something that is extraordinary.”
Wikimedia LGBT+ hopes to hold another in-person conference in 2028 and is also planning to apply for formal nonprofit status.
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