ESEAP First Timers at Wikimania Nairobi

Wikimania brought together Wikimedians from around the world. It is a place to share experiences, exchange ideas, and make new friends! The event showcased the diversity of the Wikimedia movement, bringing together many voices and perspectives. In this post, Ivonne Kristiani speaks with three Wikimedians from the ESEAP region, who share personal reflections from their very first Wikimania experience in Nairobi 2025.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself and how did you first start editing wiki?

[Raymond] 
I’m Raymond from Jakarta, Indonesia. I first discovered Wikipedia in 2007, but it wasn’t until 3 years later that I realized anyone could edit it. Once I created an account in 2010, I became an active contributor to Indonesian Wikipedia and later expanded my involvement to projects like Wikibooks and Wikisource. I am now an admin on those three projects. I meant to balance my time across these projects, but I am mostly active on Indonesian Wikipedia.

[Jirapat]
Hi! My name is Jirapat, and I’m from Thailand. I created my account in 2010, but I made my first edit on the Thai Wikipedia in 2011, when I was around 11 or 12 years old. It was such a young and innocent time, but I’ve really been into this platform since I was little!

At first, I wanted to contribute and share new information about cartoons and ASEAN in Thai language through this platform. Later, I came to realize that Wikipedia is not only a platform for sharing knowledge but also a place that has taught me how to write and translate in an academic and formal style in Thai.

[Zahirul]
Hi, Zahirul is here. I’m from Malaysia, born and raised in one of the rich cultural states in Malaysia, Negeri Sembilan. I have known Wikipedia since my secondary school period, back in 2007-2008 as I remember. I started creating my Wikipedia account in April 2012, but started my first edit a year after in April 2013.

Q: What was the highlight of your first Wikimania? Anything that surprised you or that you did not expect?

[Raymond]
After applying for a Wikimania scholarship several times since 2017 without luck, I honestly didn’t expect to finally get one this year. It was also my very first opportunity to meet Wikimedians from other countries in person, whom I had only known through social media until now. I’m truly proud to be one of the representatives from the Indonesian community to attend this event.

[Jirapat]
The highlight of my first Wikimania in Nairobi was meeting fellow Wikipedians from all around the world and learning about new advice and projects from speakers in various sessions.

[Zahirul]
The pre-conference session, Wikimedia Users with Extended Rights Convening. That’s the highlight of my first Wikimania. I was really excited when I got the Wikimania scholarship due to my administratorship for Malay Wikipedia. The convening opened my eyes to be involved in bigger discussions about Wikipedia and its related ecosystem. Wikipedia – a platform for everyone – must be handled responsibly by everyone to avoid misinformation, disinformation and vandalism.

We’re facing the difficulties of handling everyone’s point of view in Wikipedia, while Wikipedia strongly upholds the principle of neutral point of view. In the convening, it was a platform for us to share as an administrator of local language Wikipedia how we face this issue. Other than that, we also had a discussion on policy in local Wikipedia, which I learned from other Wikipedians how they build the policy with their communities; this makes me want to revive the policies in Malay Wikipedia with other administrators.

On another note, I was surprised with Kenya’s weather. I learned before attending Wikimania that Kenya has a cold climate and now in winter, but because I have never been to any country that is located outside from tropical rainforest climate, I was surprised by that. 

Q: Which session that you attended left an impression on you? Why?

[Raymond]
I was particularly interested in the session on WikiLearn, the learning management system developed by the Wikimedia Foundation. This resonates with the OER training program I co-developed with colleagues at Creative Commons Indonesia, which also makes use of a learning management system. I’m eager to explore WikiLearn’s features further and plan to translate our OER training into English so it can benefit Wikimedia communities worldwide

[Jirapat]
Honestly, the session that impressed me the most was Wikipedia for 55+ by the Ukrainian Wikimedia team. They showed that age is just a number — anyone can edit and contribute to Wikimedia projects. Even though they are facing difficult circumstances, their team and participation continue to thrive, which touched me deeply.

[Zahirul]
How to Wikibase: National Library of Nigeria Authority Semantic files on Wikibase, presented by Dr. Nkem Osuigwe and User:SBAbigstan. I may have less knowledge about the Wikibase system, but I was impressed with their effort to empower local writers and approach the national library to be involved in the Wikimedia ecosystem.

Wiki Loves Broadcast: Creative Commons Video Edit-a-thon, presented by Janosh and their international team. As a Wikipedia editor, I love the idea of combining other Wikimedia projects with Wikipedia articles. For Wiki Loves Broadcast, which they ‘advocate’ for making public broadcasting content accessible across languages and regions, even in countries without public broadcasters, they use video from Wikimedia Commons to make Wikipedia articles more interactive and inclusive.

Q: What was one of your valuable learnings from Wikimania?

[Raymond]
This being my first Wikimania in person, it was also the first time I witnessed the announcement of the Wikimedian of the Year live. The award reminded me that every volunteer’s contribution to the Wikimedia movement is valued, no matter where they come from. Each of the winners has made remarkable contributions, serving as an inspiration for fellow Wikimedians to dedicate their energy, ideas, time, and knowledge to the movement.

[Jirapat]
Wikimedia is a platform where everyone can contribute — no matter who you are or where you’re from, you can be a part of this community.

[Zahirul]
Wikimedia is from everyone and to everyone. In Wikimania, I saw everyone involved in building the world of accessible knowledge, regardless where they come from, or what their race, religion and worldview position.

Q: Did Wikimania spark any ideas or collaborations for you? What are you motivated to do after Wikimania?

[Raymond]
At Wikimania 2025, I noticed that Wikivoyage doesn’t get talked about as much as other projects. After the event, I became more interested in contributing to Wikivoyage as an open travel guide. Coincidentally, the Indonesian Wikivoyage graduated from the Incubator at the end of 2024. I hope this project can grow in popularity and inspire both the Indonesian Wikimedia community and the wider public to contribute actively.

[Jirapat]
For me, I came away from this conference with many ideas — such as projects like the Ukrainian Wikimedia team’s initiative for elderly people, and ways to promote and strengthen the relationship between the Thai Wikimedia project and the public.

[Zahirul]
After Wikimania, I keep in contact with several Wikimedians. I was thinking of expanding the collaboration of Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia and Malay Wikimedia editors with other Wikimedian groups or individuals, especially related to my job in WIkimedia CUG Malaysia as social media coordinator and as an administrator for Malay Wikipedia as well. 

Recently, I managed a social media collaboration between Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia and several Wikimedia communities in conjunction with the celebration of the National Day of Malaysia, such as Wikimedia Community User Group Turkiye and Wikimedia Bandung Community of Indonesia.

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Wikimania reminded us that the Wikimedia movement is built on people from every corner of the world who bring their time, knowledge, and passion to a shared mission. The event has ended but the spirit of collaboration remains and the participants returned home with new ideas and a renewed sense of community.

What our three Wikimedians show us is that it may take a while (a year or even more!) to make that first edit, but once you do, you’re a Wikimedian for life.