Wikimedia Diversity Conference 2013/Documentation/Andres Maggese Preservation of indigenous languages through wikipedia

Session: Andrés Maggese // Preservation of indigenous languages through Wikipedia

Abstract

The presentation will focus on Andrés Maggese’s work with children in schools in Argentina. Many children are of Guaraní or Quechua descent and still speak these languages besides Spanish, but most of them did not know about Wikipedia’s existence in their native languages. Over the last few months, Maggese and his partner have introduced them to these language versions of Wikipedia and taught them how to edit. The presentation will show the steps they took, the ensuing results so far and their expectations for the future.

Starting point / Insights

• Program to promote Wikipedia in schools (and targeting Quechua and Guarani languages)
• Indigenous languages are disappearing
• Argentina gov give netbooks to kids, helps enable (but teachers don't know how to use, kids play games on netbooks)
• Quechua and Guarani people.... kids are shy speaking the languages, prefer Spanish.

Challenges

• Wikimedians don't speak languages well.
• Not many experts available.
• Even for native people, languages are difficult to write and are disappearing.
• The communities are not used to the Internet and computers.

Ideas

Goals:

• Wikipedia be more welcoming of newcomers
• Improve use of wikipedia in classroom
• Help preserve languages
• Older people may have knowledge, kids know computers, maybe together they can contribute to wikipedia

Topics kids like:

• Sports
• Current events
• Television
• Internet topics
• Video games
• Famous people
• Popular historical figures

Encourage them with historical figures but any topic is fine, helps engage the kids. Kids are reading and using wikipedia. Kids edit Spanish wikipedia and small changes in indigenous languages.

Questions / Next steps recommendations

Recipe for success:

• for children, it has to be fun and useful
• will give tools and help kids in future
• help them get better grades in school
• don't force kids
• not homework
• if they edit in indigenous languages, they get extra credit

Comment: Quechua is an oral language Timeline of project? Started year and half ago Numbers for effectiveness? number of articles change a lot, number of kids increase, he visits school every two months to follow-up. Knows the user names of students, but not using wiki metrics yet. What support from wikimedia community? one man project? or what? What barriers when kids edit? notability?

Kids wants to participate because it's fun