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Wiki Advocates Philippines User Group DEI Initiatives

This information page showcases the flagship Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives of the Wiki Advocates Philippines User Group. WAP is a community of volunteer Wikimedians dedicated to promoting free knowledge, education, and equal gender representation. Through close collaboration with global movements and localized grassroots action, the USer Group has grown from a core group of four advocates in 2020 to a dedicated network of twenty committed volunteers.

🎨 Art+Feminism Philippines

The Art+Feminism Philippines is one of Wiki Advocates Philippines' longest-running and most fundamental initiatives. Anchored to the global Art+Feminism's initiatives, it focuses on bridging the gender gap on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects by documenting women's achievements, local art, and regional histories.

Key Connection to the Global Movement

Organic Beginnings (2020): The user group's journey began by chance in 2020 when founder Anthony Diaz stumbled upon the global Art+Feminism movement on Meta-Wiki. Driven by a passion to close the gender gap, the team launched its first edit-a-thons from scratch with no prior communication lines with the global organization. By 2021, Anthony officially assumed the role of Art+Feminism Network Organizer for the Philippines.
Global Support & Capacity Building: The global Art+Feminism community has provided continuous mentorship, helping local organizers craft Meta-Wiki proposals and design creative programs during global A+F Community Hours. In 2023, to mark the 10th anniversary of the global campaign, Wiki Advocates Philippines was awarded a grant from the Art+Feminism celebration fund to publish an openly licensed resource showcasing their local methods.
Direct Campaign Alignment: In response to the 2025 global theme "What would a truly feminist internet look like?", WAP launched a three-pronged response targeting digital safety, cultural heritage preservation, and domestic labor visibility.

Core Activities & Impact

Catanduanes Island Outreach (May 2022): To tackle the silent injustice of poor internet and information access, WAP conducted a four-day land-and-sea mission to Bislig Elementary School on Catanduanes Island. Volunteers installed an Open Access Learning Portal using a Kiwix device pre-loaded with offline Wikipedia and WikiFundi. The team trained 10 teachers and introduced over 200 students with no data connection to digital editing. They also held crucial discussions on how Art+Feminism bridges the global gender gap.
Documenting the Capalonga Women Bamboo Weavers (March 8, 2025): On International Women's Day, WAP volunteers traveled to Sitio Lumok, Brgy. Camagsaan, Capalonga, Camarines Norte to document the female artisans of Kapalong Handicrafts. The team conducted interviews to capture these women's personal struggles and triumphs in the workforce, highlighting how their intricate craft preserves regional culture while providing vital economic independence. Over a dozen photographs of the weavers' processes and finished goods were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons.
Women, Foods, and WikiBooks (February 2025): Wiki Advocates Philippines organized a month-long cooking festival to celebrate housewives (and participating husbands). The initiative sought to break the stereotype of housewives as mere housekeepers, elevating them as key conservators of local culinary heritage, traditional recipes, and family traditions.
Earth Day Coffee Painting Workshop (April 22, 2022): Blending environmental activism with feminist organizing, WAP hosted a hybrid workshop in Pasacao, Camarines Sur. Led by visual artist Bianca Brazal, 21 young female volunteers used coffee as a gradient medium to create eco-friendly art for Wikimedia Commons, while attending lightning talks on environmental vulnerability and protection.
Digital Wellbeing Essentials Training (April 4, 2025): WAP integrated the feminist internet theme into their WikiDunong project, training 27 senior high students at Juan F. Triviño Memorial High School on online privacy, single-tasking, and cyberbullying. The training achieved an extraordinary rise in average comprehension scores from 5.26/10 to 8.67/10, and saw the recognition of online privacy importance jump to 96.3%.

💼Women@Work Philippines

Launched in September 2023, the Women@Work Campaign focuses on documenting the daily lives, labor struggles, and structural contributions of everyday women in local communities. WAP uses immersion workshops and photowalks to capture the untapped stories of women in traditional and informal workforces.

Core Focus & Immersion

The project aims to demonstrate that feminism is not exclusive to high-profile historical figures but is actively lived by everyday women. Volunteers conduct structured interviews and photographic documentation of marginalized professions, exploring topics of labor rights, economic independence, and mastery of craft.

Noteworthy Documented Profiles (2023 Campaign)

The Master Seamstress: Documented in a cluttered, cloth-filled repair room, a senior seamstress's dedication was captured in her quote:
"Dai ko hinihiling an uniporme bilang uniporme sana. Mantang ini sakong tinatahi, nahihiling ko ining sulot na kan tawong titahian ko." (I don't see uniforms as mere uniforms. Every time I sew these clothes, I see them already being put on by my customers.)
The Laundry Worker: Documented navigating a busy five-day laundry routine, showcasing the rhythmic, physical multitasking required to clean, pack, and fold clothes with pride and consistency.
The "Tinapahan" Smoked Fish Makers: WAP interviewed two women passing down traditional smoking processes in Pasacao to produce "tinapa" (smoked fish)—a crucial staple food for lower-income families. Their philosophy highlighted the pride they take in their labor:
"Sa hiling ko, sa dawa ano paman na pagkakan, kun hinahaman mo na igwa nin pagpadangat sa makakan, magigi yan masiram." (I think, in any kind of food, as long as you work with it with your heart, it'll turn out to be delicious.)

📣SheSaid Philippines

The #SheSaid Campaign is an annual initiative held in collaboration with Wiki Loves Women. WAP volunteers lead edit-a-thons to improve the digital visibility of notable women by writing and expanding quote entries in Philippine languages.

Historical & Linguistic Context

Historically, pre-colonial Filipinas held equal status to men, acting as revered spiritual leaders (babaylan) who bridged material and spiritual realms. Spanish colonial rule and Catholicism heavily suppressed these practices. WAP utilizes the Wikiquote platform to document and restore the historical records, battle cries, and speeches of revolutionary heroines (such as Gabriela Silang, Melchora Aquino, Gregoria de Jesus, and Agueda Kahabagan) as digital activism.

Outperformance & Linguistic Milestones

WAP's #SheSaid campaigns have consistently placed the Philippines among the top global contributors, driving incredible platform growth:

2021 Campaign: 15 volunteer editors participated, resulting in 152 new pages in Central Bikol Wikiquote and 572 pages in Tagalog Wikiquote.
2022 Campaign: Created and improved an astonishing 2,287 pages across both regional languages.
Domain Graduation (January 2023): Due to the massive output from these two consecutive campaigns, both the Central Bikol and Tagalog Wikiquote platforms successfully graduated from the Wikimedia Incubator and became fully independent domains.
2023 Campaign: Saw WAP's highest participation of editors, incorporating a local slogan-making activity to design creative posters and social media banners that amplify women's rights.

🏳️‍🌈 Wiki Loves Pride Philippines

The Wiki Loves Pride Philippines Campaign is WAP's dedicated initiative to ensure equal representation and safe spaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities within the open knowledge movement.

Launch and Local Integration (June 2025)

Pride March Participation: In June 2025, WAP officially launched its first local Wiki Loves Pride Philippines campaign, highlighted by volunteers and organizers marching in the regional Pride march.
Collaborative Archiving: Supported by Wikimedia LGBT micro-funding, WAP partnered directly with local LGBT community members to run workshops aimed at collecting, uploading, and structuring free educational content regarding local LGBT history and culture on Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons.
Aesthetic and Creative Expression: WAP has integrated themes of queer liberation directly into its publications. The 2023 Art+Feminism newsletter featured a curated gallery of local artists, showcasing mixed-media artworks dedicated to queer themes:
- Midnight and High Noon (2019) by Paolo Gerero: A mixed-media painting celebrating non-heteronormative love.
- Lilium Inter Spinas (2021) by Paolo Gerero: A piece capturing queer liberation and empowerment rising from homophobia and transphobia.
- Revelation (2021) by Paolo Gerero: A visual celebration of non-binary identity.