Wikimedia Georgia

Wikimedia Georgia
Wikimedia Georgia
	; Georgia
Location	Georgia
Country code	GE
Legal status	Non-Entrepreneurial (Non-Commercial) Legal Entity
Founding date	February 16, 2015
Main office	Tbilisi
Membership	18
Staff	4
Volunteers	72
Official language(s)	Georgian
Other language(s)	; Mingrelian; Abkhazian;
Executive Director	Mehman Ibragimov
Key people	Board Members David Asriashvili (Chair); Mariam Kvartskhava (Deputy Chair); Ekaterine Maisuradze; Giga Doguzovi; Beka Baiashvili;
Budget	₾154,362.00 (2025)
Reports	WMGE Reports
Affiliations	Wikimedia Foundation; Wikimedia Europe;
Former name	Wikimedia Community User Group Georgia
Website	wikimedia.ge; ge.wikimedia.org
E-mail address	infowikimedia.ge
Mailing list	wikiwikimedia.ge
Twitter	@wikimedia_ge
Facebook	@wikimedia.ge
Instagram	@wikimedia.ge
YouTube	@wikimedia.georgia
Motto	Connect to Learn

Wikimedia Georgia (Georgian: ვიკიმედია საქართველო), also WMGE, is a Georgian non-profit (non-commercial) organization representing the Wikimedia Foundation chapter in Georgia. It aims to promote and develop the Wikimedia projects, the Wikimedia Community in Georgia, and organize events for the Georgian community. One of its core missions is to aid and encourage people to collect, develop, and disseminate knowledge and other educational, cultural, and historical content in the public ___domain or other licenses that allow everyone to freely use the knowledge and to distribute and modify said content for free.

As a chapter of the global Wikimedia movement, Wikimedia Georgia works to connect local communities with the broader network of Wikimedia editors and affiliates worldwide. In addition to community engagement, the chapter fosters collaborations with educational institutions, cultural organizations, and civil society to advocate for open access and knowledge sharing.

Background

The history of Wikimedia Georgia is closely linked to the development of the Georgian Wikipedia. The Georgian Wikipedia provided the momentum for the creation of a strong Wikimedia community in Georgia, leading to its growth and ultimately forming a stable organization.

In its current form, the history of Wikimedia Georgia began in December 2014 at the Wikimedia Central and Eastern Europe Meeting (Wikimedia CEE Meeting) in Kyiv, Ukraine. Two editors of the Georgian Wikipedia attended this meeting. At that time, the Georgian Wikimedia community was developing in isolation and was not involved in global Wikimedia processes. At the same time, the community was not familiar with the organizational development aspects of Wikimedia.

However, the Georgian Wikipedia editors who traveled to Kyiv met many like-minded people, got to know Wikipedians from other countries in the region, received direction, and realized that it was possible to form a local Wikimedia user group. This marked the beginning of Wikimedia Georgia’s history.

After active work and satisfying all the necessary procedures, on 16 February 2015, the Wikimedia Foundation’s Affiliations Committee recognized the Wikimedia Community User Group Georgia — an organization dedicated to supporting the development of Georgian Wikimedia projects and the Wikimedia community in Georgia.

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Mission

Wikimedia Georgia empowers people in Georgia to create, share, and access free knowledge by supporting the growth of Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects in Georgian and other regional languages. We foster an inclusive and diverse community of contributors and volunteers, promote open access to cultural and educational resources, advocate for free knowledge policies, and build sustainable partnerships to preserve and expand knowledge for everyone.

Goals

Bridging Gaps

Wikimedia Georgia aims to reduce content gaps on Georgian Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects by:

Encouraging contributions from underrepresented communities;
Organizing workshops, trainings, edit-a-thons, and contests;
Partnering with GLAM institutions to access resources;
Improving the quality and quantity of Georgian-related content, including media files;
Promoting content accuracy and supporting quality improvement efforts.

Community Development

Strengthening and diversifying the local Wikimedia community through:

Promoting inclusivity and welcoming new contributors;
Creating training resources and organizing regular meetups, workshops, and WikiCamps;
Supporting volunteer networks, WikiClubs, and capacity-building initiatives;
Providing scholarships for contributors.

Advocacy

Wikimedia Georgia will focus on advancing favorable policies for free knowledge and copyright reform by:

Defining clear advocacy goals;
Implementing campaigns and collaborative projects;
Advocating for legalization of FoP in Georgia;
Collaborating closely with the WMF and WMEU.

Partnership

Expanding and sustaining partnerships to support Wikimedia projects in Georgia by:

Strengthening collaborations with governmental, cultural, and educational institutions;
Cooperating with NGOs to promote free knowledge and open access;
Developing a sustainable partner network;
Actively participating in WMEU and the CEE Hub to grow regional collaborations.

Organizational Development

Ensuring the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the organization through:

Strengthening leadership, governance, and team skills;
Recruiting and supporting staff to meet the local Wikimedia movement’s needs;
Regularly reviewing and updating the strategic plan for relevance and impact.

Participation in regional and global Wikimedia events

Contributors of Georgian Wikimedia projects and WMGE members actively participate in regional and global Wikimedia events, including the Wikimedia CEE Meeting, Wikimania, and other international conferences. Through these events, they exchange experiences, build partnerships, contribute to global discussions, and strengthen Georgia’s presence within the Wikimedia movement. Wikimedia Georgia actively offers scholarships for volunteers and community members to participate in international and regional Wikimedia events.

Governance

Board

David Asriashvili – Chair of the Board of Trustees
Mariam Kvartskhava – Deputy Chair
Ekaterine Maisuradze – Member
Giga Doguzovi – Member
Beka Baiashvili – Member

Staff

Mehman Ibragimov – Executive Director
Jaba Labadze – WikiClubs Coordinator
Mikheil Chabukashvili – Project Manager
Leila Karajaeva – Accountant

Membership

Wikimedia Georgia is an open membership Organization, so anyone who meets the requirements of the chapter can become a member of our Organization. To become a member of WMGE click here.

Become a volunteer

If you want to join us and, together with us, on a volunteer basis, develop and improve Wikimedia projects, please click below on the joining button, sign up, and become a volunteer of our User Group.

On this page you can find a complete list of our volunteers.

Click here and JOIN US

Strategic Plan

Wikimedia Georgia Strategic Plan 2024-2026

Reports

Wikimedia Georgia, as a responsible organization and part of the Wikimedia movement, annually presents a report (Activity and Financial) with its activities to the community. The reports are given by year and are available both on the Meta-Wiki and on the official administrative site of Wikimedia Georgia. Please check out our reports on the Meta-Wiki or the Wikimedia GE site.

Legal Status

Bylaws

User Group Approval

Chapter Approval

Chapter Application