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Giving Voice: Service Transforms Life for Hearing Impaired

Myagmarsuren Battur

August 17, 2021 |

Global Press Journal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mongolia, Darkhan, Darkhan-UUL Province

The Mongolian Association of Sign Language Interpreters launched a free social media service that provides interpreters for people with hearing impairments. Using Facebook Messenger, the service allows clients to use video calls to talk with a sign language interpreter, who then reaches out to an institution or an individual on the client’s behalf. The initiative has six sign language interpreters and has fielded 3,543 calls. Interpreters help people get information and resolve problems, with most clients seeking assistance communicating with medical professionals and government welfare offices.

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Hey Siri, Learn to Speak Kinyarwanda

Tolu Olasoji

July 13, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Rwanda

Common Voice is an open-source initiative to capture more languages for voice-recognition software. Users “donate” their voices by recording themselves reading text out loud. They can also validate the accuracy of already donated voices. The platform has over 9,000 hours of voice data for 90 languages contributed by more than 166,000 people. The group runs creative campaigns to encourage native speakers to contribute, like “Digital Umuganda” in Rwanda, which is a play on a national holiday when people engage in community service. The campaign gathered over 1,700 hours of Kinyarwanda language from 840 people.

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People Are Using an Ancient Method of Writing Arabic to Combat AI Censors

Hakim Bishara

May 19, 2021 |

Hyperallergic |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Palestine

To get around algorithms that have flagged and removed Palestinian content, users on platforms like Facebook and Instagram are using an old version of Arabic, dating back at least a thousand years, that doesn’t have diacritical points (dots above or below letters). Converting Arabic into a dotless form in social media posts makes it much more challenging for AI machines to identify because they use a binary code to identify each letter.

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Learning Syilx teachings through EPIC program at Southern Okanagan Secondary School

Athena Bonneau

May 16, 2021 |

IndigiNews |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Oliver, British Columbia

The Experiential, Project-based, Indigenous and Community (EPIC) program was designed to strengthen connections with Indigenous students and boost attendance at a high school in Oliver, B.C. The new program is offered to Indigenous and non-Indigenous students at Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Syilx/Okanagan territory. Through different activities students are encouraged to connect to Syilx culture and traditions.

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Alabama school district sees ‘overwhelming' need to teach ESL learners

Trisha Powell Crain

April 28, 2021 |

AL.com (Alabama Media Group) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Madison, Alabama

Across Alabama, districts are using summer school breaks as a chance to bridge learning gaps for elementary school students who struggled to adjust to remote schooling or didn’t get as much face time with teachers during the pandemic. In Madison, English-language learning students were able to participate in a summer program to practice their language skills while incorporating field trips and fun activities, like cooking.

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'One generation away'

Joseph Perez

April 11, 2021 |

Cronkite News - Arizona PBS |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Navajo Nation, United States, Tsaile, Arizona

Diné College, the first tribally-controlled accredited college, provides over 1,300 students with opportunities to learn cultural traditions and the Navajo language, alongside traditional academic subjects. The school helps preserve the Navajo language, arts, skills, and customs by teaching it to younger generations. Learning Navajo traditions and language helps students make stronger connections with elders and they find the Indigenous philosophies that the school was founded on useful for overcoming obstacles, like finding ways to continue their education during the coronavirus pandemic.

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‘Race against the clock': the school fighting to save the Ojibwe language before its elders pass away

Mario Koran

April 07, 2021 |

The Guardian |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Lac Courte Oreilles, Wisconsin

Waadookodaading is an Ojibwe immersion school that meets state and federal academic standards but does so entirely in the indigenous language by connecting children to their cultural heritage. The school goes through 8th grade and uses the forest as its classrooms where traditional ceremonies and practices are used to teach lessons. For example, students learn math while harvesting maple sap and wild rice and biology through practicing sustainable fishing and hunting. Community elders play an important role in passing on their knowledge to students and the 100 graduates provide hope for the language’s future

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A California union wants to help workers find better jobs after the pandemic. Here's how

Kim Bojórquez Jeong Park

April 07, 2021 |

Sacramento Bee |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

English language lessons and job-training programs are helping immigrants in the hospitality sector to pursue better employment opportunities. The Hospitality Training Academy is filling the need of non-English speaking immigrants who typically do not have access to job-training programs. The program is provided through a labor union but membership is not required.

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In France, Accents Are Now Protected by Law

Peter Yeung

April 02, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: France

The French National Assembly overwhelmingly passed “the Law to Promote the France of Accents,” which criminalizes discrimination against someone based on their accent. The bill makes linguistic discrimination, or “glottophobia,” an offense punishable by up to three years’ jail time and a fine of up to €45,000 (USD$54,000). Early indications of the law's impact include the normalizing of native accents in national discourse, the appointment of a Prime Minister with a strong accent, and the French national broadcaster FranceInfo’s naming “glottophobia” one of the words of 2020.

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To serve kids in the pandemic, a tribe and a Washington school district create a unique learning space

Dahlia Bazzaz

March 09, 2021 |

The Seattle Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Port Angeles, Washington

Leaders from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Port Angeles School District had a vision of creating a go-between space for students while school buildings were closed. Within the span of a month, this small community managed to create one.

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