Welcoming new ESEAP Regional Funds Committee Members

The East, Southeast Asia, & Pacific (ESEAP) Regional Funds Committee has been in operation since 2021, providing community input into the different grant streams of the Wikimedia Community Fund, making recommendations to grant applicants, and sharing expertise on the regional context.

The grant review process requires a consideration of benefits to the movement, benefits to the Wikimedia projects, benefits to affiliates, and overall impact. It is thus important that the community is able to add its voice to this decision-making process.

In preparation for the 2025-2026 grant period, the committee is welcoming new members, who will join us for the period covering Wikipedia’s 25th birthday and the first year of cooperation with the Global Resource Distribution Committee. We are very grateful that they are volunteering their time towards the community, and thought we would take this opportunity both to provide an overview of the recruitment process and an introduction to those joining.

The open call for new members was issued on 11 July 2025, alongside the calls for some other regions. The call remained open for one month, until 10 August 2025. Interviews were held with the applicants from 25 August until 2 September.

During assessments, the interviewers sought to understand the skills and motivations of all candidates. It was valuable for candidates to have experience on Wikimedia projects and experience in the Wikimedia movement, as well as external experience regarding grant assessment, project management, or other relevant skills.

Also important was how their skills and experiences complemented the committee. The Wikimedians of the ESEAP region have extremely diverse linguistic backgrounds, affiliate maturity and experience, and past contributions to free knowledge. We sought a range of experience in varying thematic areas, geographic backgrounds, and participation in different Wikimedia projects.

We would also like to take the opportunity to thank ESEAP RfC members who have recently stepped down for their time, contribution, and thought partnership – Taweetham, Kunokuno, and Alphama. 

New members!

At the end of this process, we are grateful to the following individuals for agreeing to contribute their time to the committee:

Chlod Aidan Alejandro (User:Chlod)

Chlod is an editor and programmer from the Philippines. He works on software for the Wikimedia movement, such as scripts, tools, and extensions, while also contributing to the English Wikipedia. In the ESEAP region, he works on youth engagement and helps organize events like the 2025 ESEAP Strategy Summit.

Dennis Raylin Chen (User:Supaplex)

Dennis is a Wikidata and OpenStreetMap contributor from Taiwan. He began contributing to Wikipedia in 2005 and to OpenStreetMap in 2010. He currently serves as the chairperson of Wikimedia Taiwan (2020-2025). He helped organize WikidataCon 2023 in Taipei, a collaboration between Wikimedia Taiwan and Wikimedia Deutschland.

Fitriayu Penyalai (User:Fitri_Penyalai)

Fitriayu has been part of the open movement since 2017, beginning with Creative Commons Indonesia and later joining Wikimedia Indonesia. From 2022 to 2025, she worked with Wiki Projects through Open Educational Resources, especially Wikimedia Commons and Wikibooks. She looks forward to contributing her experience in community-based initiatives.

Marshall Clark (User:Marshelec)

Marshall is a retired professional engineer and an active Wikipedia editor in New Zealand. He is a founding member of Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand (WANZ) Incorporated, and currently serves as a Board member.

Sarawut Khamset (Liam) (User:Wutkh)

Liam is a postgraduate student in computing, mainly in human-computer interaction, with full support from the Royal Thai Government. He has been actively involved in the Wikimedia movement since 2021 and joined Wikimedia Thailand in 2024. Currently, he is serving as an administrator for Thai Wikipedia.

Taufik Rosman (User:Tofeiku)

Taufik is the 2023 Wikimedian of the Year. He is an active volunteer from Sabah, Malaysia, and focuses on reaching out to indigenous people to help preserve their languages and cultures. He looks forward to assisting everyone with their grants based on his past experiences with applying for and handling grants.

We look forward to getting to know them better and working with them to continue to build upon the strengths of the ESEAP region. If you see them around, say hello!  Your support and collaboration will help them feel welcomed as they step into their roles.