In March 2024, Wikimedia Indonesia marked a significant milestone. In collaboration with the Swedish Embassy and UNFPA Indonesia, Wikimedia Indonesia celebrated Indonesia Wiki Women’s Month 2024, coinciding with International Women’s Day. This year, the focus of Wiki Women’s Month shifted to the vital topic of Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH), addressing the pressing need for reliable SRH information in Indonesia, particularly for girls and young women. Based on the Indonesian Demographic Health Survey 2017, only 12% of girls and 6% of boys aged 15-24 know where to find SRH information and services; and only half can identify the risks of pregnancy.
Half of young people consider the internet and social media as crucial sources of information on SRH, underlining the necessity of making SRH information readily available online (UNFPA Asia Pacific, 2021). However, alongside this imperative, there is a pressing need to combat infodemics, characterized by the proliferation of information, including misinformation and disinformation, particularly concerning SRH for girls and young women. Thus, ensuring the availability of accurate and relatable SRH information online becomes pivotal in addressing both the information gap and the challenge of infodemics.
Following extensive discussions with UNFPA Indonesia and in alignment with WikiProject Women’s Health, Wikimedia Indonesia chose this theme. Working closely with WMF and Dr. Netha Hussain, Wikimedia Indonesia curated a list of essential women’s health articles. Additionally, UNFPA’s support enabled the participation of the Community of Practice of SRH youth content creators, who facilitated training sessions on SRH issues and provided reliable resources to enhance the quality of Indonesian Wikipedia articles.
Throughout March, Indonesia Wiki Women’s Month 2024 unfolded with a blend of offline and online events, all geared towards augmenting both the quantity and quality of articles focusing on women’s health on Wikimedia projects, notably Wikipedia and Wikidata. The offline segment, held in collaboration with the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences of Udayana University in Bali, featured a cornerstone event: Bincang Perempuan (Women’s Talk). This gathering saw the participation of esteemed guests, including the Swedish Ambassador to Indonesia and Indonesian SRH experts to encourage public participation in bridging the information gap by contributing SRH information to the digital space, including social media and Wikimedia projects. Complementing this pivotal discussion was a series of Wikipedia editing trainings and Edit-A-Thons on the local languages, enriching the program further.
“Thanks to the collaborative efforts with UNFPA Indonesia, the engagement of the Community of Practice of SRH youth content creators has brought valuable insights to Indonesian Wikipedians, fostering the creation of more precise and gender-sensitive Wikipedia articles”
Dian Agustin, the Organizing Team from Wikimedia Indonesia
On the other hand, members of the Community of Practice also expressed their enthusiasm for the event and their eagerness to contribute to Wikipedia, especially on SRH topics. “I am interested in contributing to writing on Bahasa Indonesia Wikipedia on various gender and women’s issues. And I want to share my articles on social media so that more and more people will get involved in writing and sharing women’s issues on Wikipedia,” said Vevi Alfi, a member of the Indonesian SRH Community of Practice from Mubadalah.id.
At the end of the event, Indonesia Wiki Women’s Month 2024 boasted the creation of 144 new articles and the enhancement of 721 existing articles. This event engaged 220 editors and garnered 57,900 article views. It signifies a significant milestone in collaboration with UNFPA Indonesia. As a follow-up to this collaboration, UNFPA Indonesia will also be presenting at the Wikimedia Indonesia’s annual conference (WikiNusantara 2024), further spotlighting efforts to bridge the gender gap in Wikimedia projects and promoting access to quality SRH information in the digital space for girls and young women in Indonesia. By investing in women’s and girls’ access to knowledge, we build a stronger social fabric and empower them to create a brighter future for all.
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