Photo by Jer Clarke (https://jerclarke.org) CC-BY-NC
Global Voices, through its Rising Voices initiative, is pleased to announce that the 3rd Mayan Languages Digital Activism Summit will take place in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico May 5-9, 2026.
The public days of the program will be held on May 8-9 and we invite anyone curious about the intersection of Indigenous languages, technology and how community plays an important role in language revitalization.
The Summit will be a space to facilitate peer learning and exchange between Mayan languages digital activists, who are working to promote, preserve and revitalize Mayan languages of Mexico in digital spaces and with their communities.
The Summit has grown from its first edition in Mérida, Yucatán in 2023, to San Cristóbal de las Casas in 2024, and last year, there was a wider Indigenous Languages Summit in Mexico City in 2025, making this year's gathering the fourth convening of the Mayan Languages Digital Activism (ADLM for its initials in Spanish) and the largest gathering to date.
Many of the activities are invite-only or only accessible through a public open call for participation. However, the two final days of the Summit will be a celebration open to the general public interested in learning about the important work by Mayan languages digital activists across the states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo.
Poster by David Gramal for Rising Voices.
Summit activities
While the following activities are by invitation only, they provide some additional context to the work conducted by a variety of participants from across Chiapas, and which will also be shared during the public days.
Fellows Gathering (May 5-7): For the past four months, Rising Voices has been supporting the fourth cohort of 10 Fellows, who have been participating in the Catalyst Program, a peer-learning initiative for Fellow from the Yucatan Peninsula and Chiapas working on their own community-based digital activism project. The group has been engaged in a peer learning process comprising virtual meetings and workshops. This gathering will offer the group an opportunity to meet and get to know each other in person, to reflect on the impact of their projects, and to look ahead to future activities.
Community Documentation (May 5-7): In collaboration with the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme, speakers of Mayan languages based across the state of Chiapas have been taking part in a six-session virtual workshop to learn about the techniques and strategies for documenting oral stories, with a strong focus on the protocols for community engagement, consent, and participation. A select group that completed the workshops series are being invited to take part in a three-day workshop to build upon these skills.
Artificial Intelligence + Indigenous Self-Determination (May 5-7): This three-day workshop will bring together Indigenous activists in Chiapas to explore how the use of Artificial Intelligence is being applied in Indigenous language revitalization. The participants will share their aspirations and concerns with one another, especially in regards to data sovereignty, environmental concerns, and inclusive participation, as well as to propose guiding principles based on Indigenous perspectives, which will allow them to assess whether these technologies are appropriate and beneficial for their communities.
Peer-learning Showcase (May 8): The Summit opens its doors to the general public with a participatory program featuring panels, demos, lightning-talks, and opportunities for networking. See here for the draft program. There will also be a musical performance by the band, Chanib Ok’iletik, which plays rock music in the Tsotsil language and which includes an alumnus from the Catalyst Program.
Digital Mayan Languages Fair (May 9): The final day of Summit will feature what is becoming a tradition as part of these Summits: an open fair where Mayan languages digital activists can showcase their projects using digital platforms to promote their languages. See here for the program with a list of stands. There will also be a digital security help desk provided by the organization La Sandía Digital, and a “bebeteca” (children's reading corner) offered by the publisher “La Casa Editorial Me’ K’inubal” providing a safe space for children to access books and other educational material in Mayan languages.
While the two public days are free and open to the public, we ask those interested to register here.
The Summit is made possible with the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and hosted at La Enseñanza, which is run by the Na Bolom Foundation in San Cristóbal. Additional programming support is made possible by the Pulitzer Center. Logistical support is provided by the Tequio Collective.
We look forward to welcoming you to San Cristóbal de las Casas. Please follow along on social media with the hashtag #ADLM26.
