Rising Voices note: Our monthly newsletter provides a summary of our recent blog posts about all aspects of digital inclusion including access to 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.

Hello readers, how are you all doing?

A year ago, we shared an open call with everyone, in the hope of supporting Mozilla’s effort to de-bias voice technology, through their open-source voice database initiative named Common Voice. This September, they reached the mark of including 100 languages in their crowdsourced dataset, making it the most multilingually diverse across the world!

Curious to find out which language makes it to the 100th in the dataset and how it’s related to decolonization? Go check out this post by Mozilla. Need a multilingual dataset to help train your speech recognition engines? This is for you. Meanwhile, if you are looking to participate in the cause, you can do so here.

Embarking on the IDIL2022–2032 journey with language activists from around the world, Rising Voices and partners are bringing to you another round of our rotating Twitter campaigns. Curious about indigenous, minority, endangered, or under-resourced languages, plus how the internet and technology play a role in their promotion and revitalization? Come follow us and hear what our guest hosts have to share!

@ActLenguas (Latin America)

• Living atlas of flora and fauna in Mayunmarka [es] on building an ecolinguistic database for the traditional Quechua-speaking region of Ayacucho, Peru
• Ana Laura Mendoza [es] on making Maya language accessible to youngsters (and beyond) through social networks across her community
• Samantha del Valle [es] on disseminating the Náhuatl language by way of “modern” materials such as comics and video games
• Antonio Huet [es] on revitalizing the Tsotsil Mayan language and preserving ancestral knowledge with the help of digital means 
• Merli Isabel Colli Hau [es] on raising awareness for the Mayan sign language and ensuring the linguistic rights of deaf members in her community

Along these lines, we’d love to share with you a story on the inception of a documentary, which features the late Gyani Maiya Sen-Kusunda, a community elder who inspired the revitalization of Kusunda. → “Filming Gyani Maiya Sen who inspired efforts to revive the dying Kusunda language in Nepal”

Meanwhile, in the Gran Chaco region of Bolivia, participants of a media literacy workshop named “Roipea Taperai” (meaning “Open Paths”) analyzed terms used in mainstream media when covering their communities, the unconscious connotations people might have of certain terms, and what the terms fail to capture and hence are missed out from the discussions.
→ “A Guaraní professor analyzes the perception of Indigenous peoples in Bolivian media”
→ “Water scarcity in Indigenous communities should be reported on, a young Bolivian journalist says”

Devoting yourself to a community project, seeking to safeguard, strengthen, or revitalize Indigenous wisdoms and languages? Know that you are not alone. Seeds of Wisdom would like to be your partner in bringing more understanding to this ancient knowledge and in renewing our relationship with the world around us (details here). Application due: November 14, 2022 at 11:59pm (Pacific time)

We Matter is now taking applications for another Support Fund, aiming to promote Indigenous Youth-led events and/or online projects taking place in Canada. If you are between 13 and 30, wishing to contribute to your indigenous community, this might help bring you a bit closer to your aspiration. To enhance your chance for approval, be sure to go over their guidelines here. Application due: November 15, 2022

For Africa-based nonprofits: Mozilla wants to join your cause in exploring ways to advance digital and human rights in the region, with a particular focus on Kenya and South Africa.  Interested in working with Mozilla to create meaningful impacts on the local internet ecosystem? The In Real Life (IRL) Fund is worth checking out.  Application due: November 30, 2022

Are you an independent producer needing a boost for your career ? The Sundance Institute is now offering a full package — with opportunities for skill building, funding, networking, and beyond — to help original voices in filmmaking flourish. Eligibility and application details can be found through here. Application due: February 15, 2023 Note: Fiction or nonfiction producers at all stages are welcome

Are you an independent producer based in the U.S. and territories, seeking to bring your documentary to air on public television upon its completion so that your less heard — yet important — story can reach a wider audience? Open Call wants to partner with you and make this happen. Application due: December 16, 2022 at 11:59pm (PST) Note: Directions for nonfiction projects in earlier stages and in shorter forms are included

• Crean paquetes de stickers de WhatsApp para la enseñanza del maya [es] via La Jornada Maya
• The internet health report (2022) as presented by Mozilla via its IRL podcast

 

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