Wiki Loves Monuments

A man cycling outside the wall of the Grand Palace, Bangkok – Thailand by Kriengsak Jirasirirojanakorn, CC BY-SA 4.0

A man cycling outside the wall of the Grand Palace, Bangkok – Thailand by Kriengsak Jirasirirojanakorn, CC BY-SA 4.0

Jury

The competition consists of a series of national competitions and an international finale. Each national contest is allowed to nominate ten images for the international finale. The international jury, made up of seven members with different skills and backgrounds, will determine the winners of this final round out of the nominated images and award the prizes.

National juries need to send their results to the international team before 2 December 2025, and the final result are intended to be published at the latest by end of February.

Criteria

The jury will determine the winners of the international contest taking into the consideration the following criteria (in no particular order):

  • Technical quality (sharpness, use of light, perspective etc.);
  • Originality;
  • Usefulness of the image for Wikipedia.

Images that reach a top ranking of the international finale, will typically at least fulfill the technical criteria of the ‘Featured Image’ process at Wikimedia Commons.

The international team reserves the right to disqualify any images at any point in the process if they are uploaded without confirmed email address in the account on Wikimedia Commons, if the images are deleted or are otherwise ineligible.

Process

Each national competition is allowed to nominate up to 10 pictures from their national winners for the international finale. This results in a pool of 250-500 images. These images are rated 1-5 stars by the international jury members based on the criteria above. Based on these ratings, a ranking is drawn up, and a selection of images is made.

After this first round, the jury has some time to discuss these outcomes, and remove images from the selection or even disqualify them if they feel that they don’t meet a minimum level of quality expected of a top-25 image in Wiki Loves Monuments.

Finally, each jury member will make their ordered top-25 ranking. The total of points will determine the final ranking. Only the final ranking will be published, with comments collected from jurors.

International Jury 2025 composition

The international jury for 2025 consists of Wikimedia users, heritage experts and professional photographers.

  • Andikan Eduok (Nigeria) is the founder of the the Wikimedia Usergroup Nigeria – Akwa Ibom Network, a Wikimedia community organizer and digital heritage advocate documenting cultural heritage, indigenous knowledge, and promoting open access through Wikimedia projects.
  • Dev Jadiya (India) is a Wikimedian from India involved in photography, cultural heritage documentation, and quality review on Wikimedia Commons. He served as a jury member for Wiki Loves Folklore 2025 (India), is the National Lead for Wiki Science Competition 2025 (India), and was part of the Program Review Team for Wikimania 2025.
  • Lloyd Ericson Castro Rodriguez (Philippines) has been practising photography since 2016. He is engaged in digital arts, as well as literary and creative writing—the latter rooted in his background in campus journalism. Since 2016, He has gained recognition in both national and international competitions. He has earned awards in peace-themed, environmental, documentary, and travel photography contests, with many of his photos published and exhibited worldwide. In 2025, one of his photographs was selected from thousands of global entries as one of only 75 works featured in the third edition of the In Colors Project in Porto, Portugal. He also serves as a jury member for the 2025 Wiki Loves Earth competition. He currently works as a Secondary School Teacher III, handling STEM subjects.
  • Maxime Baidakov (France) is a member of the Board of Trustees (conseil d’administration) of Wikimedia France, elected in November 2025 and serving until November 2028. He enjoys editing Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons. With a particular interest in the richness of locally scaled knowledge, architecture, medicine, and the development of technologies in the healthcare sector. For Wikimedia France, He is mostly involved in the territorial anchoring strategies of their projects and in advocacy issues
  • Mermoze Adodo (Benin) is a Wikimedian based in Benin. Active in the Wikimedia movement since 2018, he is a founding member of the Wikimedians of Benin User Group and has over seven years of experience within the movement in Benin. Passionate about the free sharing of knowledge, he has expertise in managing and coordinating Wikimedia activities in Benin and across communities throughout Africa. He has also served as a jury member and co-organiser of several photographic campaigns and initiatives, including Wiki Loves and Wikiportraits, in Benin and other African countries.
  • Pinu Rahman (Bangladesh) is a World Photography Olympiad Ambassador known for documenting everyday life, culture, and heritage. A graduate of the University of Dhaka, he is professionally an Assistant General Manager at Rupali Bank PLC, one of Bangladesh’s leading state-owned banks. Alongside his professional career, he has received numerous international photography awards, including a Gold Medal at the World Photography Olympiad (2024) and the “Best of Nation” Award at the World Photographic Cup (2019). His photographic practice is closely connected to travel and careful observation of ordinary moments. His work has been featured in international media such as The Guardian, The Times, Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, La Figaro,  La Croix etc and he regularly serves as a jury member for international photography competitions including IAA (USA), Kioxia ExceLens Awards (UAE), Decagon Gallery (New York), and Frame 24 Live Photo Competition (Serbia), alongside several prestigious national competitions in Bangladesh with exhibitions across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
  • Shahen Araboghlian (Armenia) is a cultural professional and consultant based in Armenia. He currently works for the TUMO Center headquarters with art, tech, education, and beyond.
  • Valeria Dorado (Bolivia) is a photographer specializing in landscapes, and for the past couple of years, Valeria has been collaborating with Wikimedia Bolivia as a jury member in several photography contests.
  • Veronicah Ntlafatso Gaowele (Botswana) is an environmental scientist, social economist, and climate change advocate from Botswana. She is the founder of Green Land Mark Conservation, an NGO committed to promoting sustainable land use, indigenous fruit tree propagation, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience. A passionate Wikimedian and ambassador of Africa Wiki Women (AWW), Veronicah champions open knowledge and digital inclusion across Africa. In recognition of her remarkable contributions to data representation and African content, she received the International Wikidata 2024 Award. In 2025, she co-hosted and facilitated the first in-person International Wikidata Training in Botswana, in collaboration with Africa Wiki Women. She also pioneered the Setswana Wikiquote, currently in the Wikimedia Incubator, to preserve and promote Setswana language and culture online. She is deeply engaged in editing and translating Wikimedia content related to natural resources, ensuring that local knowledge is accessible and represented globally. As a fellow of the Africa Wiki Women Leadership and Mentorship Program and Afrodemics, she continues to empower women and youth through digital literacy, open data, and storytelling for sustainable development.

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