The participation of the Media and Information Literacy Experts Network (MILEN) at the Digital Citizen Summit. Photo by Osama Manzar and used with permission.

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.

This year’s Digital Citizen Summit (DCS) held in Delhi, India on November 12, 2019 saw a deep dive into the intractable online (mis)information landscape through three pillars: policy, practice, and social reality. DCS 2019 brought together subject-matter experts, academics, policy-makers, lawyers, technologists, and members of the civil society in order to facilitate learning, knowledge-sharing, and sharing of collective experience in order to identify the next steps towards developing holistic solutions to meet the intensifying challenges confronting society and citizens through the phenomenon of misinformation. 

A part of the program focused on Media and Information Literacy as a non-regulatory and citizen-centric approach to look at misinformation led by the Media and Information Literacy Expert Network (MILEN) (Note: Rising Voices is a part of this network). This was contextualised within the experience and knowledge sharing within members of civil society organisations, journalists, fact-checkers, and administration. DCS 2019 was strengthened not only by the strength of its panelists and speakers and also by the diversity of those present, which included participation from the diverse range of nationalities from Democratic Republic of the Congo to Yemen. It also included members of mainstream and alternative media, legal fraternity, policy professionals, academics, diplomats, and civil society organisations. 

To see more pictures and insights, please see #DCS2019 and #DigiCitizen2019 on Twitter.

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)

• Elías Caurey [es] on Guarani, an indigenous language of South America as well as one of the official languages of Paraguay
• Neima Paz [es] on Wayuunaiki, the language of the indigenous Wayuu people native to northwestern Venezuela and the Guajira Peninsula of northeastern Colombia

@AsiaLangsOnline (Asia)

• Ramzy Muliawan on the Minangkabau language, spoken by Minang (an ethnic group originated from West Sumatra, Indonesia)

Need a grant to help develop your ideas around fact-checking?  The Facebook Journalism Project and the International Fact-Checking Network would like to support you in this endeavor via their Fact-Checking Innovation Initiative.  Along with the monetary aid, this support shall also provide an opportunity for grantees to grow their connections in the field.  Please see here for details.  Application due: December 8, 2019 (round one) / January 17, 2020 (round two)

Are you a documentary filmmaker seeking to finance for your project?  The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam is providing a number of funding opportunities for filmmakers from various regions via its IDFA Bertha Fund.  Please see here for application details for each category as well as the eligibility requirements and deadlines.

Know of a software developer who is into public-interest computing and has contributed to the creation of an open source product, which has made an impact in social change?  We invite you to check out the Pizzigati Prize, an annual award that honors such individuals for their contributions toward a better world.  Please see here for eligibility as well as application/nomination details.  Submission due: December 15, 2019

Would you like to further your expertise in financial investigative journalism?  Free Press Unlimited is inviting Asia-based applicants to join them in the five-day training course to take place next March in Indonesia to sharpen skills in investigating tax abuse, money laundering, etc. while maintaining one’s own safety.  Please see here for details.  Application due: November 25, 2019

FRIDA, the Young Feminist Fund, is seeking new advisors from across the globe to join their 2020 Global Advisory Committee!  Advisors will assist with the grantmaking process, strategic direction, and overall support to grantees.  Please see here for application details and eligibility requirements.  Application due: December 5, 2019

The Community Network Exchange 2019 is coming soon.  This year’s event is to be held in India and will explore the following theme: “Can Community Networks become Internet of People” as well as how the Internet and digital media have become pivotal means of meeting various needs in our daily life.  Interested in learning more?  Please see here for details.  Date: December 13-15, 2019

• Ara/Cielo (a poem in Guarani) as shared by Elías Caurey via YouTube
• The great Indian language trouble via Deccan Chronicle
• Eyes Beyond the Border: Using Video to Defend Migrant Rights via The WITNESS Media Lab

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