On March 30, the Bibliothèque nationale was buzzing with dozens of free knowledge enthusiasts, enriching Wikipedia, Wikidata and Commons to celebrate the voices of francophone culture – performing artists and writers, specialists in communications and the French language, and landmark works of francophone identity.

Three noteworthy new additions:

• For the first time in three years, the event was open to the general public, and not just by invitation to experienced wikimedians.
• Not only was the wikithon hybrid again this year, but we also added an event at the National Archives in Quebec City.
• The event was also an opportunity for a number of francophone cultural organizations, including MétaMusique, RADARTS, FrancoMusik Alberta and CAPACOA, to form a committee for a strategic discussion on data for the francophone performing arts and music industry in Canada.

Here are just a few of the 500+ contributions made that day:

• Article: Festival acadien de poésie
• Item: Electro-pop musical duo Beau Nectar
• Item: Author Roxanne Bouchard
• Article: Poetry collection Chauffer le dehors
• Article: Satirical novel L’Âne de Carpizan
• Article: Psychiatrist and poet Ouanessa Younsi
• Article: Movie Richelieu

And a few impressive figures:

• 49 contributors
• 26 Wikipedia articles created
• 140 Wikipedia articles modified
• 164 files uploaded to Commons
• 255 new Wikidata elements

Together, the participants improved the discoverability of francophone voices around the world, as well as contributing to open access to culture and lifelong learning. Because in the age of algorithms, discoverability is the prerequisite for culture and language to shine through…

This event was organized in collaboration with BAnQ, the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF) and the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois. It received support from Culture et Communications Québec (MCCQ) as part of the Call for projects for digital cultural development in the Canadian Francophonie. All images from the Wikithon #ArtsLitt 2025 can be found here.

Photo credit: SabrinaMacGrg – CC BY-SA 4.0