Wikidata Software Collaboration project, first year retrospective: transcript

Key points

• Community enthusiasm and commitment kept the project's momentum going over the first year.
• Wikimedia Deutschland provided guidance, resources and expertise throughout the collaboration.
• Sharing sessions between affiliates, including on GLAM and other topics, allowed learning across diverse backgrounds.
• Challenges include an organizational crisis at Wikimedia Indonesia marked by a lack of transparency and accountability, and governance issues when managing several projects in one chapter.
• Growth creates technical debt: tools like Google Forms and Sheets no longer suffice, so sustainable infrastructure and maintenance are needed.
• The speaker called for rethinking the chapter-community relationship, decentralizing resources and a culture of open communication.

Chapters

1. 0:00Welcome and the project's first year
2. 0:40What went well: community, support and shared learning
3. 1:48Turning to the challenges
4. 2:28Organizational crisis and governance issues
5. 3:10Technical debt and the chapter-community relationship
6. 4:09Culture shift and closing remarks

Full transcript

0:00So I, it is high time right now for me to invite Henny to the platform. Okay. Sorry for the mistake. So I'm going to invite the next speaker right now to share, to talk to us about. Hi everyone, my name is Reysha, and I'm thrilled to have the chance to share with you our first year retrospective of Wikidata Software Collaboration Project in Wikimedia Indonesia.

0:40Over the past year, we've embarked on a journey that has been both enlightening and challenging, and today I'd like to take you through the highlights of what was good and what should be addressed. So let's start by celebrating the positive aspects of our collaboration. One of the greatest strengths of our project has been the unwavering enthusiasm and education of our community members. The passion and commitment shown by everyone involved have fueled our progress and kept the momentum going. The second one is support from Wikimedia Doxlan.

1:13We are very fortunate to receive exceptional support from Wikimedia Doxland throughout our collaboration. Their guidance, resources, and expertise have been instrumental in driving the project forward and ensuring its success. The next one is our collaboration facilitated sharing sessions between different Wikimedia affiliates, and it allows us to learn from each other's experiences across various projects. For example, even though our project is about software, it turns out that we can have sharing sessions related with GLAMS and also Wikimedia on work.

1:48This exchange of knowledge has enriched our collective understanding and enhanced the overall impact of our work. The last one is the collaboration has provided us with invaluable chance to learn from a diverse range of backgrounds, spanning from language, technology, community building, and also organizational management. This interdisciplinary learning has broadened our horizons and empowered us to approach challenges with fresh perspectives. Okay, next. However, no journey is without its challenges and let's delve into some of the areas that need our attention moving forward.

2:28Number one is the organizational crisis in Wikimedia Indonesia. We cannot ignore the organizational crisis that Wikimedia Indonesia has faced and is characterized by a lack of transparency and accountability. Addressing these issues is crucial to ensuring the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of our collaboration. The second one. It's governance challenges. So another critical aspect is the governance issue that arises when managing different projects within the same chapter. We should strike the right balance and ensuring clear lines of communication, authority, and responsibility, because it's essential to streamline our efforts and also solve conflicts.

3:10The next one is we have to be aware of creeping technical depth. As we continue to grow, we realize that there are things that one's working just fine when we are small in size, but become a problem when our organization grow in size. For example, in the past, the management can be handled by simple Google form and Google sheets, but now there is need for a dedicated system to handle the data. We must be cautious about accumulating technical depth when we make decision. We have to prioritize sustainable infrastructure and regular maintenance because it's vital for us to prevent future challenges and setbacks. The next one is to rethink about the relationship between chapter and community. It's important for us to really take time to rethink about this. We should push for decentralization as well as distributing the resource that currently concentrated within a chapter, strengthening the relationship between the chapter and whether community is also very important.

4:09Open communication and active engagement will foster a sense of unity and shared purpose, driving us toward our common goals. Last one, we need to have a culture shift in Wikimedia Indonesia. We have to embrace transparent open communication, even when it's uncomfortable, because it's crucial for growth and progress. It allows us to make informed decisions and build trust within the community. So, in conclusion, our first year's perspective on the Wikidata Software Collaboration Project with Wikimedia Indonesia has been marked by both achievements and challenges.

4:43Thank you for your time. I look forward to the discussion and insights that will undoubtedly emerge from our collective efforts. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you very, very much. That was also an inspiring and an engaging time, telling us about activities in Wikimedia Indonesia.

Source and licence

Recording: File:Wikimania 2023 - Plenary - 18 August - Lightning Talk - Wikidata Software Collaboration project, first year retrospective from Wikimedia Indonesia.webm by Wikimania 2023 (2023-08-18), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0. The transcript, summary and chapters on this page are shared under the same licence (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The transcript is machine speech-to-text by the TidyTools Audio & video transcriber; the summary, key points and chapters were written by Claude from that transcript. Both may contain errors: check the recording before quoting it.