Wiki-Jardín Valparaíso: A Brief History of an Independent Editing Community in Chile

Wiki-Jardín Valparaíso was founded in mid-2024 by a group of volunteers committed to promoting free knowledge from the Valparaíso Region of Chile. From the outset, the community chose to organize independently while finding a welcoming space within Wikimedia Small Projects, where it connected with the broader Wikimedia movement and launched its first initiatives.

The first years were a period of experimentation. Rather than building a formal organization, the priority was to bring together people with shared interests, develop collaborative editing projects, and demonstrate that a local community of volunteers could successfully contribute to Wikipedia over the long term. As new editors joined, the group gradually established the working practices and editorial priorities that would shape its identity.

Throughout 2025, Wiki-Jardín Valparaíso expanded its activities and began building relationships with academic institutions. A major milestone came in August with the launch of the university course “Digital Humanities: The Case of Wikipedia” at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV), which remains part of the university’s academic offerings after the successful completion of its second semester in 2026.

The course introduced Wikipedia editing as a teaching and learning tool, giving students the opportunity to engage directly with Wikimedia projects while developing research, writing, and digital literacy skills. As part of the course, students also attended a guest lecture by Senator Kenneth Pugh, who shared his perspectives on digital transformation and public policy.

Beyond our academic activities, we visited media organizations, including the state-owned broadcaster Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN), gaining first-hand insight into journalism and the production of reliable information.

At the same time, the community undertook increasingly ambitious editorial projects. These included systematically covering Chilean parliamentary terms from 1926 to 2030 on the English Wikipedia, creating biographies of tennis players on the Spanish Wikipedia, and translating articles about British navigators into that language. Together, these initiatives significantly increased the community’s editing output while broadening the range of topics to which its members contributed.

The beginning of 2026 marked a new stage in the community’s development. In January, Wiki-Jardín Valparaíso obtained legal status (CODECh) as a nonprofit association under Chilean law, providing a formal institutional framework for its activities. This also marked the point at which the group became a stable community, supported by a consistent base of contributors, long-term projects, and a well-defined organizational identity.

In just over a year and a half, Wiki-Jardín Valparaíso evolved from a small volunteer initiative into a community with a sustained editing program, a university presence, and legal recognition. Its experience shows that local communities can grow organically through collaboration, commitment, and a shared belief in free knowledge.

Although its story is still in its early chapters, Wiki-Jardín Valparaíso continues to expand its projects and welcome new contributors, demonstrating that independent initiatives can make meaningful contributions while remaining closely connected to the international Wikimedia movement.