ESEAP Strategy Summit 2025/Report/Song GK

I am Gerald Kerry, (Song GK), an admin of Iban Wikipedia and a member of Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia. I would like to thank the Wikimedia Foundation for granting me the scholarship to attend the ESEAP Strategy Summit 2025 which was held in Manila from 23rd May 2025 until 25th May 2025. This is the first time I have gone to a Wikimedia summit, especially the ESEAP Strategy Summit.

Participation & Things Learned at the Strategy Summit

Since this is my first time attending this summit, there's a lot of input that I gained throughout the three days summit.

23 May 2025

The first session (HUB, Action! Designing Governance and Strategy Together), was done in a gallery walk style where there were 5 sections and participants could brainstorm and give their ideas regarding the governance system. We are instructed to jot down our ideas on sticky notes and put them on a board for each section. The five sections were language and translating, newbie handbook, support for emerging communities, training, and advocacy. After the tea break, one representative will summarize the whole ideas given.

I got to know the organization's governance system and the way that a fund will be approved. We even got a chance to do a simulation on a decision making among the organization.

24 May 2025

The second day started with the Connecting and Collaborating Between Affiliates and Countries session, where we had 5 panels from different countries give their talk. We have heard each of their achievements from their collaboration between different countries and this includes the failures and how they could improve this in the future. The following session, Open Mic for Cross-border Collaboration, is related to the previous one where they gave their opinions on working for a collaboration or event with different countries. One of the topic that has caught my interest is about ESEAP Youth group, since I personally think that the Youth Group will show the voice group of the youth amongst ESEAP region Wikimedians.

On the next session, in ESEAP Community Skill Mapping, we were divided into three groups. We were given tasks to contribute our own ideas on community skills especially in order to plan a program like workshop or editathon. These ideas given will eventually accumulated from each groups so that a Post-It Tree diagram is formed.

One of the most notable insights I gained was learning from other Wikimedians about open-border collaboration. I discovered several key factors that contribute to successful partnerships, such as mutual cooperation and the organization of activities that can attract interest and engagement. I also learned about recent trends among Wikipedia readers and editors, particularly the growing concern around the use of AI and its impact on content creation and reliability.

25 May 2025

I participated in the GLAM-Wiki Meetup, where discussions focused on the Wikimedia movement's efforts to engage Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) in the ESEAP (East, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific) region. During the session, we shared about the edit-a-thon organized by the Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia in conjunction with International Museum Day. It was also insightful to learn about various GLAM-related initiatives carried out by other communities across the region, highlighting the diversity and collaboration within the ESEAP movement.

Plans after the strategy summit

One of the plans I would like to pursue is the establishment of an Iban editors community under the Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia. The main goal is to increase the number of active editors among Iban speakers. I believe that by applying the insights and knowledge gained from the summit, particularly those related to collaborative efforts, this initiative can effectively encourage more Iban speakers to contribute to the Iban Wikipedia.

Comments/Suggestions

Although I found the summit both enjoyable and insightful, I believe there is room for some improvements. Firstly, to help reduce travel fatigue, it would be beneficial to include a bonding day before the official program begins. This could involve a simple tour around the local area and some light, fun activities to allow participants to relax and connect with one another. Additionally, the checkout process felt a bit rushed. Since the bus for the post-event tour departed about an hour after the closing, some participants had to quickly pack and check out to avoid missing it. Allowing a bit more time between the event's end and the start of the tour would greatly ease this transition.