In the highlands of Peru's Apurimac region, where Quechua continues to thrive in family and community life, a teacher has found in technology a powerful ally for preserving the Indigenous language and strengthening his students' cultural identity.
The initiative was launched by Roberto Challco, a primary school teacher at Educational Institution No. 54281 in the Santa Rosa farming community, who promoted "TikTok Nisqapi Kichwa Siminchikta Llanllarichisun" (Revitalizing Quechua through TikTok).
Convinced that teaching is also about inspiring his students and instilling pride in their cultural heritage, teacher Challco observed that they frequently consumed content on the social media platform.
Based on this observation, he decided to turn that interest into an educational opportunity to strengthen Quechua use in contexts that are familiar and meaningful to children.
Day by day, together with his students, he developed scripts in Quechua, which were initially disseminated in the classroom and at the educational institution, and later shared with the community.
The first videos were simple: greetings, everyday phrases, and riddles that helped the students gain confidence in using their mother tongue.
Over time, dialogues and stories were added.
A living bridge
"Listening to stories, riddles, and songs in Quechua connects them with the community's values, worldview, and collective memory," says teacher Challco, convinced that language is a living bridge to cultural identity.
Through this experience, and with the teacher's ongoing feedback, the students have strengthened their creativity, critical thinking, and skills in producing Quechua digital content.
Likewise, student participation increased in settings where the language is used, as did their motivation to use it in everyday settings, both inside and outside school.
This achievement has also been made possible by the involvement of families, who actively joined the language revitalization process by reinforcing Quechua use at home and in the community.
Andean culture
"I want my students to recognize that Quechua is useful for expressing themselves within their families, at school, and in the digital world," the teacher said.
"I want them to understand that it is not learned simply to pass a course, but also to keep Andean culture alive and pass it on to new generations," he added.
This innovative teaching experience was recognized in the 2025 National Good Teaching Practices Competition, whose new edition is already open for registration.
Preliminary registration of initiatives for this Education Ministry competition will be open until October 7.
Publicado: 18/9/2026