Bolivia more present than ever at Wikimania

Wikimedistas de Bolivia made its mark at the latest Wikimania in Nairobi, with a delegation of three members attending in person and several others joining online. Here’s a look at what we accomplished in Kenya.

We began by taking part in the pre-conference organized by the Climate Justice Working Group, where we worked to advance South-South collaboration on climate change through Wikimedia projects. We also participated in the Wikitongues pre-conference, where volunteer Nicaela León joined remotely from Bolivia to share her activism around the Quechua language and free knowledge.

During the first day, we gave a talk on the Wikimixtura contests, which focus on creating and improving content about living Bolivian culture across Wikipedia and its sister projects. We wrapped up the session on a celebratory note, expressing gratitude as the event coincided with Bolivia’s Bicentennial celebrations. A few days later, we joined a discussion on the role of Wikimedia projects in sharing climate change information, alongside participants from South America and Africa, further strengthening South-South ties.

We also presented a poster highlighting our work with Indigenous communities in eastern Bolivia. The poster emphasized the power of self-representation, a core focus of our user group. While speaking with others during the poster session, we were moved to see how the challenges faced by indigenous peoples in Bolivia resonate with communities worldwide. This reinforced the value of spaces like Wikimania, where we can converse with people from across the globe, exchange perspectives, build connections, and celebrate both our own and others’ progress.

Beyond these meaningful dialogues, we joined the WikiWomen lunch (all three in-person attendees were women), connected with WikiProject LGBT members, and finally met in person with friends from Manguluru (India), with whom we’ve collaborated in past years. We also enjoyed singing Latin songs at the karaoke night, and Carla Salazar took the stage as part of the Wikichoir, singing African songs alongside Wikimedians from around the world.

We arrived at Wikimania with joyful hearts. Not only was the 2025 Bolivian delegation the largest in the conference’s history, but we also shared our characteristically festive spirit with the global community, especially meaningful as we celebrated our country’s anniversary in beautiful, far-off Nairobi. It was an honor to represent the Bolivian community, and we see this achievement as a collective one. This success is built on the foundation laid by our dedicated volunteers and partners in their daily pursuit of free knowledge.

We look forward to bringing the same energy to the next Wikimania in Paris, where we hope to continue building connections across the Wikimedia movement!