Wiki Town: Playas Doradas, Patagonia Argentina 

The community embraced the project and completed the installation of QR codes that link to Wikipedia articles. 

On July 25, residents of Playas Doradas (Río Negro, Argentina) walked through the town’s streets installing 38 new QR codes on street signs. Each code links a street name to the Wikipedia article about the species that gives it its name:trofón, buccino, jarillal, piquillines, among other plants and animals native to the Patagonian steppe. The event marked the conclusion of a phase of the project “Las calles de Playas Doradas”, (The Streets of Playas Doradas) spearheaded by WikiUNLP in collaboration with La Lechuza Community Library, Islote Lobos National Park (National Parks Administration), and Sierra Grande Department of Tourism. The project achieved something that doesn’t always happen: a community that embraced the initiative as its own

A project that has been in the works for a long time

What was completed in July 2026 has its roots in 2024, when members of the WikiUNLP team conducting research in the area began collaborating with local stakeholders around a specific question: How can knowledge regarding biodiversity in the San Matías Gulf be highlighted and promoted through Wikipedia? In the following years, workshops held at the elementary school, the Sierra Grande Technical Institute, and the Casa de la Cultura gradually built a network of connections between the community and the Wikimedia ecosystem. The La Lechuza Community Library joined the initiative in 2025, and since then, its members have not only published content about Playas Doradas but have also become actively involved in organizing the project. This initiative is part of a broader effort to promote the region’s natural and cultural heritage, in conjunction with the creation of the Islote Lobos National Park and in response to the threats posed by extractive activities in the region. 

The events of July 25th

The event began at Plaza de las Banderas. As they made their way through the streets placing the QR codes, the participants took turns reading excerpts from “Habitar como un pájaro” (Living Like a Bird) by Vinciane Despret, as an invitation to reflect on other ways of relating to the territory. In the afternoon, the event continued at RestoArte, where residents wrote letters from the perspective of various natural beings and shared products made by local women entrepreneurs using native plants. These activities were part of the “Habitar como pájaros” (Living Like Birds) project, launched by the library in order to promote reading and writing and strengthen the community’s connection to its natural environment. 

When the community embraces the project

Beyond the installation of the 38 QR codes, the event highlighted a process that has gradually taken shape over the past two years. The institutions that participated in the workshops and the various stages of the project took an active role in its continuity and organization, strengthening a collaborative network among the community, the National Park, the community library, the municipality, and the Open Science Wikimedians Network.. 

The community’s participation in organizing and carrying out this event is one of the most significant outcomes of the experience. Rather than simply participating in an activity initiated outside the region, Playas Doradas became an integral part of building and sustaining the project. 

One chapter ends to make way for the next

Each installed code connects residents and visitors with information collaboratively created on Wikipedia, while encouraging them to continue expanding and improving the content. 

If one of the goals of the Wikimedia movement is for people to be able to produce and share knowledge about their territories, the experience of Playas Doradas shows that this goal can go beyond workshops and become a sustained community practice. More importantly, it leaves behind a well-established network among local institutions and a community that chose to build open knowledge about its own territory.