Wikidata: Introduction and Basics

Welcome to this introductory tutorial on Wikidata. In this video, you will learn what Wikidata is, why it matters, and how it works as a free and open knowledge base that can be read and edited by both humans and machines. Wikidata serves as a central storage system for structured data across Wikimedia projects, helping different platforms connect, share, and reuse information efficiently. This video explains who uses Wikidata and why it is important. You will discover how Wikimedia sister projects retrieve data from Wikidata, and how researchers, developers, editors, and data users rely on it for open knowledge, linked data, and structured information. We also introduce the basic building blocks of Wikidata: Items Properties Statements You will learn how statements are used to describe items and how structured data is organized in a clear and reusable way. In this tutorial, you will also see how to: Navigate Wikidata with confidence Use the search bar effectively Apply filters when searching Find simple items and understand their structure Explore the basics of structured knowledge on Wikimedia This video is ideal for: Beginners who want to understand Wikidata Wikimedia contributors Students and researchers Developers and digital skills learners Anyone interested in open knowledge and structured data By the end of this tutorial, you will have a solid foundation in Wikidata basics and a clearer understanding of how to search, explore, and interpret data on the platform.