The Gateway to the Wikimedia World: My First Steps as a Volunteer

Hello, my name is Noemi Gonzales, and much of my time is dedicated to working as a photographer. Currently, I volunteer with Wikimedistas de Bolivia, and I can confidently say it has been a deeply enriching learning experience, surrounded by people who share my exploratory spirit. For me, it was a wonderful discovery to learn that Bolivia has an organization contributing to global knowledge on the internet, working to share written and visual information from a local perspective.

I first encountered Wikimedistas de Bolivia in 2023 during a cultural mediation workshop at the Fundación Flavio Machicado Viscarra. Thanks to this workshop, I was able to present the photographic archive of Georg Stege (a prominent Bolivian-German photographer) at the “Larga Noche de Museos” (Long Night of Museums). Later, I was invited to be a speaker in the training program “Digitalización y Conocimiento Libre” (Digitization and Free Knowledge) and to upload photos of the city of El Alto to Wikimedia Commons alongside other members of the artist group El Alto Aesthetics, to which I belong.

This past year, I became involved in Wikimixtura Titicaca, a photography and article-editing contest organized in collaboration with Wikiacción Perú. As the first activity of Wikimixtura Titicaca, I led a workshop for a group of 20 residents from the municipality of Copacabana (located on the shores of Lake Titicaca), many of whom were students of Community Tourism. The first session covered photography fundamentals and an introduction to Wikimedia Commons; the second session involved a group walk to practice and gather images of Copacabana’s town center. In both sessions, participants showed great enthusiasm and active engagement. Thanks to this initiative, we encouraged locals to upload their own photographs, offering a local perspective and contributing to free knowledge with images of daily life, as well as cultural and political aspects of Lake Titicaca.

An Unending Adventure: New Steps at Lake Titicaca

Personally, I deeply enjoy traveling to rural communities. On my own initiative, I often visit towns near La Paz and other Bolivian cities, learning more about our history, local activities, and immersing myself in the natural landscape. That’s why it was a joy to receive a grant from Wikimedistas de Bolivia to return to Copacabana—this time to photograph the Carnival. During the first two days, my colleague and I captured images of traditional music and dances. On the third day, we traveled by boat through the mist and early sunlight to the community of Challapampa on the Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). There, we photographed significant archaeological sites of the Inca Empire. Guided by the mallku (the community’s highest authority), we reached the Chinkana temple and the Roca Sagrada, filling ourselves with an energy that stayed with us on the journey home.

This is a trip that, for me, still isn’t over. As I review the images I took, I relive the emotions of living alongside the local people, being part of the celebration, and breathing in the air of the mythical Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca. I hope these photographs convey this experience and help Wikimedia users worldwide learn more about this corner of the globe through the lens of an Andean explorer.