RV Newsletter: How to unroll Twitter threads for easier reading
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 opportunities for communities to fully participate online. Read here for previous editions of this newsletter.
Do you ever find the need to go through a series of tweets for research, for curiosity, or for whatever reasons? We found a tool that’ll make the task a breeze and would love to share it with you!
Thread Reader, an app made by indie developers, was designed for everyone to have a better experience reading long Twitter threads or, say, to navigate through a Tweetstorm more effectively. You can see here for a before-and-after comparison and here for how it works.
According to the developer, this app is free and the main service will always stay that way. However, there are some additional features for an additional price.
MORE FROM THE RISING VOICES BLOG
In celebration of the International Year of Indigenous languages 2019 (#IYIL19), Rising Voices has joined forces with our partners in organizing four rotating Twitter campaigns to highlight the work of indigenous language activists from across the world. If you are curious about the current status of indigenous languages worldwide as well as what’s involved in their revitalization and/or promotion, please do follow our campaigns on Twitter! And if you wish to learn more about our recent hosts, you would definitely want to check their profile posts as follows:
@ActLenguas (Latin America)
- Uskam Felix Camey [es] on Kaqchikel, a Mayan language, spoken in Guatemala
- Verónica Aguilar [es] on the Mixtec languages as well as the roles migration and technology play in the preservation of the languages
- Claudia Cuba Huamani [es] on the Quechua language, spoken primarily in the Peruvian Andes as well as a few other countries along the Andes Mountains
@AsiaLangsOnline (Asia)
- Osama Manzar, Founder and Director of the Digital Empowerment Foundation (a partner of this Twitter campaign), on digital inclusion in his work of preserving oral languages across India
- Farhad Shafitul Kabir on the Sylheti language, spoken primarily in parts of Bangladesh and India
- Tuhi Martukaw (Jocelyn Ting-Hui Hung Chien) on the Pinuyumayan language, a Taiwanese indigenous language that has been identified as “endangered” by UNESCO
In addition to our campaigns concerning indigenous languages around the world, we’d like to bring your attention to an animated film, The Tree of Love, which tells first-hand stories of former child combatants and young survivors of conflict in the indigenous Nasa community of Cauca, Colombia. → “Read the behind-the-scenes story behind the making of this animated documentary.
FUNDING
The United Nations Democracy Fund will soon be taking a new round of applications for projects that aims to support and/or advance participation in the democratic processes. Project proposals are to be submitted online, in either English or French. Please see here for details. Application open: November 22, 2019 – December 21, 2019
OPPORTUNITIES | SCHOLARSHIPS & FELLOWSHIPS
Are you an expert in the data field or someone who works with big data and cares about its impact on social justice? The Data Justice Lab at Cardiff University (School of Journalism, Media and Culture) is looking for two fellows to join them on this endeavor in the spring of 2020. Please see here for details. Application due: November 30, 2019
CALLS FOR PARTICIPATION
FOSDEM 2020, a free event for software developers is calling for participation for its Coding for Language Communities Devroom, which aims to address the lack of hardware and software to alleviate the restraint of using one’s natural language in electronic communication. Please see here as to how to make proposals for the topics. Submission due: December 1, 2019
UPCOMING EVENTS & CONFERENCES
The inaugural Asia (virtual) Podcast Summit is around the corner. Interested in hearing from the podcast experts? Come to claim your free 48-hour pass here! Date: November 9-10, 2019
The 2019 Digital Citizen Summit (DCS) is coming up. The theme of the year is on misinformation and disinformation in the virtual space and will be examining pertinent issues from the angles of policy, practice, as well as social reality in relation to social media. Interested in joining the discussions? Do request an invite here. Date: November 12, 2019 / Location: New Delhi, India. Note: Rising Voices is an associate partner for the DCS.
The 2019 Bread & Net Conference, hosted by the Social Media Exchange (SMEX), will be held in Beirut, Lebanon. It’s an opportunity for stakeholders from multiple fields in the MENA region to strengthen collective efforts in advancing human rights within today’s digital spaces. Please see here for details. Date: November 15-17, 2019 (This event will be convened in Arabic)
ADDITIONAL READINGS, LISTENINGS, and VIEWINGS
- The Indian state of Odisha publishes online dictionaries in 21 indigenous languages via Global Voices
- Learning Welsh: Language app sees rise in interest via BBC
- #IYIL2019: a global community for indigenous languages — a multilingual YouTube playlist as compiled by UNESCO
- Museums of the mind: Why we should preserve endangered languages via Global Voices
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