Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales on Wednesday night honoured outstanding contributors to the free online encyclopedia during the “Wikimedian of the Year” awards, held at Nairobi’s Trademark Hotel as part of the annual Wikimania 2025 conference.
The awards celebrate individuals and communities whose work has significantly expanded and improved Wikimedia projects, which include Wikipedia and other free knowledge platforms. Wikipedia, one of the world’s top ten most-visited websites and the only one operated by a non-profit, relies on nearly 260,000 volunteers who create content in more than 300 languages for over 15 billion monthly views.
More than five volunteers from around the globe were recognised across categories highlighting the diverse and vibrant Wikimedia community. This year’s top honour, Wikimedian of the Year, went to Robertsky from Singapore, who has made over 79,000 edits since 2019, many focusing on Singapore-related topics on English Wikipedia.
Risker from Canada was recognised for two decades of contributions, including enhancing reliable content and fostering more inclusive spaces for volunteers. The Media Contributor of the Year award went to 1Veertje from the Netherlands, a prolific photography volunteer since 2010 who has uploaded over 86,000 images used on 4,000 pages across 134 language editions of Wikipedia.
Other honourees included Newcomer of the Year Dadrik (Côte d’Ivoire), Functionary of the Year AramilFeraxa (Poland), Tech Contributor of the Year Eugene233 (Cameroon), and Honourable Mentions Nitesh Gill (India) and Ammarpad (Nigeria).
Wales praised the winners for their dedication to closing knowledge gaps worldwide through open collaboration. “These volunteers are the backbone of the internet’s most reliable free information source,” he said. “Their work ensures that people everywhere can access knowledge regardless of who they are or where they live.”
Written By Rodney Mbua
