Records of an elementary school that is closing will be preserved on Wikipedia

Since its inception, the Wikimedians of Japan User Group has primarily engaged in real-world activities by exhibiting at and supporting open-source conferences. This time, we’d like to introduce an article about an elementary school that emerged from these connections.

Noda Elementary School in Minamishimabara City is a historic elementary school founded in 1874, the year the Japanese school system began. However, like many other schools in sparsely populated areas, it has seen a decline in student numbers and will close in March 2026. In preparation for the closure, students from the 4th to 6th grades will undertake a closing commemoration project, with the 5th graders creating a Wikipedia article about Noda Elementary School.

Therefore, a representative from Minasapo Co., Ltd., who is an ICT support staff member at Noda Elementary School, contacted us through Mr. Miyahara, a director of the company and organizer of the Open Source Conference, and we were able to assist with the planning and consideration.

From there, we provided advice on various project proposals, and several months passed. On February 1, 2026, a closing ceremony was held for Noda Elementary School, and the information that the students had researched was added to the article.

Although the members of the user group, including myself, did not directly instruct the children or teachers this time, thanks to the excellent explanatory materials created by the ICT support staff at Minasapo, we were able to create something appropriate even with the added content.

This event was also covered in the local Nagasaki Shimbun newspaper.

Students at Noda Elementary School in Minamishimabara, which will close this year, take on the challenge of editing Wikipedia to preserve memories of their alma mater – Nagasaki Shimbun

In reality, when elementary school students edit Wikipedia articles, they often end up with sentences that are a mix of pranks and personal opinions, or they might carelessly include lyrics from the school song, or even slanderous statements like “(Teacher’s name) is the worst.” I’m relieved that this didn’t happen this time.

Furthermore, for the fifth-grade students of Noda Elementary School, this experience not only contributed to enriching the Wikipedia article about their alma mater, but also provided them with the opportunity to research materials and summarize the results in their own writing—an experience that is often neglected in Japanese school education. I believe this will be a valuable asset for their future lives.