The Straits Times | Wikipedia writer and editor named S'porean of the Year finalist - video Dailymotion

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Robert Sim has been writing and editing articles on Wikipedia since 2019. In 2025, he became the first Singaporean to become Wikimedian of the Year and now has been named the Straits Times' Singaporean of the Year finalist.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00My motivation for editing on Wikipedia is simple.

00:07To enrich the knowledge on the online isacropedia,

00:11to allow people to read and consume more knowledge.

00:15Giving people the access to the knowledge,

00:17I would say it's a right.

00:19Whether they consume it or not, that's another matter.

00:23I have written a wide range of articles,

00:27Guhara, City Development Limited,

00:30and the more recent ones would be Summon Boy,

00:34just yesterday.

00:36Most of my free time outside work would be spent on editing Wikipedia

00:41or writing a new article on Wikipedia.

00:44It would typically take between 2-4 hours to write a short article.

00:50I have lost count.

00:51Actually, I do not track how much time I have spent.

00:55I have had friends and family members ask why I'm contributing on Wikipedia

01:01when it's not a paid job.

01:03People go and run marathons, cycle long distances.

01:08They don't get paid for it most of the time.

01:10It's the same line of thought where writing on Wikipedia

01:13or contributing to the movement, it's also a passion, it's a hobby.

01:18The future of Wikipedia is always under-trap.

01:21When TikTok came out, people started to consume more and more short-form content.

01:26That also means that there's less attention being put into Wikipedia,

01:30be it contributing or reading on there.

01:33And then when the AI trend starts to come out,

01:36people are using more and more of the chatbots to reference for information.

01:40My hope for Wikipedia is to continue to exist

01:46because it's formed as a backbone of the internet,

01:50even for the short-form content that you see out there,

01:52or even for the AI models.

01:55I hope that everyone can continue contributing,

01:58or if they have not contributed to Wikipedia, start contributing.

02:02The contributions need not be just writing.

02:05You can contribute through submitting photographs, videos.

02:11By having such contributions, you will help Wikipedia to continue to thrive.

02:16The knowledge that is not there will be there,

02:19and it helps Wikipedia to retain a place in everybody's life.

02:24People will continue to come back to read.

02:26People will continue to come back to contribute.

02:28It's a whole circular movement there.

The Straits Times | Wikipedia writer and editor named S'porean of the Year finalist

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