Wikimedia Blog/Drafts/Wikipedia en wayuunaiki

Title ideas

• The Wayuunaiki-speaking community gears up to have their own Wikipedia
• Wayuunaiki Wikipedia

Summary

Academics, students and Wayuunaiki-speaking wikipedians gathered in the venezuelan western city of Maracaibo to discuss what it takes to organize as a digital community.

Body

'In Maracaibo a project for the creation of a "Wayuunaiki Wikipedia", presentation attended by teachers of the intercultural area, professionals from the Catholic University Cecilio Acosta (UNICA) representatives of the Zulia University and language scholars. Those who debated about the creation of an encyclopedia in the Wayuu language, with the support of Wikimedia Venezuela, an organization that promotes the creation of the Wikipedia aiming to strengthen the language and that serves as a tool to create a space on the web for content creation free to protect the knowledge of the Wayuu people.

The first to expose his idea was professor José Álvarez, recognized linguist and scholar of the Wayuu language who manages various studies and compilations, such as the computer dictionary in Wayuunaiki, which was created to be included among the contributions that seek to make the Wayuunaiki venture into spaces such as technology. During the presentation of the project, the professor stresses that to elaborate strategies that seek to enforce knowledge that the teachers handle on the writing of the Wayuunaiki to then focus efforts on editing the articles and thus move forward with great strides. In alliance with the educational sector and indigenous institutions and achieve that Wikipedia Wayuunaiki is used in schools and by everyone, in addition to speak Wayuunaiki can write and read it.

Afterwards, MSc José Ángel Fernández coordinator of the socio-anthropological studies department of the Public Library María Calcaño of the Zulia state spoke about the importance of creating a Wayuunaiki Wikipedia with a view to strengthen the written use of the language in new spaces such as the digital. After reciting a part of a poem in Wayuunaiki and playing the massi, a Wayuu musical instrument, the teacher invited the present teachers to appropriate the project and be part of that innovative process in relation to the language. Likewise professor Luis Gonzalez also spoke, president of the Indigenous Foundation for the culture development and own education (FUINCEP), who proposed to develop strategies for the Wayuunaiki Wikipedia to contribute to the strengthening of their education and that educational institutions be the ones that develop and also promote the project so it is expanded to Wayuu children.

Last, professor and Zulia Universitity representantive Nemesio Montiel, spoke, who offered the logistic and institutional support of the Zulia University to support the effort of Wikimedia Venezuela to create the Wayuunaiki Wikipedia; he also emphasized in proposing the scholars of said university to support the research part.

• Know their opinion as teachers and persons that have long studied and worked with the Wayuu language
• Plan strategies to make that Wikipedia avances with other ontributions.
• Because as José Álvarez said, we must create a community and further link the teachers with the writing because sadly, to put it in a way, there a Wayuus that do not know how to write Wayuunaiki properly, according to the alphabet and the works that already exist on the language. Everyone can speak that language but they do not know how to write it, then we realize that the work of intercultural schools, teachers, universities and scholars is not having the results they expect.
• We can articulate well so that we have a good experience with the schools because I say that they are the basis of everything for the Wayuunaiki Wikipedia to reach where it really belongs. Wikipedia Offline could be used in rural areas and others
• Yendry and Luis will be meeting with teachers to plan something in a school and provide them with a writing workshop with the support of José Ángel Fernández, and when the next edithaton is done everthing has a base. We are thinking about selecting from the group that assisted a number of teachers and working with them directly plus others who will join later. Also doing things in the Colombian Guajira, but that will be later, there is equal receptivity there.

Jamez42, member of Wikimedia Venezuela