Latest posts by Eddie Avila
How Balinese communities in Indonesia are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic
"COVID-19 mini-wikithons provide a safe space for people to talk in their native Balinese language about their challenges and coping strategies of the pandemic in Balinese communities."
Indian activists publish the first online magazine in the Santali language
Language activists from the eastern Indian state of Odisha have recently published the very first online magazine in the Santali language.
Uyghur emojis help spread message of cultural resistance over social media
Emojis representing Uyghur characters and culture are now available on the encrypted messenger platform Telegram in an effort by the Uyghur diaspora in Russian-speaking countries to raise visibility.
MarginalizedAadhaar: Digital identity in the time of COVID-19
India's digital identification system is putting marginalised communities at a greater disadvantage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Students arrested for demanding internet facilities in Balochistan
A number of students were manhandled, baton-charged and arrested in Quetta, Balochistan, for protesting against non-availability of internet after their classes shifted online due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Making Swahili visible: Identity, language and the internet
Swahili is the most widely spoken African language, but its visibility online is dismal. Kenyan language activist Bonface Witaba is working to change this.
A Yorùbá language activist strives for linguistic diversity in digital spaces
Adéṣinà Ọmọ Yoòbá, a Nigerian Yorùbá language and culture advocate, is keen to bridge the cultural and linguistic digital divide.
Who fact checks online disinformation in West Africa’s Bambara language?
Kpénahi Traoré, a language activist and journalist, battles the online dissemination of false information in Bambara, one of West Africa’s most widely spoken minority languages.
COVID-19 tune educates, empowers Indonesia’s remote Marapu community
"Let’s just stay at home. Let’s wash our hands diligently to protect our health and lives."
Promoting coronavirus education through indigenous languages
A new online initiative called virALLanguages is helping speakers of indigenous, minority, endangered and other marginalized languages create informational videos on coronavirus in their own languages.
A conversation with Udmurt language digital activist Artyom Malykh
"My primary motivation is to keep the language of my community alive. Udmurt must be used in as wide a variety of spaces as possible in order to ensure that it lives on."
‘Language revolt': This activist tweets against erasure of first languages in South Africa
A language reclamation activist confronts linguistic imperialism and the dehumanisation of two South African first languages through digital inclusion advocacy.
COVID-19: Switching online is not an option in conflict-stricken countries in the Middle East
While the internet provides a lifeline in wealthy countries during COVID-19, this is not the case in conflict-stricken countries in the Middle East.