Wiki Loves Folklore
(WLF) is an international photographic contest where the photographers can contribute media (photographs, video, and audio) about their local folk culture to Wikimedia Commons under free licenses to be used on Wikipedia and any other places with attribution. This photography contest is focused on folk culture of different regions, including folk dances, folk music, folk activities, folk games, folk cuisine, folk wear, folklore, and tradition, including ballads, folktales, fairy tales, legends, traditional song and dance, folk plays, games, seasonal events, calendar customs, folk arts, folk religion, mythology, etc. The campaign is targeted at protecting the world’s intangible cultural heritage.
The Wiki Loves Folklore International photography contest serves as a vital catalyst for preserving intangible cultural heritage, in accordance with the
2003 UNESCO Convention
. It encourages people from diverse backgrounds to capture and share images representing their cultural heritage, effectively documenting and sharing these intangible aspects of culture. Through visual storytelling, it raises awareness about the importance of cultural practices, rituals, and traditions and promotes community engagement in heritage preservation. By showcasing intangible cultural heritage on Wikimedia Commons, Wiki Loves Folklore ensures its transmission to future generations, making it more accessible and relevant in the modern world while upholding the principles of the 2003 UNESCO Convention.
Every year, the Wiki Loves Folklore photography contest runs from February 1st to March 31st. Originally globally launched in 2019 as "Wiki Loves Love", the contest was subsequently renamed to "Wiki Loves Folklore." Over its 5-year journey, the contest has garnered an impressive collection of 79,844 media files from 168 different countries, with the invaluable contribution of 6,414 dedicated volunteers.
Editions
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An authentic Russian wedding ceremony
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The famous Kinabayo Festival celebrations of Philippines
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A Belarussian style wedding
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A couple at a wedding in
Nashik
,
India
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Bridegroom placing Sindoor on bride’s forehead, as part of a
Hindu wedding
in India
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A couple at a pre-wedding ceremony in
Thailand
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Wedding ceremony in
Punjab
, India
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A couple at a wedding ceremony in
Indonesia
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A student pays
Namaste
to a
Yoga
master in India
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A couple watching fireworks as a part of
Chinese New Year
celebrations
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Theatre of spirit rituals of
Maya
Indians
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淚中之愛 by 黃孝擎
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Tbourida Moroccan folklore fantasy by Houssain tork
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Viva for Nino by Herbert Kikoy
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Bharatanatyam by Vijay Sundararaman Iyer
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Dance drama by Tapas Kumar Halder
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Woman at Kalibo Ati-Atihan Festival by Elisolidum
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Kadayawan Festival by Fpj455
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Jallikattu festival by Sundaram Perumal
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Manobo Girl by Herbert Kikoy
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Bal Krishna makeup by Tapas Kumar Halder
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Hmong folk costume of Vietnam by Martyna.pedziach
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Port de Grave Christmas Boat Lighting by Ting ting Chen
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The water transfer by Mikhail Kapychka
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Tango Porteno by Manticora87
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Ardhanarishvara by Tapas Kumar Halder
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Raiyani Muharramah Gendang beleq by RaiyaniM
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Mongolian Man and his Eagle by NuclearApples
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The Yellow Fellowship by Herbert Kikoy
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Pintaflores Queen by Francisco Pajares, Jr.
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Traditional Japanese ladies by Dieglop
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Riding into the festival by NuclearApples
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International Folk Festival Polka at Bychlew, Poland by Korpusik
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Seruling Gambuh Bali by RaiyaniM
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MSFF Uniwersytet ?l?ski 7 Fot. Wojtek Korpusik by Korpusik
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Cultural dance of Sinulog Festival in Cebu, Philippines by Wynn Loner U. Uy
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Bullock Cart race in Jaffna, Sri Lanka by Visuvanathan Aruran
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A girl dressed as Lord Krishna attends open-air theatrical performance by TAPAS KUMAR HALDER
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Sinulog Festival Ritual Dance by Jumelito Capilot
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L’art de Tbourida Marocaine by Houssain tork
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Grand shadow play at Wat Khanon Temple by Paul-shy
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Peresean, a traditional sport conducted by the Sasak Tribe people in the province of West Southeast Nusa, Indonesia by RaiyaniM
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Matigsalug Elders by Theglennpalacio
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Strings of the Ancient by Herbert Kikoy
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Woman dressed as Sherawali, the warrior goddess who rides a tiger, by TAPAS KUMAR HALDER
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Child's Faith to Santo Nino by Michol Sanchez
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Moroccan Berber at Sahara Dessert by Dieglop
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Women painting Patachitra artform in Odisha by Euphoric Captures
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Traditional body painting on kids of Ethiopian Banna Tribe by WAVRIK
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Peacock dance performer by TAPAS KUMAR HALDER
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Karen tribal woman in traditional clothes by Varvara Kless-Kaminskaia
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Golden Eagle traditional and folk festival competition by Gabideen
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Man dressed in Native American traditional costume by BENNY GROSS.1
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Children learning to play the local drum in northern Region of Ghana by Sir Amugi
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Women performing traditional Dhunachi ritualized dance worship by Bhuppigraphy
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Miao folkdance in Guizhou, China by PeterSzabo83
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Romanian teens in traditional clothes are dancing at "Hora Bucovinei" ? Folk festival, Frasin ? Romania by ShadowNighy
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"Pece Atanasoski" Folk Festival by Lenivongeleva
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/Gold_medal_icon.svg/20px-Gold_medal_icon.svg.png)
Traditional folk face painting by TAPAS KUMAR HALDER.
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Silver_medal_icon.svg/20px-Silver_medal_icon.svg.png)
National Mask Festival of Papua New Guinea by JBYBIOSA.
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A man performing bleaching process on copper utensil by Summering2018
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Lumad basakanon by Kliencyril08
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Tbourida by Mohamed El Idrissi
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Red and Gold for Nino by Herbertkikoy
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Indian Traditional Wedding by Aman Agrahari
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Fishing net weaver of Manipur by Pdhang
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Piping at a wedding by Iainmacharg
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Lideres indigenas by Edgar Kanayko Xakriaba
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Little buffalo herder by Alisabih
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Holi, The festival of colors by AjoyDutta1997
Our Partners
Wiki Loves Folklore is a project organized by the
Open Heritage Foundation
. We express our thanks to the Wikimedia Foundation along with Wikimedia Espana, Wikimedia Russia, Wikimedia Thailand, Wikimedia Peru, Wikimedia Community Kenya, Wikimedia Belgium, Wikimedia France, Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikimedia of Benin Usergroup, Dagbani Wikimedians, Wikimedia Community of Tatar language User Group, Wikimedians of Erzya language User Group, Hausa Wikimedians Usergroups, Punjabi Wikimedians, Wikimedia Community Ireland, PhilwikiCommunity, IGBO Wikimedians Usergroup, Wikimedians of Albanian Language Usergroups, Wikidonne Usergroup, Community Wikimedia User Group Haiti, Amical Wikimedia, Wikimedia Community Malta, Wikimedians of Mali Usergroup, Yoruba Wikimedians Usergroup, Wiki Loves Falles, Women in Red, Global Open Initiative and Le Sans Page for supporting the project in the past years.
We would like to also thank Scholastic, American Folklore Society, TheFolkloreSociety, Archivalia Hypotheses (Germany), Wikiwand, Tribune India, Punjab Tribune, Ajit News, Dainik Bhaskar, VCA Government of Malta, fes ta festa.cat, Businessnews, Futmax.org, Dainik Savera, Dainik Jagran, and Punjabi Jagran for their support to make this campaign visible to the public.
We also acknowledge the supported by national organizers from countries like Albania and Kosovo, Belarus, Benin, Burundi, Ghana, Haiti, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Land of Valencia, Mali, Malta, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Thailand and Zambia in the past years.
In the previous editions Wiki Loves Folklore has received uploads from 168 countries like Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wales, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Collaborating partners in countries
The Wikipedia project of Feminism and Folklore has been supported by affiliates and partner organizations from 11 countries ? India, USA, Italy, France, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Tunis, Ghana, and Geneva.
Logos
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Commons Photographers User Group
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Wiki Loves Women South Asia
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Connect with Us
- Website:
www.wikilovesfolklore.org
- Email:
support
wikilovesfolklore.org
,
wikilovesfolklore
gmail.com
- Facebook:
@WikiLovesFolklore
- Twitter:
@WikiFolklore
- Instagram:
@wikilovesfolklore