#3 Wiki Katat: The first Indigenous virtual operator in Mexico (CC BY 4.0)

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.

Hey, it’s July! Do you have anything fun to share, dear readers? We do and we feel that this will interest some of you to a great deal.

Back in June, a new podcast was started, named “Routing for Communities.” It is a collaborative effort by the Association for Progressive Communications and Rhizomatica, bringing to you life stories, from around the world, of those who’ve found alternative ways to connect their communities and themselves for digital inclusion.

If you are interested in being part of their journey in building community networks, the new episodes are available via Spotify and Apple Podcasts as they are released. You can also subscribe to their Telegram channel if you’d like to receive updates about it.

Interested in learning first hand about how the internet and technology play a role in the promotion and revitalization of indigenous, minority, endangered, or under-resourced languages? Rising Voices and partners are now bringing to you a new round of our rotating Twitter campaigns for 2023, featuring language digital activists around the world each week. Come follow us and hear what they have to share!

@ActLenguas (Latin America)

• Luis Alvarado [es]: a computer science teacher, who has been striving to bring digital content of the Tseltal language to communities where internet accessibility is lacking since 2009
• Edy Benjamín López Castillo [es]: a Popti’ Mayan teacher based in Guatemala, who strives to make his language and culture more accessible via the Internet
• Izaira López [es]: a Tu'un Savi speaker and language activist, who is dedicated to creating digital content in her language to be passed onto future generations

@DigiAfricanLang (Africa)

• Alhassan Mohammed Awal on his work around language activism for Dagbani and other Ghanaian languages in the digital space
• Oratile Olivia Gabaphethe: a professional scriptwriter, who is passionate about weaving Setswana into her work for future generations to enjoy
• Faisal Ali (aka DaSupremo) on efforts he’s made to give birth to the Ghanaian Pidgin Wikipedia

Along this line, we want to share with you Faisal Ali’s story on starting the Ghanaian Pidgin Wikipedia, which now has 600 articles and counting. What’s worth celebrating, too, is the 21st birthday of the Punjabi Wikipedia as well as the dedicated contributors behind it, who proved that a small number of committed individuals can make a big difference.

Meanwhile, youngsters from the Gran Chaco region in Bolivia are speaking up about the under-/mis-representation of Indigenous communities, the absence of their customs and language, as well as critical environmental issues in the region that should’ve been discussed more in the media such as oil production, the recurrent droughts, forest fires and reforestation.

Are you part of a non-profit non-governmental organization that works to advance the digital rights of marginalized communities from a legal or policy angle? The CYRILLA Collaborative is offering four grants for advocacy-oriented initiatives; information on eligibility requirements and application details can be found here. Submission due: July 31, 2023

Do you know that WhatsApp can be a powerful tool in improving health? The Chat for Impact Accelerator is a 6-week virtual programme that’ll spell it out for you. If your organization is interested in using private and personalized digital messaging on this front, it might be worth your while to learn more about it here. Application due: July 31, 2023 at midnight (GMT)

The 2023 All Digital Awards is now calling for nominations! If you happen to know of a person or an organization around Europe that strives to empower others through technology and the internet, why not celebrate their dedication by nominating them for the awards? Further details can be found here. Submission due: July 14, 2023

Do you care for an open internet that’s more ethical and responsible? In honor of its 25th anniversary, Mozilla is now taking nominations for its Rise 25 award to celebrate those who’ve made a difference in shaping the future of the Internet. The nominee can be a policymaker, a journalist, an activist, or even yourself! More on this can be found here. Nomination due: July 17, 2023

Looking to learn an African language but don’t know where to start? Ituĩka has put together an African Languages Teachers Database, which is meant to connect learners with teachers. If you wish to have yourself listed as a teacher in the database, you can reach out as instructed here.

• The mobile gender gap report 2023 via GSMA

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