Wiki 20 Countdown

Wiki 20 Countdown is a planned series of online remote events, leading up to Wikipedia's 20th birthday celebration in January 2021. It seeks to fill the community void left by the postponement of Wikimania Bangkok and of other major movement events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be scheduled as a series from August 2020 to January 2021. WikiConference North America may join with teams from other cancelled conferences to support federated events this year through Wikipedia Weekly Network and other platforms.

The first events:

August 2: Wikimania 2005 Retrospective
August 16: Virtual Great American Wiknic
September 19: WikiCari Festival
October 4: Wikimania 2006 Retrospective
December 11-13: WikiConference North America 2020
December 30: Wikipedia Weekly Network 2020 Year in Review
January 15: Global events
January 16-24: "Wiki Week" inter-regional and thematic events

Wiki Week, Jan 2021

Wiki 20 Countdown will culminate in its most ambitious effort, Wiki Week for Wikipedia's 20th birthday (Wikipedia Day), extending an event over a longer but less intense period of time than the traditional Wikimania. There would be one or two hours of official live-streamed programming a day in the style of Wikipedia Weekly Network, perhaps each sponsored by different Wikimedia movement affiliates, requiring only the audience time commitment of a broadcast miniseries, with the possibility for more informal sessions as well. We would also build on the recent experience of the Remote Hackathon. We would be able to welcome a large public audience to participate through CentralNotice, including programming geared toward new editors. We would make the livestreamed sessions as participatory as possible through comments and guest voices.

First weekend: January 16–17, perhaps two hours daily programming

January 16: Wiki 20 Countdown/Asia-Pacific

Weekdays: January 18–22, one hour daily programming
Second weekend: January 23–24, perhaps two hours daily programming

January 23 or 24:Wiki 20 Countdown/Africa

If the WHO pandemic state is lifted by this time, then we may be able to engage smaller local or regional events to supplement the online Wikimania Week, though the concept works without this.