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RV Newsletter: Amplifying African voices sharing the importance of linguistic diversity online

Categories: Newsletter

Illustration mashup created by Eddie Avila, utilizing the bird icon by Sara Novovitch, ES, Africa icon by africa by Nikita Kozin from the Noun Project, and share icon by Share by Alequinho from the Noun Project, and the Word It Out word cloud program.

Rising Voices note: Our biweekly newsletter provides 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 and opporunities for communities to fully participate online. Read here [1] for previous editions of this newsletter.

To coincide with the International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019, Rising Voices together with partners, launched a new Twitter campaign to highlight and amplify the voices of African language digital activists [2]leveraging the power of technology and the internet to promote and revitalize African languages. The campaign kicked off on March 20, 2019 with the first host, Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún [3] from Nigeria, a linguist and creative writer who has been working on the YorubaName.com project among other initiatives. For the rest of 2019, a different language activist and advocate will be sharing their stories on the Twitter account @DigiAfricanLang [4].

MORE FROM THE RISING VOICES BLOG

Two more indigenous language digital activists, Meet Tajëëw Beatriz Díaz Robles [5] and Meet Sasil Sánchez Chan [6] recently managed the @ActLenguas [7] account to share insights into their work promoting the Mixe and Maya languages, respectively, as part of a Twitter campaign to promote linguistic diversity online in Latin America.

The latest edition of the DigiGlot Newsletter [8] highlighted some recent news about artificial intelligence and what it means for indigenous and minority languages, as well as notes about an updated language mapping project in Australia.

#ViernesTradicional [9] is a online campaign found on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook highlighting and safeguarding Mexico's rich cultural diversity found in clothing.

FUNDING

Do you have a great and innovative idea for a new podcast?  PRX is accepting applications for the second round of their Google Podcasts creator program [10] to promote diverse voices in the podcast field by lowering barriers for those wanting to begin podcasting,  If accepted, your team will receive training, mentorship, and seed funding. Application due: April 14, 2019 at 11:59pm (ET)

OPPORTUNITIES | JOBS

For all seasoned investigative journalists: If conservation and environmental issues are your forte, you might want to consider this position of an investigations editor at Mongabay [11], a non-profit news site focusing on conservation and environmental science.  This is a remote position requiring a full-time commitment.  Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) has an opening for a full-time grant writer [12].  If you care about making the world a better place by means of the Internet, please check it out!  (This is a 12-month contracted position with the possibility for renewal.) Application due: March 29, 2019 at 23:59 (UTC)

Love social media?  Enjoy producing stories, audio or visual, and/or writing for various audiences?  Whose Knowledge? is seeking a Communications Co-lead [13] for their team.  Please visit their site for further details.  (This is a 6-month contracted position, with a 20 hours/week commitment and the possibility for renewal.)  Application due: April 7, 2019 / Location: Remote

OPPORTUNITIES | SCHOLARSHIPS & FELLOWSHIPS

Do you consider yourself an activist for open web, a professional in tech policy, or a scientist/researcher who incorporates open-source spirits into your work?  The Mozilla Fellowship program is seeking people like you! If you care about internet health just like they do, you might want to check out how to become a Mozilla Fellow [14]!  Application (part 1) due: April 8, 2019 at 5pm (ET)

Are you a Latin America-based female activist, aged 22 to 30, and considering launching a project of your own design to help make Latin America a more just, inclusive, and accessible place that pays attention to gender equality?  Open Society Foundations would like to support you in this endeavor with the Young Feminist Leaders Fellowship [15], created jointly by its Youth Exchange and Women’s Rights Program.  Application due: May 3, 2019 (11:59 EDT)

The 11th Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC19) is coming this September.  It is a biennial event for investigative and data journalists, established and aspiring.  With the support form their sponsors, the conference is offering a fellowship that includes airfare, lodging, and conference fee [16] for more than 200 attendees to this training event.  Application due: May 5, 2019

CONTESTS & COMPETITIONS

The Africa Internet Summit (AIS), a regional ICT conference that is held annually, is calling for presentations [17] for its 2019 event (AIS'19).  If you are interested in sharing your knowledge with the Africa ICT community, please visit their site for guidelines, as well as their topics of interest. Proposals due: April 5, 2019. [18]

ADDITIONAL READINGS ABOUT DIGITAL INCLUSION & ONLINE PARTICIPATION

 

Subscribe to the Rising Voices Newsletter [24]

 

 

Thanks to Rami Alhames [25] and Eddie Avila for contributions to this newsletter.