Affandy Murad, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
March 3, 2026, was a memorable day for me. For the first time, I attended not merely as a participant, but as a trainer assistant at a Wikidata workshop held at one of Indonesia’s largest research institutions, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). This is a story about how the knowledge I once learned online finally found its way into being shared directly with dozens of research staff.
Getting to Know BRIN and the Background of the Event
BRIN stands for Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, a non-ministerial government agency that reports directly to the President of Indonesia. The agency carries a grand mission to integrate the entire national research and innovation ecosystem under one roof.
This Wikilatih Wikidata session was held at the B.J. Habibie Building, Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 8, Menteng, specifically in the 3rd floor Research meeting room. The event was initiated by the Data and Technology division of Wikimedia Indonesia in collaboration with BRIN’s Directorate of Repository, Multimedia, and Scientific Publishing, with a very concrete objective: to document BRIN’s scientific publication collections in Wikidata, making them more easily discoverable and accessible to the global public and researcher community.
What Is Wikidata and Why Does It Matter?
Affandy Murad, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
For those who are not too familiar with it, Wikidata is an official project of the Wikimedia Foundation. If Wikipedia is the narrative encyclopedia we read, Wikidata is its sibling that works behind the scenes as a structured data warehouse based on a knowledge graph that can be collaboratively edited by anyone.
Data in Wikidata is stored in triplet format: subject, predicate, and object — like short sentences that are interconnected. For example: “Jurnal Riset Kimia” is published by “BRIN”. All this data is licensed under CC0 or public domain, meaning anyone is free to use it — from researchers and journalists to app developers — without worrying about copyright.
How Did I Get Involved?
Masssly, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It all started with a message from Hisyam, a staff member from the Wikimedia Indonesia (WMID) Technology team, inviting me to become a trainer assistant. Without hesitation, I said yes.
Honestly, there was also a personal reason behind my eagerness to attend. Some time before, I had completed the MOOC Wikidata, an open online course organized by Wikimedia. After completing it, I felt a kind of “debt” that I wanted to repay — passing on what I had learned to others. This Wikilatih felt like exactly the right opportunity to do so.
Who Attended?
Affandy Murad, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A total of 24 BRIN staff from the Directorate of Repository, Multimedia, and Scientific Publishing participated as trainees. From the Wikimedia Indonesia side, the representation was quite complete. Hisyam served as the lead trainer, while Rifqi and I served as trainer assistants, Adhik was present as an intern, and Dimas and Hardi represented WMID institutionally.
The event was warmly opened by Mr. Hendro Subagyo, M. Eng, Director of the RMPI Directorate of BRIN, accompanied by Hardiansyah, the Chairperson of Wikimedia Indonesia. The opening atmosphere felt more like a conversation between two mutually supportive communities rather than a formal ceremony.
What Was Taught at Wikilatih?
The training materials were designed in stages so that all participants could follow along regardless of their technical background. Participants were guided step by step: first understanding what Wikidata is and its benefits, then creating an account and user page, followed by practicing edits on existing items, and finally creating new Wikidata items from scratch.
The main focus was training participants to input BRIN’s scientific publications into Wikidata in the correct and consistent format. The participants’ work can be seen directly on the WikiLatih Wikidata Trainees at 3 Maret 2026 category page on Wikidata, which serves as tangible proof that the training resulted in contributions that made an immediate impact.
What Was It Like to Be a Trainer Assistant?
My task was actually straightforward: to assist Hisyam and make sure no participant was left behind. I walked around the room, sat briefly beside participants who seemed confused, and helped them work through technical obstacles one by one.
But that’s precisely where the joy was. There was a moment when a participant finally managed to save their first Wikidata item, and their expression shifted from anxious to relieved. Small things like that made me feel that the day was truly meaningful.
When Obstacles Arose Along the Way
Of course, not everything went without a hitch. At one point during the event, a small number of participants were temporarily unable to access the Wikidata login page. The cause was beyond our full control.
Fortunately, there was a practical solution we could apply on the spot: changing the DNS settings in each participant’s browser, most of which were Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. It didn’t take long, and the session resumed smoothly as before.
Reflection: From Wikipedia to Wikidata
To be honest, almost all of my contributions in the Wikimedia ecosystem have so far been centered on Indonesian Wikipedia and Betawi Wikipedia. Wikidata felt like a new territory I hadn’t explored much.
But that day, I was there representing the Indonesian Wikidata Community. There was a different sense of responsibility. The knowledge I gained from the MOOC was no longer something I enjoyed alone — it was something that could benefit others in the same room.
Being a volunteer at events like this taught me that contributions don’t always have to appear grand. Sometimes it’s enough to simply be present, walk around, and help someone who is confused. That alone is more than enough.
See you at the next Wikilatih!
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