This project aims to complete all steps to ensure the presence of the Zapotec language in the digital world as it is in danger of disappearing. To achieve this, the project aims to build and strengthen the capabilities of a network of youth to make an audiovisual record of the Zapotec language with the help of an open source application for mobile phone called ojoVoz. Generated content will be published in real time on the platform of the virtual museum of the Zapotec language created in 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8qmCEc5eQs
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
San Andrés Paxtlán Oaxaca México
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
The project will strengthen the “diiste” variant of the zapotec spoken in six municipalities and 66 towns in the state of Oaxaca. The project will strengthen capacities of five groups of children and youth in the municipality of San Andrés Paxtlán (15 to 25 children and young people aged 8 to 18 years). Ten of these participants have already participated in the translation of free software in Zapotec and Mozilla Firefox. The training of young people and children Zapotec will ensure the preservation of the language for future generations. The decision to use mobile phones is because there is no internet signal in the community and only exist a limited number of computers, but the use of mobile phones are increased and the celular signal is present in certain areas of the community.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
The most important thing you need to know about ojoVoz is that the messages are always composed by a picture and a voice recording and additionaly the messages can be georeferenced. Based on the above, the groups trained will make audio visual recordings in Zapotec with Spanish translation of everyday images of the community as objects, people, plants, animals, holidays, traditions, short stories of sites, festivals, interviews and events community. Records created will be published on page Zapotec virtual museum, in a special space for so that visitors can see virtual images and sounds to your liking. Only published records that meet these conditions.
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 has the support and collaboration of the following working groups: Local authorities of the community and the municipality, Indigenous Without Borders, Eugenio Tisatelli and technical staff of Ojovoz, researchers and teachers of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and is expected have with supported of volunteers from outside of the community, mainly students from the region. For the dissemination of the Zapotec virtual museum it has the support of the the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples, the National Institute of Indigenous Languages and in the future is expected to contact and collaboration with the group Babel Initiative – Mexico of the UNESCO.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
The first stage of the project will seek to strengthen seed group 5-10 who have previously worked on the translation of free software, this group will accompany the process of training of other 5 groups of 5-10 people (children and youth of other 4 locations: El Carrizal, San Andres, La Cienega, La Venta and Portillo). In the training will have the participation of teachers and community leaders from the five locations, they help give visibility to the project. To ensure the success of permanence of the project, we are to invite established groups, such as, youth groups participating in the scholarship program for the promotion of education.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
The project will focus on strengthening the capacities of participants in the management of mobile for using ojovoz application. Additionally, users will be trained on issues related to the performance of audio recordings, photography, sound and script development and content. As OjoVoz is designed to support community projects in which use multiple phones, each shared by several users, it is essential that the project trained on issues related to organization, teamwork and the conditions of use the equipment. Experience in community organizing of the technical team give advantages for the implementation of this project.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
To implement the project only takes five mobile phones that have Android 2.2 + system or later, may be the following phones: HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy Mini, Galaxy Ace and some models of Sony Ericsson. For the delivery of the workshop will only be needed a projector and a computer, which in this case will be provided by the instructor and used the facilities of a cibercafe located in the town of Cienega is located 4 km from El Carrizal. They are compose your messages and store them in memory and send them when you are connected to the Internet, using the mobile broadband network or WiFi. The community has cell signal in parts and access to the wifi network is 7 km.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
I'm a community member and I speak the Zapotec languaje. For over 5 years I have promoted and development projects of free software to people from the village of San Andrés Paxtlán. During this period, together with the youth and children of the village have resulted the translation of TuxPain, TuxMath y Firefox, also, We have made three videos showing the life of the community and developed a virtual museum of Zapotec. In a second stage of the virtual museum is working to establish a physical museum in the Zapotec language, the first of its kind in Mexico. This museum is expected to open in December this year and is part of a long-term strategy to revitalize our language. These actions show my commitment.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
Risks that can present this project is the lack of interest that may be shown by the users, to reverse this situation the project will develop a promotion strategy for most people is aware that a project is implemented. Another major risk is that parents do not accept that children and especially girls participate in a working group, which will seek to give informative talks to the parents of the users concerned. Being part of the community and facilitate the adoption of the project by the actors involved.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
To measure the success of the project will establish a monitoring system impacts before the project starts. This monitoring system will be based on the establishment of five performance indicators, for which we establish a baseline and goals to be achieved. The indicators proposed are: # of participants who have adopted ojovoz tool for audio recordings of the Zapotec language, # of positive feedback received in the page that displays the audio recordings, # of participants who register their language a year after starting the project, # number of women who belong to the group of seekers of words and make records, # of records from other phones that are not in the project area.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2013?
Formation of the initial list of guests for the formation of seed group: June 11, 2013. Acquisition of five cellphones: June 12, 2013. Installing the application of ojovoz, equipment configuration and adaptation of web site: 13 – June 18, 2013. Training workshop and production of seed of Carrizal Paxtlán group: 21 to 23 June 2013. Registration, commissioning and testing period of the first group: June 23 to August 22. Promotion of the project in four locations: creating posters, visiting the working groups, community education, formation of four stakeholder groups for training: August 10 – 15 2013. Training workshop of the four working groups in La Cienega Paxtlán, 23 to 25 August 2013. Field evaluation of the five working groups, emission measurement indicators and recommendations, proposals for improvement, high and low users, in October 2013.
Detail a specific budget of up to $4,000 USD for operating costs.
Acquisition of five cell phones: 1, 100 USD. Annuity Purchase an exclusive website of the project: 205 USD. First training workshop (5-10 participants) 200 USD (includes materials and coffee breaks of three days). 2nd Workshop training of the four working groups (20-50 participants) 400 USD (includes materials, coffee break three days and transportation of participants). Transfers promotion organizer in 5 locations, phone ownership, conducting workshops and evaluation meetings (4): 400 USD. Ojovoz Creator Visit the community to share experiences: 400 USD. Development of diplomas and banner material and exposure: 150 USD.
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
Disseminating and promoting the project through its website and by contacting similar projects
Contact name
Rodrigo Pérez Ramírez
Organization
Colectivo Indígenas sin Fronteras
2 comments
Es un exelente proyecto en la medida que permite el acceso a unidades moviles tan utilizadas por la población, en particular los jovenes. La conservación, promoción y difusón de la lengua materna a través de estos medios permite la reproducción de la identidad del Pueblo Zapoteco, en particular para la población migrante. La Sierra Sur es una región expulsora de mano de obra, en particular jovenes, los cuales buscan por todos los medios no perder contacto con su pueblo y su región, por ello el uso de nuevas tecnoligías de la información y la comunicación se vuelven indispensables en estos tiempos.
Saludos y espero se apoye esta importante iniciativa de conservación de la lengua materna y la identidad de los pueblos indígenas de México.
Saludos
I wish the organization Rising Voices Microgrants 2013 support this project “Audio Visual Record of the Zapotec Language”.
. I strongly believe that the project is a very useful avenue for people know to reality OF San Andres Paxtlan, about their culture, agricultural, and environmental and enable preserve the Zapotec Language