This white paper seeks to unpack the use of Indigenous or non-majority language in the existing digital landscape.
This ties into ideas about digital colonialism (Kwett, 2022), wherein hegemonic, or dominant, languages are threatening and jeopardising the ability for local language speakers to express themselves and communicate in digital spaces. We hope to analyse a sample of existing scholarship on digital inclusion to examine how it plays out specifically through the use of local language on social media. We map key issues at work when local languages are used on social media platforms. These may concern issues that build on the theme of the digital divide to raise questions about digital equality, participation, citizenship, belonging and identity. Through this white paper, we aim to understand how the digital onboarding of language may empower, limit, extend and enrich user engagement. We also seek to unpack themes of access, safety and usability that the average user in these contexts may experience when using digital platforms for communication and daily life.
The Digital Trade Alliance is a collaborative effort of digital rights and consumer groups assembled in 2018. The Alliance model provides effective advice and expertise to us in order to structure the transnational debate on digital trade.
Data Zetu (“Our Data” in Swahili) aims to empower communities to make better, more evidence-based decisions to improve their lives.
Bookshare makes reading easier. People with dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers can customize their experience to suit their learning style and find virtually any book they need for school, work, or the joy of reading.
Immi helps immigrants understand their rights and options during the immigration process. The website’s guided process helps users determine their path to legal immigration, and offers a list of organisations and self-help resources.
A commitment to make digital technologies work for, not against, democracy and human rights. It underlines the joint responsibility of governments, multilateral organizations, civil society, and technology companies to develop and use digital technologies to the benefit of democracy and human rights.