Ever since the Makassar meetup was first announced online, members of the Wikimedia Makassar Community have welcomed the initiative with remarkable warmth and openness. Led by Sekar Jarwo Soekarno and Iripseudocorus, the Wikimedia Makassar Community succeeded in significantly increasing both participant attendance and the volume of contributions produced during the event, results that were clearly visible when tracked through our laptops. The amazing friends from Makassar | Oceanmuse | CC BY SA 4.0 It is no exaggeration to say that the enthusiasm of our friends in Makassar was extraordinary. Their energy was so strong that it could even be felt by Wikimedia communities from other islands. This included us in the WikiRempah team Ana_Ainina, Supardisahabu, and Sofi Solihah, who came from Java Island, Gorontalo, and Manado respectively. Both the local contacts and participants responded enthusiastically and showed a strong willingness to work together in increasing contributions to Buginese Wikipedia, the Makassarese Wikipedia Incubator, and the Buginese Wiktionary Incubator. This enthusiasm was apparent from the very beginning of the event. Participants arrived early and came prepared to take an active part in the activities. For me, this gathering became an important moment to strengthen the initial foundation of our collaboration while reaffirming the purpose of WikiRempah’s expedition to Eastern Indonesia, particularly North Maluku. ## Makassar and Its Diversity of Ethnic Groups and Languages One of the most memorable moments for me was discovering that a native speaker of the Konjo language was among the participants. Many people may associate Makassar primarily with the Bugis community, especially given that former Vice President of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla, is a Bugis people. However, I learned that Makassar and its surrounding region are home to at least four major ethnic groups: Makassarese, Konjo, Bugis, and Mandar. These are only some of the communities I became aware of, as South Sulawesi is also home to other ethnic groups such as the Toraja, Enrekang, Duri, and Maiwa. The presence of a Konjo speaker was particularly meaningful to me, as in the context of Makassar I had more frequently encountered speakers of Buginese and Makassar Malay. This gathering broadened my perspective and showed me that the linguistic diversity of South Sulawesi is far richer than I had previously understood. It also reinforced the importance of continuously documenting this diversity through Wikimedia projects. The warmth of the community could already be felt from the moment I arrived in Makassar. Our friends not only helped us identify convenient and strategic travel routes, but also welcomed and accompanied us throughout the activities. They even helped us discover authentic local culinary spots. We documented these moments through photographs and uploaded them to Wikimedia Commons, allowing the local experiences we shared to become part of open knowledge. ## So, What Did We Accomplish? As expected, the WikiRempah Makassar meetup resulted in a number of contributions across various Wikimedia projects. The complete results can be viewed through the following Outreach Dashboard: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/Wikimedia_Gorontalo/Kopdar_WikiRempah_Makassar/home * More than 50 Lingua Libre recordings in Buginese, Makassarese, and _Konjo Pesisir_ , as well as Sundanese: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:WikiRempah_Makassar/Audio * 11 Makassarese culinary recipes on Indonesian Wikibooks: https://id.wikibooks.org/wiki/Kategori:WikiRempah_Makassar * 12 Sundanese Lingua Libre recordings covering cooking-related verbs: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:ListFiles/Oceanmuse&ilshowall=1 * 12 entries on Sundanese Wiktionary related to cooking verbs: https://su.wiktionary.org/wiki/Kategori:WikiRempah_Makassar * 5 articles on Buginese Wikipedia: https://bug.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katagori:WikiRempah * 4 articles on the Makassarese Wikimedia Incubator: https://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:WikiRempah_Makassar * 1 article on the 99 Domes Mosque on Sundanese Wikipedia: https://su.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masjid_99_Kubah * 1 article on the 99 Domes Mosque on Gorontalo Wikipedia: https://gor.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masjid_99_Kubah I truly felt the presence of members of the Wikimedia Makassar Community, including Aasha Ruzka. Without her support, we would not have been able to produce the 39 photographs available here https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:WikiRempah_Makassar/Photo Local Makassarese Cuisine | Oceanmuse | CC BY SA 4.0 Everyone in Makassar was incredibly helpful, responsive, and actively involved in supporting the various needs of the program. Their support made me realize that the collaboration we had built was not limited to online communication. It was manifested directly through a genuine spirit of gotong royong, mutual cooperation on the ground. This was made possible through the contributions of Frauzam, who contributed to _Konjo Pesisir_ , and then to Fitriakhrd, NasRI A. Muhammad Abduh, Noefiya NFY, Wanita Hijrah, and Romadhon tri. ## A Transit in Makassar, Documenting Local Cuisine for Wikimedia Commons As the project lead working directly with the Makassar region, I felt grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with a community that possesses such a strong spirit of contribution. Unexpectedly, three weeks later, we had another opportunity to visit Makassar while our flight was in transit in _Bumi Anging Mamiri_ , one of the city’s well-known nicknames. We would especially like to express our appreciation to Indra-doozo, whose presence and support played an important role in welcoming the WikiRempah team and helping us expand our contributions to Wikimedia Commons through photographs of authentic local cuisine. The WikiRempah Makassar Meetup became a memorable experience, particularly because of the hospitality, willingness to help, and strong spirit of mutual cooperation demonstrated by the local community. Makassar’s strategic position as one of the key gateways connecting different parts of Eastern Indonesia also creates valuable opportunities for sustained collaboration among Wikimedia communities across the region.

Jakarta has long been a meeting point, from the era of Sunda Kelapa to Batavia. For centuries, the city served as a port where cultures from across the Indonesian archipelago came together. Together with Hzu Hzu, Affandy Murad, Bangrapip, Kume Gucci, and Li Ersha, the Wikimedia Jakarta Community began the WikiRempah program initiated by Ana Ainina, Supardi Sahabu, and Sofi Solihah**.** Oceanmuse | CC-BY SA 4.0 WikiRempah is an initiative funded through the Wikimedia Foundation‘s Rapid Funds program and carried out in collaboration with communities supported by Wikimedia Indonesia. Working alongside local communities across Indonesia, the initiative consists of field documentation, article development, dictionary entries, and recordings of local dialects, all of which will be made openly accessible through Wikimedia projects. > **Far from Maluku, Yet Its Flavors Can Still Be Found in Jakarta** The presence of Maluku restaurants in Jakarta gave us an opportunity to introduce the richness of Maluku’s spices to more people without geographical barriers. Behind every dish lies the story of spices that connected Maluku with the rest of the world. From Batavia, these journeys were documented through expeditions to Eastern Indonesia beginning in the sixteenth century. Those expeditions trace their roots to _Moloku Kie Raha_ , meaning the Four Mountains of Maluku, a name referring to the four historic sultanates of Ternate, Tidore, Jailolo, and Bacan. How to Eat Papeda, a Traditional Maluku-Papua Dish | Affandy Murad, CC-BY-SA-4.0 From these islands, cloves and nutmeg linked the Indonesian archipelago with Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, shaping political, economic, and cultural relationships that extended far beyond the islands themselves. During the meetup, contributors began writing Betawi Wikipedia articles about historical sites in Eastern Indonesia, documenting spice-related vocabulary in the Betawi Wiktionary, and compiling traditional recipes from the Spice Islands for Betawi Wikibooks. **Building Leadership Through Shared Trust** One aspect I truly appreciated throughout this project was the trust entrusted to me by the project lead, Ana Ainina. I was given the freedom to explore ideas, develop new approaches, and received full support that allowed the community meetup to exceed its original goals. That trust also gave me the opportunity to look at the project from a broader perspective. Preparing for the expedition was not simply about organizing activities, it became a process of ensuring that every effort remained aligned with WikiRempah’s broader mission. Once that foundation was established, responsibility for organizing the meetup was delegated to the local coordinator, who managed participant coordination, venue selection, and on-site implementation. Publication Poster of WikiRempah Jakarta This distribution of responsibilities reflects how the Wikimedia Jakarta Community works. The community does not rely on a single individual; instead, each member is trusted to take ownership of their respective role. Some coordinated participants, others prepared learning materials, documented the activities, or compiled lists of articles and documentation to be developed. Delegating responsibilities created opportunities for every contributor to help keep the entire process moving forward. One thing became immediately clear during the preparation in Jakarta: **everything moved quickly.** Within less than a day, participants had been gathered, shared commitments were established, and both the venue and schedule had been agreed upon. This strong teamwork became especially important while other contributors were already working in Maluku. From Jakarta, the community continued supporting the expedition by processing documentation, improving Wikimedia articles, and publishing updates about the project. Looking back, the journey did not begin when the flight departed for Ternate. It began much earlier, when the team started working together in Jakarta, the city’s role was not merely as a departure point, but as the place where collaboration first took shape. In this way, every member of the WikiRempah team and the Wikimedia Jakarta Community became part of the same mission: building open knowledge about the cultural heritage of Eastern Indonesia through community collaboration.

Strengthening our foundation through collaboration | Oceanmuse, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Strengthening our foundation through collaboration | Oceanmuse, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons