Many languages are today in danger of falling into disuse. A majority of these are indigenous languages. The gradual disappearance of languages, particularly indigenous ones, is connected to the structural discrimination to which they have been subjected, to the vulnerable situation of the language’s speakers. To put it another way, the actual use of indigenous languages in everyday life depends on the daily reality of their socio-cultural, economic, political, technological, environmental and demographic situations.
That’s why, as part of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2022 Special Track on ITCs and Indigenous Languages, WSIS, UNESCO, in collaboration with the sponsors, ISOC and Nokia, and the organizers, HackerEarth, launched an online hackathon to ideate and create ICT solutions that contribute to the intergenerational transmission, preservation, revitalization, and promotion of indigenous languages.
The event kicked off on the 18th of April, 2022, and over the course of 4 weeks, 691 developers from across 78 countries participated in the hackathon and built solutions in 3 key challenge areas: Knowledge, Empowerment and Preservation.
These key domains are aligned with the Global Action Plan of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, which defines a strategic framework outlining major actions and guidelines on implementation, monitoring and evaluation of activities for UN-system entities, national governments, indigenous peoples’ organizations, civil society, academia, the private sector and other actors.
As the event progressed, developers were supported with mentoring sessions featuring experts in the field of indigenous languages and technology. Each session offered guidance and breakout rooms with the judges.
HackerEarth provides an online and inclusive platform where every stakeholder can take part. This stimulates creativity, originality of ideas and knowledge sharing.
Jo Hironaka,
Programme Specialist
Digital Innovation and Transformation
Communication and Information Sector
UNESCO
On the submission deadline on 11th May, the finalists submitted their prototypes to the judges.The judges were left with the rather difficult job of identifying the very best idea, from a group of insightful and thoughtfully built solutions.
The judges announced one winner for each challenge area, and each winner received a cash prize of $1000, and a 6 month mentorship opportunity with Nokia to prepare their concept for release.
Looking back, the WSIS Forum 2022, in partnership with ITU, UNESCO, Nokia, ISOC and HackerEarth created an opportunity for developers all over the world to build valuable solutions to keep indegenous languages alive, and pave the way towards a more inclusive world where one’s languages aren’t an impediment to their growth, development or inclusion in society!
This is the 2nd hacakthon we’ve organized with HackerEath. In both cases, we had amazing projects submitted from more than 70 countries. The global reach was great! The overall marketing and project management was terrific – the project manager was always making sure that our needs are met as expected.
Jo Hironaka,
Programme Specialist
Digital Innovation and Transformation
Communication and Information Sector
UNESCO
