History of Wikimedia CH
Take a journey with us back to the beginning
Since its creation in 2006, Wikimedia CH has evolved from a small community initiative into a professional chapter actively involved in targeted projects related to culture, education, community, communication, and innovation. The association’s work is characterised by diversity, decentralisation, flat organisational structures, and close collaboration with the community, with the aim of promoting free knowledge in digital society in a sustainable manner. Join us as we take a journey through the history of our association.
The history of Wikipedia
The Wikipedia project officially began on 15 January 2001. The collaborative online encyclopaedia was launched to support Nupedia. Watch the video (under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license):
Important milestones for Wikimedia CH
2006, 15 January – At the first Wikipedia Day held in Zurich to celebrate Wikipedia’s fifth anniversary, the desire to create a Swiss section becomes apparent. See photos
2006, 14 May – Wikimedia CH is founded on Mother’s Day in the restaurant at Olten railway station in the presence of twelve founding members. They come from the German-speaking, French-speaking and Italian-speaking communities of Switzerland.
The members of the board of directors elected at the inaugural meeting are: Ilario Valdelli – elected first president (Ticino, Italian-speaking Switzerland), Frédéric Schütz – representative of French-speaking Switzerland, Michael Bimmler, Robin Schwab, Christian Seidl, Rupert Thurner and Jürg Wolf.
The other members present at the founding meeting were also active Wikipedians.
Photo on the right of the first elected board of directors of Wikimedia CH. From left to right: Christian Seidl, Jürg Wolf, Rupert Thurner, Ilario Valdelli, Robin Schwab, Michael Bimmler. Absent from the photo and elected by correspondence: Frédéric Schütz. One of the first activities was the creation of a Wikimedia-style T-shirt.
On the occasion of the foundation’s 10th anniversary, Ilario Valdelli wrote in the May 2016 newsletter:
“Looking back, 2006 was an important year. Wikimedia CH was one of the first chapters recognised by the Wikimedia Foundation. At the time, Wikimedia CH had no staff, only a board of directors. The Wikimedia Foundation was a small organisation based in Florida that managed several servers.
For many years, Wikimedia CH was the only multilingual chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation. This linguistic specificity of the association remains an incredible source of diversity that contributes to its unique character.
I must admit that participating in the creation of the association has been an exciting and extraordinary adventure, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds.”
2007 – Ilario Valdelli resigns as president of Wikimedia CH at the general meeting in Lucerne because he is too busy with his work. Michael Bimmler becomes president of the association at the age of just 16.
2007 – Wikimedia CH is recognised as a charitable organisation by the canton of Zurich. Since then, all donations have been tax-deductible throughout Switzerland.
2007 – Three Wikipedia Days in Zurich, Lugano and Bern and the OpenExpo in Zurich. Patrick Kenel writes in a newsletter on the occasion of the 10th anniversary: ‘These events proved that Wikipedia was of interest to society and were the first activities of our chapter.’ Photos: Wikipedia Day Bern, OpenExpo Zurich
2009, 28 March – The third general meeting is held at the Swiss National Library. Total expenditure for the year amounted to CHF 54,822, almost double that of 2007. Several funds were created to identify the funds allocated: Switzerland – for funds to be spent in Switzerland; Wikimedia Foundation – for funds to be spent by the Wikimedia Foundation, and Free Reserves – funds that can be spent by the Board of Trustees for other purposes. The budget for the association’s fourth year is CHF 79,150. The inventory includes posters and banners that were purchased for Wikimedia events and are still available. None of the official candidates for the presidency are elected to the Board of Directors. The meeting proposes that Mourad Ben Abdallah, who had initially withdrawn his candidacy but was elected to the Board of Directors, take the presidency. He accepts. For more information, see the minutes.
2011, 17 March to 21 November – The Cantonal and University Library (BCU) in Lausanne becomes the first library in French-speaking Switzerland to collaborate with Wikimedia CH on the Valdensia project, which aims to import some of the BCU’s biographical entries on notable figures from Vaud into Wikipedia. Nicolas Ray, Frédéric Schütz and Ludovic Péron lead this project on behalf of Wikimedia CH. Find out more
2011, 1 July to 30 September – The first edition of the Wiki Loves Monuments competition is an initiative of Nicolas Ray, with the support of Wikimedia CH, the Society for Art History in Switzerland, the Cultural Property Protection Section and Seniorweb. In the 2013 edition, the winning photo won the international prize. Find out more
2012, 11 June – The University of Neuchâtel and Wikimedia CH sign an agreement for the digitisation and dissemination on Wikimedia Commons of the Swiss herbarium plates kept at the university. This initiative is led by Charles Andrès, president of Wikimedia CH and senior lecturer in biology at the university, with the support of Ludovic Péron for the first phase of the project, which concerns some 30,000 plates. Find out more
2012, 1 July – Chantal Ebongué takes up her position as administrative director of Wikimedia CH. She is the first permanent employee on a regular contract. She manages the association’s day-to-day activities.
The 2012 annual report (page 21 of 24) states: “This recruitment is an important step towards professionalisation, as it reduces the workload of the volunteer board of directors, but also towards improving support for Wikimedians and communication with the Wikimedia Foundation. She will liaise with and between communities and contribute to the growth of Wikimedia CH and free knowledge in Switzerland.
2013 – Inmates at Gorgier Prison can now access Wikipedia thanks to Kiwix. Find out more
2014, 3 April – The BCU Lausanne and Wikimedia CH launch the first WikiPermanence in Switzerland, on the initiative of Charles Andrès, scientific director of Wikimedia CH.
2014 – 2015 – The Wikivillage competition is organised on the initiative of Gilbert Conus, with the support of Wikimedia CH and the BCU. This competition is aimed at secondary school classes in Vaud and aims to teach students how to contribute to Wikipedia by developing an article about a municipality in Vaud.
2015 – The first workshops appear in the Wikimedia Commons category ‘Wikipedia workshops in Switzerland’.
2015 – 2016 – The Let’s Fill the Wikipedia Gender Gap project is led by the Emilie Gourd Foundation, the University of Geneva’s Equality Office and Wikimedia CH, with workshops organised by Natacha Rault to increase the number of female contributors. This then gave rise to the Les sans pagEs project. Find out more
2016, February – Jenny Ebermann takes up the position of CEO. Under her leadership, the association’s work expands. Operations are converted to a decentralised, nationwide work-from-home structure.
2016 – Created in Switzerland with the support of Wikimedia CH, the offline Wikipedia reader Kiwix celebrates its 10th anniversary.
2016, 2 October – The first GLAM-on-Tour, listed on Wikimedia Commons in the category GLAM-on-Tour in Switzerland, takes interested Wikipedians to the Kirchner Museum in Davos. See the video documentation or the photos.
GLAM-on-Tour then takes place in the following institutions:
- 2017 – Gutenberg Museum Fribourg (with Les sans pagEs) and Monte vertità
- 2018 – Mamco Geneva and Migros Archives
- 2019 – Eisenbibliothek Schaffhausen and Fonotheca nazionale Svizzera Lugano
- 2020 – No GLAM-on-Tour due to Covid-19
- 2021 – Enter Museum Solothurn
- 2022 – NMB Biel, Zentralbibliothek Zurich and Montreux Jazz Archive
- 2023 – Abbey Library of St. Gallen, Zug Library and Fonoteca nazionale Svizzera
- 2024 – Abbey Library of St. Gallen, Swiss National Library and Chillon Castle
- 2025 – Aargau Library and Archives
2017, January – Since 2017, photos of New Year’s brunches have been available on Wikimedia Commons – there were no such gatherings during the Covid-19 years of 2020 and 2021.
2017, January – The Kiwix association is entered in the commercial register.
2018 – Creation of this website. See the first draft.
2018, 5 to 7 October – WikiCon 2018 takes place at the Kantonsschule am Burggraben in St. Gallen. The following note was published for non-Swiss participants:
“Not only is the Swiss German spoken everywhere in everyday life difficult for foreigners to understand, but the standard variant of Swiss High German, Swiss German, is also peppered with numerous peculiarities in terms of vocabulary, word formation, morphology, syntax, spelling and pronunciation that differ from the standard variants of German spoken in Germany and Austria. This goes far beyond the absence of the letter ß.”
See also: List of Helvetisms. Find out more
2019, 17 November – Under the title ‘Frauen für Wikipedia’ (Women for Wikipedia), the first edit-a-thon kicks off in Zurich in collaboration with SRF, Ringier and Wikimedia CH. This marks the beginning of a series of successful edit-a-thons. Over the years, articles on hundreds of women have been created, helping to close the gender gap. See photos
2021 is a key year: Wikipedia celebrates its 20th anniversary and Wikimedia CH marks the occasion in Switzerland by focusing on ‘50 years of women’s suffrage’ and organising events (e.g. an online camp, workshops, etc.). Find out more
2021, 15 January – Wikimedia CH invites everyone to sing a birthday song for Wikipedia’s 20th anniversary. Jimmy Wales was among the 30 or so participants. Afterwards, he said: ‘Harmonious editing of Wikipedia works better than harmonious singing.’ Watch the video
2021, 12 June – The ‘20 Years of Wikipedia’ celebration at Neubad in Lucerne brings together Wikimedia CH and the Wiki Swiss Award, which honours deserving Wikipedians. (Photos and soundtrack). Kerstin Sonnekalb recalls:
“It was the second year that the Covid-19 pandemic was raging and public events were restricted. In February 2021, a decision had to be made: should we hope for an easing of lockdown restrictions for the summer, as in the previous year, or should we come up with a plan B, or even cancel the event? We decided to put all our eggs in one basket and start planning. We didn’t come up with a plan B. Until six weeks before the event, there was no indication that restrictions would be eased. Then came the relief: events with a maximum of 100 people would be allowed again from June onwards, with social distancing and mask-wearing mandatory. YES! Everyone involved was already ready and made this event an unforgettable day. In total, we welcomed just under 100 participants. Almost everyone agreed: meeting in person feels great.”
2021, 20 November – This is the date of the founding meeting of WikiFranca, the association of French-speaking chapters and working groups affiliated with the Wikimedia movement. This non-profit association aims to establish partnerships with cultural institutions and networks in order to provide the global French-speaking community with reliable and diverse sources. Wikimedia CH is a founding member. More information
February 2022 – Wikimedia CH launches a fifth programme: the Innovation Lab, led by Ilario Valdelli. In a context of rapid change, open-mindedness, flexibility, creativity and proactivity are essential for success. The Innovation Lab is a space for experimenting with innovative ideas, tools and models on key themes such as climate change, education and GLAM. This concept is part of the Wikimedia movement’s overall strategy.
14 February 2022 – Wikimedia CH publishes the final version of its strategic plan for the period 2022-2026. This plan contributes to the professionalisation of the association.
20 July 2022 – At the meeting of Wikimedia partner organisations, representatives from 21 affiliates based in Europe confirmed their organisations’ commitment to founding Wikimedia Europe. The association will be officially established in 2023 under Belgian law and will have its headquarters in Brussels. Wikimedia CH is a founding member. Find out more
2023 – The Swiss National Library launches a long-term project to archive Wikipedia articles related to Switzerland, in close collaboration with Wikimedia CH. Find out more
November 2023 – Wikimedia CH has revised its membership management system. The aim is to offer our members more opportunities to get involved and to better align our actions with their wishes and expectations.
8 March 2024 – Just in time for International Women’s Day, Wikimedia CH launches the initiative ‘More women for Wikipedia’. The aim is to draw attention to the gender gap on wiki platforms, to present the community’s commitment and WMCH’s contribution in this area in a concentrated form, and thus to generate new activities, donations or partnerships.
2024, 27 April – Wikimedia CH is once again organising a Wikipedia Day and combining this event in Bern with its general meeting. The programme includes keynote speeches on the topic ‘Wikipedia and AI: The Race for Free Knowledge’, networking opportunities, an overview of Wikimedia CH’s programmes, exciting partner projects and much more.
January 2025 – Wikimedia CH launches the ‘Care Forward’ project, focusing on the themes of ‘Community Care’ and ‘Green Project,’ and incorporates the ‘More Women for Wikipedia’ initiative. This project is motivated by the belief that only by caring for our community, our environment and our shared digital spaces can we bring about positive change. The Care Forward initiative pursues this holistic approach in order to create a sustainable and inclusive future in close collaboration with the global Wikimedia movement.
2025, 10 May – Wikipedia Day 2025 in Bern is a day of interactive co-creation during which participants work together to lay the foundations for the future of Wikimedia CH. This is the launch event for Wikimedia CH’s strategic process for the years 2027 to 2031. This day, rich in inspiration, dynamic workshops, networking and stimulating discussions, will be concluded by the general assembly. For the first time, we have to change rooms due to the number of participants, which exceeds 40 people, a record!
By 2025, Wikimedia CH will reach approximately 1.5 million people each year in Switzerland; approximately 5 programmes with more than 3 million Wikipedia articles in German.
2026 – This is an anniversary year, marking 20 years of Wikimedia CH and 25 years of Wikipedia.
