"WikiClub Cebu" has officially launched

CEBU, Philippines —  The newest community of open knowledge advocates, dubbed "WikiClub Cebu," has officially launched in Cebu.

This initiative aims to share the province's unique culture, heritage, language, arts, oral and written history, as well as relevant public data with the rest of the world.

With its establishment, WikiClub Cebu brings together a community of Wikimedians dedicated to raising awareness about various Wikiprojects. The group aims to expand the Cebuano Wikipedia written by humans, creating and sharing Cebuano content globally.

“This initiative is meant to preserve and immortalize our culture, heritage, oral and written history, and language, allowing us to share this knowledge with the world while maintaining our lead as one of the world’s largest language-edition Wikipedias,” the club stated in a press release.

WikiClub Cebu is now part of a global community of editors and volunteers committed to open knowledge, sharing, and advocating for a world where everyone has free access to the sum of all human knowledge.

The club welcomes anyone who shares the passion for open knowledge and content creation. Members are encouraged to participate in projects such as edit-a-thons, hackathons, legislathons, documenting living heritage and local culture (e.g., Wiki Loves Folklore, Wiki Loves Fashion, Wikiwomen), sharing news, language revitalization and preservation projects, photowalks, sustainability projects (e.g., Wiki Loves Earth, Wiki-Green Conference, Wiki for Climate Change), public policy projects (e.g., Wiki for Human Rights, Campus Tours, Gender Equality Learning Clinics), and more.

Outstanding members of WikiClub Cebu may receive awards, leadership positions, and opportunities to propose and lead projects. They may also be invited to participate in international conferences and summits to learn from other Wikimedians worldwide and share best practices. The club is open to collaboration and partnerships with aligned institutions, public and private organizations, and membership is free.

Open knowledge, according to the club, means information, data, or content that is free to use, reuse, and redistribute without any legal, technical, or social restrictions. It is based on the belief that everyone should have access to knowledge.

“Language, news, arts, written and oral history, food, destinations, living heritage, cultural information—all are part of open knowledge. Information in the public domain is part of open knowledge,” the club added.

Wikipedia is the world’s largest online encyclopedia. While it can be edited by anyone, it has strict guidelines on the credibility of articles written and contributed by editors. Articles lacking citations, sources, or references are nominated for deletion. Heritage found in galleries, libraries, and museums that belong to the public domain can be shared in Wikipedia projects such as Cebuano Wikipedia, English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, Wikisource, WikiData, Wikinews, WikiJournal, Wikimedicine, and Wikivoyage.

The Cebuano Wikipedia is one of the world’s largest language-edition Wikipedias, boasting around six million articles. It is also the largest Philippine-based language on Wikipedia.

Initially, it was mainly written by a bot named LSJ bot, created by Swedish Sverker Johansson, who is married to a Filipina. However, there are currently very few active Cebuano Wikimedians.

“Now that WikiClub is here, it is time for the human community to populate and grow our very own WikiClub,” the club emphasized.

Guiding WikiClub Cebu is Shared Knowledge Asia Pacific Inc., a registered nonprofit organization led by its founder, Vanj Padilla—a juris doctor, digital strategist, and public policy advocate—and its President and lead Trainer, Jasverenne Ferrer.