“Cultural heritage isn’t about historical scripts or buildings; it’s about our identity.”
Reflecting on our journey with the WCB project from 2024 to 2025, we are taking the next step in our mission to turn Sundanese historical and cultural archives into open knowledge, accessible to everyone in digital spaces.
WCB 3.0 was initiated by the Wikimedia Bandung community to document cultural heritage in West Java and Banten through the Wikimedia projects, integrating initiatives across Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, Sundanese Wikipedia, Indonesian Wikipedia, and supported by a rapid fund from the Wikimedia Foundation.
In this third phase, the project was led by three core members of the Wikimedia Bandung community: User:Lany pirna, User:Mirani Pramitasari, and User:Pijri Paijar. We expanded our documentation coverage to include the City and Regency of Bandung, Cimahi, Bandung Barat, Cianjur, Tasikmalaya, Cirebon, Majalengka, Subang, and Banten.
Growing a Collaborative Network: From Documentation to Community Empowerment
Beyond visual documentation on Wikimedia Commons, we worked to keep our cultural heritage alive by connecting site histories on Wikidata and bringing the stories behind these places to Wikipedia (in both Indonesian and Sundanese).
To map out our direction, we gathered and organized data on cultural heritage sites sourced from official local government websites and reliable online references, ensuring the project was well-focused and well-prepared. This initiative ran from January to July 2026 across nine regions in West Java and two regencies/cities in Banten, through four main phases: documentation, contributing, WikiLatih (training workshops), and Kopdar (community meetups).
From the Ground Up: The Stories and Impact We Gathered
Through our documentation across 73 cultural heritage sites, from lakes, places of worship, to historic kingdoms, we uploaded 939 photos on Wikimedia Commons. These visuals directly anchored a collaborative writing drive across various project activities, resulting in 114 articles (63 in Sundanese and 51 in Indonesian). This was a truly collective effort that brought together both new contributors and community members alike: 14 new users joined through WikiTraining contributed 15 articles, 15 members of the Wikimedia Indonesia community through Kopdar contributed 33 articles (averaging 2,500 bytes each), and our project members 66 articles. To round out these outcomes, we also structured 90 Wikidata items (59 new items and 31 expanded) and launched a Google Sites landing page to bring all our project outcomes together in one place.
Learning through the journey that preserving our history takes all of us
Cultural heritage documentation goes far beyond recording physical structures, it is about keeping the living narratives and values of Sundanese culture alive for generations to come. Throughout this journey, we realized how deeply interconnected these sites are. It felt like piecing together a historical puzzle, tracing threads from sites connected to the Sunda Kingdom to those linked to the spread of Islam across the region. Every site holds a distinct piece, and losing one means losing a vital part of the story.
On the ground, we witnessed diverse dynamics; some sites require further attention, while others quietly keep going through voluntary contributions from visitors and those who hold a deep connection to their history. This experience reaffirmed a simple truth: preserving our cultural heritage isn’t something one entity can do alone. It demands an ongoing, collective effort, bringing together local communities, civil society, and the government.
Moving Forward Together: How We Keep this Movement Alive
This journey is far from over. We remain deeply committed to enriching open knowledge around West Java’s cultural heritage, making sure these stories remain free and accessible to everyone. Building on what we learned and accomplished in this third chapter of the project (WCB 3.0) supported by the Wikimedia Foundation’s rapid fund, our next step is not just about reaching new regions, but also deepening the quality and care of our documentation. Moving forward, we aim to respond more adaptively to real needs on the ground, whether through training initiatives or strategic collaborations with relevant communities and institutions. Ultimately, we hope these shared resources will serve as a lasting foundation for education, research, and heritage preservation.
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