Bolivia-Japan Friendship Editathon has finished!

The Wikimedia Bolivia-Japan Friendship held an international online edit-a-thon titled “Bolivia Japan Friendship 2026” in June 2026. As we wrote previously about the background of the event, there were 41 participants from Bolivia who created 13 new Wikipedia articles, while 33 participants from Japan created 80 new articles. In addition, existing articles were expanded, Wikidata entries were edited and updated, and a staggering total of 636 images were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons! Carlillasa will present the report on the Bolivian side, and Wadakuramon will present the report on the Japanese side.

Activities in Bolivia

In Bolivia, we concentrated our efforts on taking pictures for Wikimedia Commons, since most of our volunteers are photographers (both professionals and amateurs). We organized several visits to Japanese martial arts dojos and took quality pictures of Judo, Aikido, Karate, Iaido and Kendo (right now, most Iaido photos on Commons are from Bolivia!). We also visited a bonsai garden and attended three cosplay events. Japanese culture is highly regarded here: the younger generations are huge fans of Japanese cuisine and anime, and we have a lot of martial artists practicing Japanese martial arts in every city. This friendship gave us the chance to show the Bolivian community’s interest in Japanese fields, because it’s important and relevant in our country, but it wasn’t well represented in Wikimedia projects before.

We also formed a great partnership with the Japanese Society of La Paz. With them, we had a Wikipedia workshop, and a few weeks later they opened their doors for our in-person Edit-a-thon on June 27th. That day, we had 24 volunteers gather to improve Wikipedia articles related to this friendship and categorize pictures on Commons. We also visited the Historic Centre of Japanese Migration in Bolivia, inside the Japanese Society building, and learned a lot about the first Japanese people who came to Bolivia back in 1899. We were really happy because this initiative brought new Nikkei volunteers to the Bolivian community, and they had the chance to share their own stories and improve important information about the historic Japanese migration processes in Bolivia.

We’re really happy with the results, and we’re looking forward to continuing our friendship with the Japanese community! — Carlillasa

Edit-a-thon in Japan

In Japan, one rarely hears or reads about Bolivia in daily life. Yet, once the edit-a-thon began, new articles concerning Bolivia’s nature, society, and culture were added almost every day. While I cannot list them all, the articles—reflecting the diverse interests of the participants—make for fascinating reading; they cover subjects ranging from the Cerro Rico silver mines and the Flaviadas musical gatherings to the intellectual Jaime Mendoza. One can also trace the effort involved, such as conducting interviews with valuable sources —such as “Andes no Ie Bolivia“—and meticulously translating lengthy texts. Furthermore, several of these entries were selected by the community of Wikipedians as “New Articles” or “Improved Articles,” a testament to the depth and breadth of the Japanese community. It was also remarkable to see the event page itself constantly updated with new content by the many participants.

An in-person editathon was held on June 21 at the Tobacco & Salt Museum in Tokyo—a venue with ties to Bolivia regarding both commodities. Thirteen participants enthusiastically toured the exhibits and utilized museum materials to create or expand a total of 14 articles.

Although the edit-a-thon involved Bolivia—located on the other side of the globe—we were able to welcome many participants despite the short preparation time. It also gave us a real sense of how the Japanese Wikipedia reaches not only people in Japan but also those overseas, including the Japanese diaspora. Building on this experience, we look forward to continuing our collaborations with people around the world through Wikimedia. — Wadakuramon