Visualizing knowledge: How Indonesians turn Wikidata into stories that matter

Wikidata, as one of the largest open knowledge bases in the world, offers a rich and continuously growing collection of structured data contributed by a global community. Its vast array of information spans topics from historical events to contemporary culture, scientific knowledge to geographic data, and more—all interconnected in a machine-readable format. This wealth of data unlocks countless possibilities for reuse, whether for enriching digital content, powering research, or building innovative tools. One of the most compelling uses of Wikidata is in the creation of data visualizations, transforming its RDF contents into engaging, accessible visuals that reveal patterns, connections, and stories hidden within the data itself. Recognizing this potential, the Wikidata team of Wikimedia Indonesia has organized the Data Visualization Contest annually since 2022 to encourage Indonesian users to explore Wikidata and create meaningful visualizations that showcase the richness of open knowledge. In this article, we will share with readers our experience in organizing the latest two Wikidata visualization competitions (2024 round and 2025 round) and lessons learned from selected winners of the competition.

The competition runs for one month and is open to anyone aged 18 and above, regardless of educational or professional background. Participants are required to submit two main works: a semi-scientific essay and a visualization, which can take the form of charts, posters, or any other creative digital visual representation of data. Prior to submission, participants must first register by submitting a brief explanation of their proposed theme—similar to a research proposal—though they are free to refine or change this theme in their final work.

Submissions go through a two-phase judging process. The first round of evaluation is conducted by a representative from Wikimedia Indonesia, focusing on eligibility and basic requirements. The final grading is handled by two external judges: one with expertise in design and visualization, and another with an academic background. These two judges assess the depth, clarity, and creativity of both the essay and the visualization.

In the final phase, the three judges will jointly assess both the essay and visualization using an internal evaluation matrix developed by Wikimedia Indonesia. Based on the results, the judges will select the top five participants (for the 2024 round) or top six (for the 2025 round).

Winners are announced at the end of the competition period through Wikimedia Indonesia’s official social media channels. The prizes are divided into two tiers: the top three winners receive main prizes such as laptops or tablets, while other winners are awarded significant e-marketplace vouchers.

Insights from 2024 round

The first winner of the 2024 competition, NikolasKHF, explored the status of 718 languages in Indonesia using data from Wikidata. His visualization (attached here) revealed that approximately 58.9% of these languages are classified as endangered, while 36.4% remain stable, 2.9% are institutional, and 1.8% have already gone extinct. To make the analysis more accessible, Nikolas grouped the 13-level Ethnologue language status property (P3823)—ranging from 0 (International) to 10 (Extinct)—into four simplified categories: Institutional, Stable, Endangered, and Extinct. This grouping helped highlight how the majority of Indonesia’s linguistic diversity is under serious threat.

In his essay, Nikolas reflected on broader societal factors contributing to this situation, including information flows, generational language shifts, and social perceptions of prestige. Drawing from personal experience in Lombok, he described how using Indonesian was often seen as a marker of modernity or higher social status, sidelining local languages like Sasak. To counter this decline, he advocated for collaborative efforts between government, local institutions, and communities to document, revitalize, and reintroduce endangered languages—especially through education and public life—drawing inspiration from successful efforts in countries like Australia, Switzerland, and Japan.

The fourth winner, Rahmatdenas, focused on the theme of local heritage preservation by highlighting the cultural heritage sites of Padang City. His visualization mapped and identified the condition of these historical sites, ranging from well-preserved to dilapidated or even completely destroyed. Referring to Indonesia’s Law No. 11 of 2010 on Cultural Heritage, he emphasized the legal obligation to protect, develop, and utilize cultural heritage for its historical, educational, and cultural significance. Padang, once a key trading center during the Dutch colonial period, is home to at least 74 officially designated cultural heritage sites, some of which form cohesive historical districts.

Unfortunately, many of these sites have suffered neglect, damage, or destruction—often due to natural disasters like earthquakes or a lack of preservation efforts. One of the most striking recent cases was the demolition of the Rumah Singgah Bung Karno, largely due to the owners’ and authorities’ lack of awareness of its protected status. Through his work, Rahmatdenas aimed to raise public awareness and appreciation for Padang’s cultural heritage, underscoring that preservation must begin with recognition of historical value—after all, as the proverb says, tak kenal maka tak sayang (you cannot love what you do not know).

Although what we wrote here is limited to GLAM and culture related topics such as historical sites and language, the topics of participants submission are varied, from geography, history and economics to mathematics. For more information of winners and their works, visit this page. For information about accepted submissions, visit this page for essays and this page for visualizations.

Insights from the 2025 competition

Building on the success of the 2024 competition, the 2025 Data Visualization Contest saw even greater enthusiasm, attracting 134 participants from diverse backgrounds, including students, researchers, and professionals. From the many submissions received, six winners were selected through a careful evaluation process. The following section highlights key insights from some of their works.

The third-place winner of the 2025 competition, Quraeni, explored the evolving landscape of women’s soccer, with a particular focus on Indonesia and the broader ASEAN region. Using a series of SPARQL queries, she skillfully extracted data from Wikidata on various aspects of the sport, ranging from individual women players and club data to country- and continent-level statistics. She then visualized these datasets through Google Looker Studio, transforming raw data into compelling narratives and insights. Due to its size, we could not embed her posters here.

Quraeni’s analysis revealed a persistent gender gap in the world of soccer. This disparity extends beyond just the number of players, touching on systemic challenges such as unequal media coverage, differences in fanbase size, unequal career pathways for male and female players, and safety concerns for both players and supporters. To highlight what a well-supported women’s soccer event can look like, she pointed to the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 as a positive example, showing that with proper promotion, infrastructure, and engagement, women’s football can thrive. Through her work, Quraeni not only presented data-driven findings but also called for greater inclusivity and sustained institutional support for women in sports.

The fourth-place winner of the 2025 competition, Dzneb02, explored the dynamics between private and public schools across different regions of Indonesia. Using data sourced from Wikidata, he examined the hypothesis that private schools are often perceived as more desirable than public schools. Through his analysis and visualization, he provided a nuanced picture of how educational institutions are distributed throughout the country.

His findings showed that Indonesia has a total of 257,063 schools, with the majority—about 72.56%—being public schools, while private schools account for 27.44%. This indicates that public schools play a dominant role in providing education nationwide. The data also revealed that all provinces in Indonesia, particularly those outside Java and in underdeveloped regions, rely heavily on public schools. The provinces with the highest percentage of public schools are located in Papua, reflecting limited private sector investment in education in regions with weaker infrastructure.

Conversely, the proportion of private schools is highest in Jakarta, where nearly half of all schools (47.71%) are privately run. This trend, Dzneb02 argued, is closely linked to Jakarta’s high per capita income, which enables more families to opt for private schools offering specialized curricula or international programs. His visualization underscored that while public schools remain the backbone of Indonesia’s educational system, socio-economic factors strongly influence the presence and preference for private schooling in urban centers like Jakarta.

Although what we wrote here is limited to women’s issues and education, the topics of participants’ submissions are varied, from geography, history and economics to mathematics. For more information on winners and their works, visit this page. For information about accepted submissions, visit this page for essays and this page for visualizations.

Bottom line

The works submitted throughout the 2024 and 2025 Data Visualization Contests clearly demonstrated the richness and flexibility of Wikidata as a source of structured knowledge. Participants showed how data from Wikidata can be repurposed into meaningful visual narratives—whether by mapping linguistic diversity, exploring cultural heritage sites, or analyzing social phenomena like gender gaps in sports and disparities in education. These projects prove that Wikidata is not just a repository of facts, but a foundation for critical inquiry, storytelling, and advocacy.

As open data, Wikidata offers virtually endless potential for reuse, remix, and reinterpretation across disciplines and sectors. The competitions highlighted that with creativity and the right tools—such as SPARQL queries and visualization platforms like Looker Studio—contributors can transform data into insights that foster public awareness, policy discussion, or academic exploration. Each project provided a glimpse of how open data can bridge gaps between technical knowledge and real-world impact.

Looking forward, Wikimedia Indonesia aims to challenge participants and the wider public to go further. Beyond static visualizations or essays, future initiatives will encourage the creation of dynamic data products—like interactive dashboards, integrated web applications, or thematic databases—bringing Wikidata’s content into more diverse and practical use cases. By fostering these advanced uses, Wikimedia Indonesia hopes to deepen engagement with open data and strengthen the culture of data-driven knowledge sharing in Indonesia.