RV Newsletter: Monitoring rights-related data by and for indigenous communities
Rising Voices note: We're pleased to relaunch our biweekly newsletter that will provide a summary of our recent blog posts about all aspects of digital inclusion including access and adoption of digital tools, as well as different ways for communities to fully participate online. Read here for previous editions of this newsletter.
The Indigenous Navigator is a platform that allows indigenous communities to monitor progress made regarding the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. By providing tools and access to data by and for indigenous peoples, the Navigator supports communities in recognizing and asserting their rights.
Indigenous communities contribute data by submitting one of several versions of a questionnaire to provide the current status of rights-related topics, including health, education, and access to justice. The questionnaire also asks to what degree communities have access to media in their native languages.
The website provides tutorials and lessons regarding the use of the platform. Users can also access important data regarding privacy and the need for community consent prior to contributing data to the platform.
MORE FROM THE RISING VOICES BLOG
How can we have an open movement that works for everyone, not only the most powerful? How have power structures historically worked against Indigenous communities, and how can the Creative Commons community work to change this historic inequality? Rising Voices republishes a two-part series of an interview conducted by Jennie Rose Halperin of Creative Commons with Jane Anderson of Local Contexts. Part 1, Part 2.
Learn more about Kimeltuwe, the team that is managing the @ActLenguas Twitter account during February 11-17, 2019 in a new social media campaign focusing on linguistic diversity online. They shared insights and activities designed to revitalize the Mapuzungun (Mapuche) language.
OPPORTUNITIES | SCHOLARSHIPS & FELLOWSHIPS
South Africa-based Jamlab has compiled a list on fellowships that they encourage African journalists to apply for:
- Dataship — The Data Journalism Fellowship / Application due: February 8, 2019
- Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative (DPIJI) / Application due: March 30, 2019
- The Fellowship in Global Journalism: Munk School of Global Affairs / Application due: March 4, 2019
OPPORTUNITIES | JOBS
SMEX is currently looking for a program assistant to support their digital rights work in their Beirut, Lebanon office. Applications will be processed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Wikimedia Foundation is accepting applications for a contracted Strategy Liaison position to serve “as a bridge between communities and the Movement Strategy Process”. Location: San Francisco, CA or Remote / For other openings: click here.
FUNDING
In an effort to reduce barriers and to scale community mapping activities around the world, as well as to develop youth and diverse leadership, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) is now launching their 2019 Microgrants program. Application due: February 28, 2019 at 12 midnight (EST)
TRAININGS
In celebration of the International Women's Day, UNESCO is collaborating with Wikimedians of India on a one-day editing workshop to help bridge the gender gap by creating biographies of women on Wikipedia. Date: March 8, 2019 @ 11:00-16:00 (Indian Standard Time) / Location: UNESCO Delhi Office
UPCOMING EVENTS & CONFERENCES
The 6th International Conference on Language Documentation & Conservation is coming. Don’t miss it out if you are interested in how they attempt to initiate a dialogue among linguists, language communities, and technology developers in strengthening their connections. Date: February 28-March 3, 2019 / Location: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
The 4th Smithsonian’s Mother Tongue Film Festival is opening on February 21, International Mother Language Day. It’s an official event of the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages (#IYIL19) and is free for the public. Please see here for a complete schedule. Date: February 21-February 24, 2019 / Multiple locations in Washington, D.C.
The 2019 DATA4CHANGE flagship event is now accepting applications. If you are passionate about data and design for social good, please check it out — you will have the chance to meet like-minded folks from all over the world during this 5-day design sprint. (Certificate provided) Date: May 30-June 3, 2019 / Location: Nairobi Garage, Nairobi, Kenya Application due: February 28, 2019 at 5pm (GMT).
ADDITIONAL READINGS ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION & ONLINE PARTICIPATION
- Increased internet access and insecurity for journalists among media trends in Latin America, according to UNESCO by the Knight Center’s Journalism in the Americas Blog
- United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples as presented by Assyrian Aid Society – Iraq
- International Year of Indigenous Languages by International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) — a comprehensive read on why and how we should be preserving indigenous languages, along with a compiled list of five core human rights conventions and declarations related to indigenous peoples.
- Feminist Tech Fellows a program of Superrr (a diverse community of those who identify themselves as women, from various disciplines)
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