Story and Takeaways from Wikirush Challenge

I was truly humbled and grateful for the opportunity to attend Wikirush Challenge: Awarding Event on April 15, 2025, at Museum Kebangkitan Nasional in Jakarta. Wikirush Challenge is a program consisting of workshops and a challenge aimed at enhancing the skills of content creators and science communicators in Indonesia in creating high-quality educational content by utilizing Wikimedia projects and technology. The initiative was organized by Indika Foundation and Kok Bisa through Wikimedia Alliances Fund program, which ran from February to March 2025.

Involved in FGD

In this program, I represented the Wikimedia Bandung Community. Alongside 11 other representatives from local Wikimedia communities across Indonesia, I was invited by Indika Foundation and Kok Bisa to take part in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The purpose of this FGD was to gather our ideas and aspirations to help ensure that the workshops, mentoring sessions, and awarding event would run smoothly and effectively. I truly appreciate the program organizers for genuinely listening to and embracing the input and ideas we shared as representatives of the local Wikimedia communities in Indonesia.

In addition to the FGD, I and four selected community representatives also took part in discussions and proposals for a recommendation paper based on the FGD results, which was presented after the awarding event. In that discussion, we, together with mentors, challenge winners, and the organizers, discussed about sustainability plans for Wikirush Challenge moving forward. We expressed our hope that in the future, this program can involve more members of local Wikimedia communities so that we can learn how to create high-quality educational content. Beyond that, we also hope the program will engage more members of the public as well as government bodies, allowing us to collaborate and raise awareness of the importance of creating educational content in today’s digital era.

Acting as a mentor

In addition to being involved in the FGD process and the recommendation paper discussion, I was also entrusted with the role of mentor for the participants. As a mentor, my responsibilities included accompanying participants during the workshop sessions, guiding them throughout the challenge process, assisting with technical issues, and reporting their progress to the organizing team.

I was assigned to mentor Group 2, which was given the challenge of creating educational content on the topic of climate change, a topic I personally find very compelling. For three consecutive days, from February 21 to 23, I assisted the participants in completing their challenge, from creating Wikimedia accounts and writing video scripts to producing the final video

In the end, I was grateful to see that the first-place winner of the Wikirush Challenge came from my group. His name is Andrian Firmansyah from Klaten, Central Java, and he created content about waste sorting regulations in Japan. Check the video output here.

Introducing Wikimedia

During the awarding event, my fellow representatives from local Wikimedia communities and I had the opportunity to introduce Wikimedia and its projects to the invited guests. For me, it was both an honor and a source of pride. We were provided with a booth where people could visit and ask anything about Wikimedia.

We were amazed by the enthusiasm of the guests, who were eager to learn and ask questions about Wikimedia and its projects. Many of them were familiar with Wikipedia, but had never heard of Wikimedia or its other projects. On this occasion, we introduced the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia Indonesia, its various projects, and ongoing programs. We hope that the guests will be inspired to get involved and collaborate in the mission to make knowledge freely accessible for all.

Lesson learned

My participation in the Wikirush Challenge program has taught me valuable lessons. Through this program, I learned how the power of collaboration can play a key role in the success of a program. Moreover, I also learned that the right kind of collaboration not only ensures smooth execution but also generates impact and sustainability.

In addition, I came to understand the importance of educational content in today’s digital age. The rise of low-quality or superficial content often overshadows educational material. We need more people, not just content creators and science communicators, to get involved in creating high-quality educational content. Beyond that, educational content can also serve as a response to current online behavior, where people tend to consume information instantly. By leveraging Wikimedia projects and technology, I believe we can all work together to free knowledge and make the internet a better place.

Hatur nuhun, Indika Foundation and Kok Bisa!