Empowering the Next Generation to Preserve Indigenous Languages through WikiKata

In an inspiring effort to preserve Malaysia’s indigenous languages, Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia has partnered with UNESCO Jakarta to organize the “WikiKata Competition 2024.” This initiative is part of the broader mission outlined by UNESCO’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL) 2022–2032, which focuses on ensuring the long-term survival and accessibility of indigenous languages, particularly in digital spaces. Through this collaboration, both organizations aim to bring Malaysian indigenous languages to the forefront by documenting them in the Malay Wiktionary. The collaboration between the Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia (WCUG Malaysia) and UNESCO Jakarta for WikiKata 2024 builds on the success of their previous partnership in November 2023 with the Bengkel Wikikamus (Wiktionary workshop) event. This groundbreaking event was the first-ever training and edit-a-thon for Wiktionary in the Sabah region, attracting 160 enthusiastic young participants.

Indigenous languages such as Iban in Sarawak, Kadazandusun in Sabah, and Semai in Pahang and Perak are part of Malaysia’s rich linguistic heritage. These languages are taught in public schools through the Pupil’s Own Language (POL) program, an initiative by the Malaysian Ministry of Education to support the preservation of Indigenous languages. However, preserving these languages requires more than formal education—it calls for robust documentation and widespread access to resources.

In line with these efforts, the WikiKata Competition 2024 allows primary and secondary school students (aged 7–17) studying indigenous languages to actively contribute to preserving their mother tongues by creating and updating content on the Malay Wiktionary. This initiative empowered students to document word definitions, usage examples, synonyms, and more, ensuring these languages remain relevant in the digital age.

The competition ran online in December 2024 and involved students from schools across Malaysia. These students had already demonstrated a high level of digital skills, making them ideal candidates for contributing to this initiative. With the support of the Ministry of Education Malaysia, the edit-a-thon had a widespread impact.

Students were tasked with adding new entries or enriching existing pages related to the three indigenous languages in Wiktionary. At the end of the competition, prizes were awarded to the most active contributors, further incentivizing participation.

To ensure that students have the skills needed to contribute effectively, the WikiKata Competition 2024 included four training sessions. These sessions, aimed at students who have never edited Wiktionary before, covered the basics of online editing and documentation. The official launch and first training session was held virtually on December 1st, with subsequent physical training sessions in:

• Penampang, Sabah, for Kadazandusun speakers;
• Sibu, Sarawak, for Iban speakers; and
• Tapah, Perak, for Semai speakers.

These physical workshops offered hands-on training to more than 100 students in total, preparing them to contribute meaningfully to the preservation of their languages in cyberspace.

The event surpassed the initial target of 1,500 new word entries across the ethnic languages of Kadazandusun, Iban, and Semai, reaching a total of 3,900 entries by its conclusion. The WikiKata Competition 2024 successfully engaged students across Malaysia, with 140 participants contributing to this remarkable achievement on Wiktionary. As these students create and document entries for the Iban, Kadazandusun, and Semai languages, they are not only preserving their linguistic heritage but also developing digital literacy skills that will serve them and their communities well into the future. At the conclusion of the competition, an awards ceremony was held at the Ministry of Education Malaysia, where prizes were presented to the top participants. The event was officiated by the Secretary-General of the Malaysian National Commission for UNESCO, Fadzilah Fadzil.

Through this collaboration, WCUG Malaysia continues to demonstrate the power of technology in cultural preservation. By offering free, accessible resources in Indigenous languages, this project ensures that future generations will have the tools they need to connect with and preserve their cultural identity. The importance of linguistic diversity cannot be understated, especially in an increasingly digital world where many languages risk being marginalized or forgotten. 

This initiative is part of UNESCO’s global campaign to promote multilingual diversity and preserve indigenous languages online, aligning with the goals of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.