When Universal acceptance meets Digital inclusion – WS 06 2023

21 June 2023 | 12:15 - 13:15 EEST | WS room 1
Consolidated programme 2023 overview / Workshop 6

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Working title: Universal acceptance of the IDN special character and promotion of indigenous languages
Proposals:

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Session teaser

As the world races to connect the next billion, indigenous communities in Europe and worldwide face unique accessibility challenges ranging from connectivity, to language barriers due to the lack of universal acceptance of their Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). How can stakeholders help achieve a digital transformation that offers and promotes cultural and linguistic diversity to ensure meaningful access and full participation for all?

Session description

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Background: The interconnectedness of multilingualism, digital transformation, and indigenous languages is more important today than ever before. The impact of digital tools, content, and processes on indigenous languages is profound, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Integrating native languages into digital spaces is essential for the preservation and revitalization of cultural heritage. Creating digital tools that support indigenous languages, such as language keyboards, translation and other apps, and voice recognition systems can enable indigenous communities to communicate, express themselves, and interact with the digital world in their native tongues. This promotes linguistic diversity, reinforces cultural identity, and guarantees the survival of indigenous languages in the digital era. However, there are significant obstacles to overcome. The limited availability of digital content in indigenous languages hinders indigenous communities' access to information and knowledge. Promoting inclusivity and representation offers yet another challenge to develop and curate digital content that reflects indigenous cultures, histories, and perspectives. Not least the narrow definition of Universal Acceptance (UA) also offers a bottleneck on its own merit. UA aims to include a wide range of languages and scripts, nevertheless, there might be certain scripts or languages that are not adequately supported or standardized yet. Involving indigenous communities in the development and localization of digital processes and tools is crucial for ensuring their applicability, efficiency, and suitability. Collaboration between linguists, technologists, private companies, governments, International Organizations, and indigenous communities can result in the creation of digital solutions that are culturally sensitive and contextually appropriate, thus meeting the requirements and aspirations of indigenous language speakers. Objectives: The primary objectives of this workshop are to: Discuss the significance of promoting indigenous languages in the digital era for the attainment of sustainable development goals. Discuss the context of indigenous languages vis-à-vis digital inclusion, primarily focusing on UA, digital products, and services for indigenous communities. Raise awareness regarding the significance of digital inclusion for the promotion of indigenous languages. Determine the key opportunities and obstacles associated with digital inclusion and attaining universal acceptance. Identify potential solutions and initiatives to support the preservation and revitalization of indigenous languages and to promote the use of the IDN special character. Develop a roadmap for UA in Europe and beyond.

Format

Please try out new interactive formats. EuroDIG is about dialogue not about statements, presentations and speeches. Workshops should not be organised as a small plenary.

The panel will comprise of 4-minute “keynotes” followed by a series of 3 Minute statements from experts with relevant knowledge or experience on digital inclusion and/or UA. These shared perspectives, ideas, and experiences on the subject will be fed into a free-flowing debate on the subject to share their insights, breakthroughs, and perspectives on digital inclusion in Europe and beyond.

Questions to be addressed How is digital inclusion conceptualized in the International Decade for Indigenous Languages? Complexities associated with digital inclusion of the indigenous people? Is the current definition of UA adequate? Is there a need to expand this debate, beyond the current stakeholders? How to address the issue of acceptance of UA? Is the existing context of digital inclusion sufficient to address the need of the indigenous community, especially among those who are primarily responsible to draft policies on multilingualism, including that in cyberspace? Where does UA stand in the current debate on Internet governance? Are there any notable challenges or considerations specific to mobile applications and universal acceptance?

Agenda :

• Opening Statement: UNESCO (ADG/CI: Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, Video message) 4”
• Views from the ground (what the unserved want) 3”

Journalist

• Digital inclusion and UA through the lenses of UI and UX (3” each)

Peloton Multilingual Programming Language Steve Poulson Keyman Initiative Marc Durdin

• Stakeholder perspectives on digital inclusion and Universal Acceptance and policies 3” each

ICANN (Edmund Chung or Anil Kumar Jha) IGF (Nigel Hickson)

• Discussions: 30”
• Conclusions by a moderator: 3 minutes

Expected Outcomes: The contributions needed to promote indigenous languages in the digital era are identified. Policy and practical challenges and opportunities associated with attaining digital inclusion and universal acceptance for indigenous people are identified. Prospective initiatives and solutions to promote digital inclusion and UA to support the preservation and revitalization of indigenous languages identified.

Further reading

Links to relevant websites, declarations, books, documents. Please note we cannot offer web space, so only links to external resources are possible. Example for an external link: Main page of EuroDIG

• Los Pinos declaration
• UNESCO’s 2003 Recommendation on concerning the promotion and use of Multilingualism in the cyberspace
• The Global Action Plan for the Decade
• Universal Acceptance (UA)

People

Please provide name and institution for all people you list here.

SME

• Minda Moreira

The Subject Matter Experts (SME) support the programme planning process throughout the year and work closely with the Secretariat. They give advice on the topics that correspond to their expertise, cluster the proposals and assist session organisers in their work. They also ensure that session principles are followed and monitor the complete programme to avoid repetition.

Focal Point

• Bhanu Neupane

Focal Points take over the responsibility and lead of the session organisation. They work in close cooperation with the respective Subject Matter Expert (SME) and the EuroDIG Secretariat and are kindly requested to follow EuroDIG’s session principles

Organising Team (Org Team) List Org Team members here as they sign up.

• Amali De Silva-Mitchell
• Roberto Gaetano
• Alberto Masini
• Dušan Stojičević
• Rajinder Jhol
• Nigel Hickson
• Sarmad Hussain
• Richard Delmas
• Steve Poulson
• David Castillo

The Org Team is a group of people shaping the session. Org Teams are open and every interested individual can become a member by subscribing to the mailing list.

Key Participants

Key Participants are experts willing to provide their knowledge during a session – not necessarily on stage. Key Participants should contribute to the session planning process and keep statements short and punchy during the session. They will be selected and assigned by the Org Team, ensuring a stakeholder balanced dialogue also considering gender and geographical balance. Please provide short CV’s of the Key Participants involved in your session at the Wiki or link to another source.

• Dr Tawfik Jelassi UNESCO ADG/CI Opening Statement, Video message
• Journalist (Name TBC)
• Peloton Multilingual Programming Language Steve Poulson
• Keyman Initiative Marc Durdin
• ICANN (Edmund Chung or Anil Kumar Jha)
• IGF (Nigel Hickson)

Moderator Roberto Gaetano

The moderator is the facilitator of the session at the event. Moderators are responsible for including the audience and encouraging a lively interaction among all session attendants. Please make sure the moderator takes a neutral role and can balance between all speakers. Please provide short CV of the moderator of your session at the Wiki or link to another source.

Remote Moderator

Trained remote moderators will be assigned on the spot by the EuroDIG secretariat to each session.

Reporter

Reporters will be assigned by the EuroDIG secretariat in cooperation with the Geneva Internet Platform. The Reporter takes notes during the session and formulates 3 (max. 5) bullet points at the end of each session that:

• are summarised on a slide and presented to the audience at the end of each session
• relate to the particular session and to European Internet governance policy
• are forward looking and propose goals and activities that can be initiated after EuroDIG (recommendations)
• are in (rough) consensus with the audience

Current discussion, conference calls, schedules and minutes

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• dates for virtual meetings or coordination calls
• short summary of calls or email exchange

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Additional Information Preserving indigenous languages needs innovating Multilingual approaches in digital content and user interfaces to promote equitable access to digital services. This includes providing digital services in indigenous languages to ensure the participation and engagement of indigenous communities. By embracing linguistic diversity, digital transformation becomes more inclusive, empowering marginalized communities. Digital platforms facilitate the preservation and sharing of indigenous knowledge and enable indigenous communities to be active participants in the digital economy. Advancements in language technologies and localization efforts further enhance the accessibility and usability of indigenous languages in digital environments. Promoting linguistic diversity and valuing indigenous languages in the digital era contribute to cultural preservation and inclusive development. Even though digital technologies can aid in promoting the use and preservation of indigenous languages, the lack of standardization and Universal Acceptance of these languages in the digital ecosystem also remains a significant obstacle. Promoting linguistic diversity and assuring that digital products and services are accessible to all users requires multilingualism. Especially for indigenous communities, the lack of multilingualism in the digital ecosystem can be a barrier to digital inclusion. Bearing in mind that the revitalization of Indigenous languages requires a sustained effort by Indigenous Peoples, Member States and the United Nations system, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues recommended the UN General Assembly proclaim an International Decade on Indigenous Languages in 2019 (see E/C.19/2019/10, para 22). As recommended by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the UN General Assembly proclaimed in 2019 through Resolution A/74/396 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032). Achieving Universal Acceptance for indigenous languages – in its widest connotation – is a crucial step in fostering linguistic diversity in the digital ecosystem. Universal Acceptance is the capacity of a digital product or service to support all characters and scripts used across all languages and scripts. Due to the lack of standardization of writing systems and the limited resources available for the development of digital tools and services in these languages, however, achieving Universal Acceptance for indigenous languages presents unique obstacles. It is important to promote digital inclusion, multilingualism, and Universal Acceptance in order to protect indigenous languages. Policies and regulations can significantly contribute to achieving these goals. Multistakeholder processes are needed to develop policies and regulations that support the development of digital tools and services in indigenous languages, encourage multilingualism in the digital ecosystem, and guarantee Universal Acceptance of these languages and scripts. Digital tools and services (UI and UX) can support the use and preservation of indigenous languages, promote multilingualism in the digital ecosystem, and guarantee Universal Acceptance of indigenous languages and scripts. Nevertheless, it is crucial to ensure that these tools and services are available, affordable, and user-friendly for all users.

Messages

A short summary of the session will be provided by the Reporter.

Video record

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Transcript

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