The main goal of the the project is to promote the preservation and revitalization of the Mapuche language ‘Mapudungun’, targeting the Mapuche communities living in Chile and worldwide, and to raise awareness among Chileans about this ancient language. This project will assist the Mapuche communities in their effort to protect, preserve and assure the continued vitality of their linguistic and cultural heritage.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Online-Brussels-Santiago
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
The Mapuche are the indigenous inhabitants of Chile. Due to the poor economic situation, many of their communities are migrating to urban areas searching for better lives and new opportunities. The predominance of the Spanish language in all social interactions creates exclusion and loss of the Mapuche identity, especially outside the traditional Mapuche lands.The project intends to encourage Spanish speakers from Mapuche and Chilean communities
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
Mapudungun is more than a language since it carries unique histories, philosophies, ceremonies, and environmental knowledge that have been accumulated over the past centuries. The language constitutes the core and the foundations of the Mapuche identity and links it to the traditional Mapuche homelands. We intend to create a database with 400 words in Mapugundun shown interactively on the website.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.
The project intends to collaborate with media partners inside and outside of Chile, such as MO* in Belgium and I love Chile in Chile. In Belgium, possible partner NGOs are COMABE and FEWLA, which are representing the Mapuche people internationally. UNPO intends to work with lonkos and werkens from different Mapuche communities in Chile as partners of the project.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
UNPO represents the Mapuche people in Chile worldwide since 1993. We have established connections with different Mapuche organizations on the ground in Chile and in Europe. This project can reach over 1000 people due to its interactive character. Our previous work with Mapuche is available here: http://mapucherevival.org/
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
Rising Voices can provide a platform for our project by which we can promote our work and spread the message of preservation of endangered languages to other communities in the world. Rising Voices could raise awareness of the important work UNPO is doing on minority issues by including its expertise in reports and articles. Collaboration would furthermore be possible with regard to grassroots projects UNPO is involved in.
Contact name
Maud Vanwalleghem
Organization
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization