Let’s read Wikipedia and the challenge of adapting the program to regional environments; Bolivia’s experience with the Weenhayek nation

In August, Wikimedians from Bolivia faced one of the most important challenges in the development of the Let’s Read Wikipedia program: implementing the program with teachers from the Weenhayek indigenous nation in the Gran Chaco region of the country.

The invitation to implement the program in the indigenous nation was made by the Villa Montes District Education Directorate, through its director, Celinda Rodríguez.

The Weenhayek Nation in Bolivia

The Weenhayek indigenous nation inhabits the Gran Chaco region on the banks of the Pilcomayo River, in the departments of Tarija—between the municipalities of Yacuiba and Villamontes—in Bolivia, and the province of Salta in Argentina. In Bolivia, the Weenhayek nation is officially recognized in the Political Constitution of the State.

According to data from the 2024 Census, 5,588 people in Bolivia self-identify as part of this indigenous nation; of this total, the department of Tarija is home to 5,410 people, and more specifically, 2,839 live in the municipality of Villa Montes, representing just over 50 percent of the population that self-identifies with this indigenous nation.

Despite the significant number of inhabitants who self-identify as part of the indigenous nation, this people is considered vulnerable because, despite access to higher technical education, the number is still small, so that a large part of the population, both urban and rural, continues to engage in activities such as fishing, gathering wild honey and making handicrafts, but with greater difficulty due to the increasing deterioration of their environment.

The regionalized educational calendar

It is important to note that the school calendar of this indigenous nation is regionalized, meaning that the educational cycle does not begin in February as it does throughout Bolivia.

The Weenhayek school year in 2025 began in August, in line with the closed season on the Pilcomayo River. This means that while the reproductive cycle of fish is protected, the school year takes place, and while the fishing season is established—generally between April and September each year—the communities take advantage of this productive economic period.

According to the educational calendar published by the Departmental Directorate of Tarija, in 2025, the Weenhayek nation will conclude the school year in May 2026, again coinciding with the productive cycle linked to the Pilcomayo River.

Curriculum planning and adaptation process

Like the regionalized school calendar, the Leamos Wikipedia program also had to be adapted to the context of the Weenhayek indigenous nation, where not all teachers have internet browsing skills or actively interact with technological equipment that allows them to access information, such as computers.

The main change that had to be made in the training process was the incorporation of elements that allow participants to relate to or, at least, handle key concepts that enable them to understand the web and office automation environment, in order to speak a common language.

This process incorporated, among others, concepts such as: the difference between a browser and the internet, the functions and utilities of office applications for working in the web environment; searching for and using information found on the internet and, of course, what Wikipedia is, how it works, and how it helps develop critical information skills in the classroom.

But that was not all, because during the execution of the work, the internet connection was one of the main obstacles, so the planning had to be redirected again. The work crossed two components: 1) working with the self-representation of the Weenhayek in Wikimedia projects; and 2) recovering the knowledge and wisdom of the indigenous nation in the encyclopedia.

Involving volunteers in the process

The group we worked with was one of the largest to date (more than 50 in the classroom), which presented a double challenge.

In addition to the content, the work dynamic was adapted to include not only all the members of Wikimedistas de Bolivia, but also the participation of volunteer Noemí Ticona.

In order to be manageable, the large group of teachers had to be organized into five “sub-classrooms,” each led by a facilitator, with whom the content, timelines, and community activities to be guided by each had been previously agreed upon.

In addition to facilitating the “sub-classroom,” Noemí Ticona also facilitated general work spaces.

Participant satisfaction

As expected, such an important process required gathering feedback from the program beneficiaries.

The evaluation was collected through a survey that provided us with the following data:

• There is a high level of satisfaction among participants with the workshop.
• The content most learned by participants is the use of Wikipedia and web browsing, so it can be considered that the workshop’s objectives were achieved.
• Participants are highly motivated to enter the world of the Internet because they understand the importance of this tool for the development of their work.
• There is interest in deepening knowledge and skills for managing and publishing content on Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.

Results

In the internal evaluation process carried out by the Bolivian Wikimedians group, the following conclusions were reached, in addition to the numerical results, which are also noteworthy.

• The Bolivian Wikimedians team was able to respond to the training needs and demands of the groups according to their contexts.
• The Bolivian Wikimedians group has the ability to be flexible and modify the content of a training process if necessary.
• In numerical terms, the work with teachers in the Weenhayek section was important and contributed to achieving the projections made for this year.

In terms of tangible results, 34 images related to the daily experiences of the Weenhayek communities were published, the article “Weenhayek Weavings” was created, and the pages on Algarrobo, Weenhayek, and Sábalo were improved.