Imelda Brazal, CC BY-SA 4.0
On October 31, 2025, the Wiki Advocates Philippines successfully celebrated the 13th birthday of Wikidata. The event, held in the Learning Hub, featured a series of engaging activities, including an edit-a-thon session, basic training for new contributors, the introduction of the newly developed WikiCommons Explorer Tool, and a special preview of two ongoing projects—PHZines and WikiBridges.
Volunteers enthusiastically invited their friends and classmates to join the celebration. This marked as our second Wikidata birthday celebration, reflecting our growing community of active editors who continue to contribute daily by adding new lexemes and items, as well as improving existing data content.
No Internet, No Problem
The Philippines is known for its slow internet connection; unfortunately, on the day of our event, our internet connection powered by Converge was not available. Despite an unexpected internet outage during the event, our team demonstrated remarkable flexibility and resourcefulness by switching to mobile data to continue the activities without interruption. This adaptability embodies the true spirit of a Wikimedian—resilient, creative, and collaborative, even in challenging circumstances.
Event Flow
Introduction to Wikidata
All participants were first-timer attendees of a Wiki Advocates Philippines event. The celebration began with an introduction to Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, followed by a presentation of the new WikiCommons Explorer Tool presented by Imelda Brazal. Participants learned how to navigate the platform, understand its purpose, and apply it in citing online resources properly—especially when using images from Wikimedia Commons. The discussion also emphasized the importance of ethical use and attribution of online materials to prevent copyright violations.
During the session, one participant raised a common concern:
“Wikipedia cannot be used as a source and is not trustworthy because it can be edited by anyone.”
This question reflects one of the most persistent myths about Wikipedia. Addressing this misconception clearly and thoughtfully is crucial, especially for students and young people. The facilitators explained that while anyone can edit Wikipedia, each edit is monitored, verified, and referenced according to reliable sources—making Wikipedia a starting point for research rather than a forbidden one. Through discussions like this, the participants gained a better understanding of how the Wikimedia ecosystem maintains accuracy and transparency, helping to dispel misinformation about its reliability.
To lighten the atmosphere, participants took part in an interactive icebreaker activity—uploading their favorite local dishes on Facebook using the new tool.
PH Zines and WikiBridges Introduction
Allen Marc De Jesus introduced his ongoing project under Wiki Advocates Philippines, PHZines, which aims to document and archive the underground and alternative publishing industries in the Philippines. Participants were encouraged to become contributors and help expand the collection.
Following this, Anthony Diaz presented WikiBridges, a new initiative focused on documenting bridges across the Philippines on Wikidata. This project highlights the importance of data accessibility, preservation, and community collaboration. By creating structured entries for bridges, contributors can provide valuable resources for researchers, government agencies, and the general public. In relation to this, documenting bridges on OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a different but equally important process. While Wikidata focuses on structured data and connections, OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project for creating a free and open map of the world.
After the project presentations, the program continued with hands-on sessions on adding lexemes to Wikidata. The edit-a-thon successfully produced 291 new lexemes and welcomed several new volunteers in the community.
As a token of appreciation for their effort and enthusiasm, we prepared small gifts for the Top 3 participants with the highest number of edits during the edit-a-thon.
- Top 1: 28 total edits (User: Littletomboy)
- Top 2: 27 total edits (User: Thanyxx)
- Top 3: A tie, with 25 total edits each (Users: Zedec04 and Stuxin Spawnty Pawn)
This gesture serves as recognition of their dedication and motivation to contribute meaningfully to the Wikimedia movement.
Building Connections Through Collaboration
By the end of the event, participants not only gained new knowledge about tools and developing projects but also discovered a genuine passion for contributing to Wikidata. Events like this go beyond training—they foster a sense of community, collaboration, and shared purpose. Through collective effort, participants build lasting connections while helping expand free knowledge for everyone.
Before the sun set, I finally closed the program with encouragement for them to continue contributing to the different wiki projects, and whatever they learned that day, I hoped it wouldn’t end there but become their beginning for more contributions to the movement.
Imelda Brazal, CC BY-SA 4.0
Cheers to another year of Wikidata—and many more to come!
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