The Right to Speak Ik will mobilize, build capacity and create awareness for a handful of remaining Ik speakers in Uganda’s remotest region of Karamoja to use Digital technologies particularly mobile phones, digital cameras and micro blogs to not only document and preserve important ancestral knowledge and cultural wealth found in the endangered IK language but also encourage the next generation of speakers.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Karamoja
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
Ik is listed among the severely endangered languages by the UNESCO Atlas of World’s Languages in danger. Considered unique, vital, and prestigious, Ik is spoken by a hand full of Ik people. The Ik are subsistence farmers; they live isolated from other groups due to the geographic location and different culture. Only few Ik are educated and speak English. Ik villages have no access to internet, radio and television and only one telephone network.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
The Ik would like to have the Bible, schoolbooks, and a dictionary in Ik; their strong desire is that the children learn how to read and write in Ik. The project will also create Literacy training clubs and a local community radio audio podcasts. The History, language, original food, traditional, original Cultural Practices and the Tourism Potential of Ik villages will be the main focus of the microblogs, photography and audio podcasts created.
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.
We will work with BloggersUG working group to facilitate trainings, moderate content and provide ongoing support. Open Space Centre the implementing organization has experience working in nearby districts in Abim and Pader which border the target district. Local NGOs will provide ongoing support, assist in identification of participants in the trainings, introductions with local leaders and heads of families, churches and schools.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
20 participants including Teachers, community elders & youth will be trained and these will be sourced through recommendations and consultations with institutions already working in the area. We will sustain their participation through setting up local Ik museum/library in partnership with the Catholic church in the area encourage community ownership and attract tourists. Ik are willing to volunteer for projects to improve their living situation
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
Rising Voices can support the program through providing links to free training guides from past similar trainings, access and contacts to rising voices grantees who are doing similar work for sharing good case practices and help feature and promote the content generated from the project.
Contact name
Wakibu Bunnya
Organization
Open Space Centre