Grants:Project/ISUR/Wikipedia women and ancestral knowledge from the global south in the Colombian context/Midpoint

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Report accepted
This midpoint report for a Project Grant approved in FY 2018-19 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.



Welcome to this project's midpoint report! This report shares progress and learning from the grantee's first 3 months.

Summary[edit]

During the development of this project we have supported and strengthened the educational, social and cultural processes carried out by women leaders who are part of the Wayuu people. Wikipedia has been the means and also the way to enhance the voices and participation of women at the community level. During the different activities we have convened knowledge meeting spaces in which we have had discussions, reflections and training. We have also edited, created and improved Wikipedia articles both in Spanish and in the Wayuunaiki version -Wikiakua'ipa-. All the work done is based on reliable sources on different topics that have been of interest at the community level and have allowed a cultural and linguistic consolidation that has also served as input for Wikipedia.

  • Participants of women as agents and with active roles in the formulation, design, undertaking and inclusion of Wikipedia within the community activities.
  • Development of own research processes within the Wayuu community and commitments of continuity of the project from the local level.
  • 17 new editors for the Wikiakua'ipa project (no desertion from the workshop cycle of any participant).
  • Restructuring of Wikiakua'ipa [Wikipedia in Wayuunaiki]

  • Between 80 and 100 participants in 24 workshops on research and digital literacy.
  • 8 workshops with a gender focus.
  • 15 workshops on digital literacy.
  • 505 articles on Wikiakua'ipa [+10 created by different editors and publishers]
  • All activities have a component that promotes the use of indigenous languages on the Internet.
  • Scope of objectives set according to the agendas of the participants (Wikimedia Colombia, ISUR, indigenous peoples)
  • Editing and writing articles for Wikipedia in wayuunaiki

  • Editing and writing articles for Wikipedia in Spanish

  • Training in different topics related to social participation through Wikipedia

  • Use of participatory research-action techniques and methods


Methods and activities[edit]

This project is developed in different territories where indigenous populations have been settled for hundreds of years. In principle, we carried out a bibliographic review with the objective of having a theoretical approach and identifying instruments, guides and research methodologies for the development of tasks and scope of the proposed objectives. However, taking into account that this is a participatory research in a multicultural context and conducted by members of some indigenous communities, the number of bibliographic sources and input material is notably reduced in theoretical terms, methodological and primary or secondary sources available. Concretely, in this project there are different systems of knowledge: the academic or western one and the one of the indigenous peoples. These systems have differences in terms of norms, definitions, concepts, objectives and practices, among others. In general, different models developed from different social science disciplines with particular conceptual and methodological adaptations have been applied.

Several activities carried out so far are based on participatory action-research methods. Similarly, this process has as its foundation and central axis the component of education and media and information literacy. The activities developed seek, on the one hand, the revitalization, promotion, use and recognition of the knowledge of indigenous communities as a collective work and, on the other hand, the promotion of skills in relation to social participation through and for the use of digital platforms and Wikimedia projects.

During this first phase, reflection revolves around the self, the recognition and documentation of local practices and knowledge, reflections on technologies and use of platforms for strengthening and empowerment, dialogue with other knowledge, social participation, as well as possible ways of making culture known, preserving and protecting what exists and what is conserved in the territories.

This is a research with a social focus, with a deep theoretical concern for the knowledge of what defines the realities of communities and participants. It seeks to understand the problems, conflicts, relationships and complexity from the local in the field of use, knowledge and social participation through new information technologies. It was necessary to undo the old hierarchy between the researchers and the researched and to propose another model in which all the participants are agents. Thus, it is proposed to build a collaborative space for meeting mutual knowledge, exchange under the premise of reciprocity, with shared rules, where we seek to work as a team and considering the realities of the participants. These are spaces in which the word is exercised, there is multiplicity of looks, knowledge and experiences.

This project is part of an exploratory research. The first approach consisted of meetings with female leaders in spaces where the initiative was presented, the areas of work of the research center, the work agendas as well as the interests and challenges involved in carrying out this project. During these conversations, agreements were reached and objectives were established that were prioritized according to their importance and urgency within the agendas of all participants.

In principle, a space was proposed for training, review of articles and construction of texts for Wikipedia in Wayuunaiki, which was carried out through the planning and execution of workshops within the framework of a cycle organized in four moments. The topics, dates, as well as the schedules were agreed in discussions and approved by all participants.

3.1. Cycle of workshops[edit]

3.1.1. Goals[edit]

This cycle addressed several topics that seek to train, inform and empower leaders through technical knowledge to participate in the Internet in indigenous languages. In this sense, we seek to support the different social, educational and cultural processes that take place in two native indigenous communities in Colombia to enhance the voices and participation of women leaders through the use of Wikipedia, so that participants know the project and, additionally, other activities are carried out to promote the development of digital skills with them.

In the same way, the workshops have been spaces of encounter, of construction of knowledge in which editions will be realized, articles of Wikipedia are created and improved with reliable sources on a specific subject and in relation to which a report of experiences will be realized on the exercises of technological empowerment of the indigenous communities and their contribution to the movement Wikimedia.

3.2. Research and strengthening of one's own[edit]

Taking into account what was agreed with the participants in these spaces, two axes of development of the project were established: 1) Training and media and information literacy, and 2) Research and strengthening of one's own.

The next step is to develop a research design that incorporates the use of methods and tools from the research tradition (empirical methods: participant observation, interviews, documentary review, among others), as well as the foundations of community research (social cartography, own orality, own history and culture, among others). Each workshop has a name, learning objectives and the knowledge consolidated in the practices are directly applied in the writing of articles for Wikipedia. In addition to this, each module has invited experts who have local work experience and who have been nominated by the network of work and support that arises from this project, who provide accompaniment and advice inside and outside the workshops. The objective is to provide community spaces with quality education that allows the empowerment of people as the driving force of the project.

Similarly, during the workshops different types of mapping and diagnosis have been carried out in terms of gaps in content, participation and access, and lack of information. It has also been identified that the contents being consulted have been constructed from places of enunciation that do not necessarily have the opinion of the inhabitants of the territory or the practitioners of the culture.

3.3. Activities[edit]

  • Consolidation of the work agenda based on the interests of Wikimedia Colombia, ISUR and indigenous communities. 

  • 9 Workshops on research methods in which 20 Wayuu leaders participated, a group of 15 students from the Universidad del Rosario, 50 eleventh grade students in San José del Guaviare, 30 participants from the Ibero-American Festival for the Installation of Free Software -FLISoL- and 15 participants from an Editatona. The specific themes and results of these workshops can be found below.
    • Topic 1: social mapping. Three workshops were held: one with the Wayuu group of publishers (20 people), another with students from the Universidad del Rosario (15 people) and another with eleven grade students in San José del Guaviare (50 people). These activities included mapping of internet connectivity in context, places and use of Wikipedia, Wikipedia users' profiles and interests, places and ways in which information is shared, and cultural dynamics in which knowledge is built and shared.
    • Topic 2: Interview. A workshop was held with the group of Wayuu publishers (20 people). The objective was to provide a basis for conducting interviews as a system for obtaining oral information and a formal approach to a specific topic. Subsequently, the editors conducted interviews with people from the community in order to get closer to topics and life stories.
    • Topic 3: Document Review
. Three workshops were held: one with the group of Wayuu publishers (20 people), one at FLISoL -Festival Iberoamericano de Instalación de Software Libre- with 30 people who had different profiles and one at the Editatona held at the Universidad del Rosario which was attended by 15 people. The objective was, on the one hand, to make a survey of documentation necessary for the development of subsequent editing activities; and also, in practice, to develop the skills necessary for research and later participation in Wikipedia.
    • Topic 4: Participatory design. This workshop was held with Wayuu women (20 people). During this activity, scenarios, actors and Wikipedia users were raised in the Wayuu context, taking into account the needs and uses that can be given to it.
    • Topic 5: Ethnography, participant observation and field diary
. This workshop was developed with the group of Wayuu publishers (20 people). The aim was to introduce participants to research techniques that can be used in their context and to strengthen locally relevant documentation and information. After the workshop, the editors made plans that included these techniques as an approach and systematization of knowledge.


  • 15 Digital Literacy Workshops.
    • Topic 1: Introduction to the projects of the Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikisource, Commons, Wikiviajes, Wikibooks, Wikispecies, Meta-wiki, Wikidata, Wikiquote, Wikinoticias, Wikiversidad and Mediawiki). This introduction took place in four scenarios: the group of Wayuu editors (20 people), in FLISoL -Festival Iberoamericano de Instalación de Software Libre- with 30 people, with students from the Universidad del Rosario (15 people) and with eleven grade students in San José del Guaviare (50 people). The participants explored the projects, created accounts and also began to contribute to some of them, such as Wikipedia and Commons.
    • Topic 2: What is Wikipedia and how does it work?
 This workshop was introductory in 5 workshops: 1) with the group of Wayuu editors (20 people), 2) in FLISoL -Festival Iberoamericano de Instalación de Software Libre- with 30 people, 3) with students from the Universidad del Rosario (15 people), 4) with eleven grade students in San José del Guaviare (50 people) and with participants from an editatona (15 people). In the end, we had about 130 people who knew how Wikipedia works; 50 of them created their profiles and began to contribute editing Wikipedia in Spanish and Wikiakua'ipa; so far 30 continue to contribute.
    • Topic 3: Diagnosis of contents. This activity has been developed in all the activities carried out. At least 50 people involved in the activities of this project have done exercises of evaluation of contents under the questions: Does it represent us? Does it express what we are and our history? Are local realities visible? Is the information true, reliable and valid.
    • Topic 4: Internet infrastructure and operation
.This workshop was held with the group of Wayuu editors (20 people) and also with the group of students of the Universidad del Rosario (15 people). As a result, the participants understood the functioning and infrastructure of the Internet, protocols and also the logic and mechanisms of access to information.
    • Topic 5: Digital security .
This workshop was conducted with the Wayuu editors (20 people). At the end of the workshop, the participants learned about safety recommendations and protocols in their navigations, good practices, and the possibility of anonymity was also discussed within projects of the Wikimedia movement.
    • Topic 6: Audiovisual creation and production
. The workshop was given with the group of Wayuu editors. The aim was to give tools and also introduce participants to aspects of audiovisual production such as formats, content, other narratives and material that can enhance local practices and can be included in Wikipedia. At the end there were audio, video and photographic records of the workshop as well as some local knowledge and practices. Videos of all the participants about the project and the experience were also compiled.
    • Topic 7: Writing editing plans and projects on the web
. This workshop was developed with the group of Wayuu editors (20 people). The objective was to introduce and orient, from local agendas and possibilities, the incorporation of wikimedia projects in order to make the dynamics and knowledge of the context visible in other spaces. In the end, the publishers built educational, cultural and economic plans, among others, in which the main axis is editions and projects on the web.
    • Topic 8: Grammar
. This workshop is not yet developed, however it will be developed with Wayuu publishers. It will be undertaken by the participating linguists and will aim at consolidating rules for writing and writing articles within Wikiakua'ipa.



Midpoint outcomes[edit]

The results obtained so far are presented both qualitatively and quantitatively. The achievements to date are presented in detail below.

4.1. Wikipedia editing workshops with a gender focus[edit]

So far 8 workshops have been developed in different cities of the country. In our workshops there are no limitations to participate, however, we decided that we were going to invest the amount of participation that, in terms of gender, prevails in Wikipedia, so that of the 100% of participants, at least 90% are women. The number of participants varies between 80 and 100 people.

  • Workshop wikipedia edition with a gender approach FLISoL Bogotá 2019
  • Workshop: How does the internet work and what is Wikipedia? Universidad del Rosario, May 2019.
  • Meetings with leaders of indigenous communities
    • Guajira, May 2019
    • Jambalo, june 2019 [For security reasons images cannot be shared]
  • Call for workshops in Maicao, La Guajira
  • Editatona, June 2019
  • Workshop 1 Wayuu women, July 2019
  • Workshop 1 young people in Guaviare, August 2019
  • Workshop 2 Wayuu women, Aug 2019
  • Workshop 3 Wayuu women, September 2019
  • Editatona whit gender focus, September 2019

4.2. New editors[edit]

We have 17 new publishers contributing to the Wikipedia project in Wayuunaiki. Similarly, we have involved several publishers and editors in the process of training, accompaniment and mentoring of new contributors, and also with new contributors and content to Wikipedia in Spanish. Our summaries in this etherpad.

4.3. Indigenous languages on the Internet[edit]

During all activities and within the established objectives we include the use of indigenous languages on the Internet. So far, Wikipedia has been the end for, in addition to writing and sharing ancestral knowledge, to have another field of communication and social interaction in which indigenous peoples use their languages.

From experience we have worked on the Wikipedia incubator project in Wayuunaiki. The use of Wikipedia in Wayuunaiki has also generated the opening of other spaces and linguistic strengthening, as well as balancing little by little spaces that had been opened to dominant languages such as English or Spanish. All material and compilations have been made in the original language. In addition to textual, orality has also prevailed as a tool for transmitting and preserving knowledge.

In the following activities we will work on ten articles on indigenous languages spoken in Colombia and found on Wikipedia in Spanish. These activities will be developed with speakers of these languages and the objective is to update and complete the information, integrate the knowledge of speakers of the languages and include audiovisual material (images and audios).

4.4. Inclusion of Wikipedia as a source of information in local contexts, contributing to the knowledge of communities and as a means for own research.[edit]

Wikipedia ends up being the vehicle for numerous activities that have arisen during the development of the project. On the one hand, we find the analysis and diagnosis of the contents that are hosted in the encyclopedia, these contents are questioned and from this have emerged several questions that have served as inspiration for the approach of research on local and external knowledge. In addition to this, spaces for reflection have been generated around the use of Wikipedia in other social spheres and a way of revitalising both languages and cultural practices.

In relation to the contents and articles written so far, there are 8 new articles and at least 10 that are in draft form. The topics of the articles are of community interest and have emerged as priorities within the community agenda of the Wayuu people.


New wikiakua'ipa articles

4.5. Change of work plans with the Nasa people[edit]

Since the planning of this project, meetings and encounters with several indigenous communities had been established, however, for reasons of time and as a pilot experience, we decided to work specifically with two: the Nasa people and the Wayuu people.

The decision was made because, in principle, we did a mapping of Wikipedia initiatives in indigenous languages spoken in Colombia and found that the only projects in the incubator are Wayuunaiki and Nasayuwe, which supported the reasonableness of the choice. This report presents in detail the development of the project with the Wayuu people, because, for different reasons, the work with the Nasa people had to be cancelled.

The Nasa people allowed us to socialize the project in the month of March, in a meeting in which they expressed their interest in continuing the work of which we had spoken before, so they asked us to hold the first workshop with women in the month of May. The leaders of the cabildo undertook the commitment to convene the people who fulfilled the profile to participate in the workshops. In the month of May we moved to the territory to hold the workshop, however, we found the following situations:

  • Extraordinary difficulties during the journey to reach the place where the workshop would be held (Jambaló, Cauca).
  • Difficulties of public order in the environment, such as harassment and serious threats to indigenous leaders.
  • The need for the urgent activation of a security protocol.
  • The leaders did not convene people with the agreed profile (nasayuwe speakers, literacy, women interested in promoting the use of their language and culture in Wikimedia projects) and, at the last moment, invited people who did not have the profiles necessary for the development of the activities.

For the above reasons, including that during the coming months the governorate of Jambaló will be in transition to a new administration, we decided that as long as the community is not organized, shows interest in the workshops and there are no minimum security conditions for their development, it is not convenient to return to Nasa territory.

It is clear that the postponement or definitive cancellation of the planned work with the Nasa people impacts at least 35% of the activities and objectives proposed in this project. However, a couple of alternative or substitute plans were proposed that we unified and will be the new roadmap for the continuity of the project. The continuity revolves around the production of editions and contributions to wikipedia in Spanish from the local knowledge of other communities that, in addition, are speakers of indigenous languages of Colombia, so it is planned to hold workshops in Bogota to which different actors and speakers of indigenous languages will be convened.

4.6. Methodological guides for the development of workshops[edit]

Each of the sessions has involved the planning of guidelines for the development of activities and achievement of objectives. Each workshop has had its planning, documentation and also collective construction of a memory. The activities documented and in which the methodological guides are found are listed below.

4.7. Protocol[edit]

4.7.1. Ethics Protocol[edit]

The project involves working with indigenous communities, which is why, building on the experience and legacy of previous research in indigenous territories, consideration of a code of ethics is necessary. In this research, when we speak of ethics, we refer to the mechanisms implemented to make effective the values and ethical principles of the research center in Internet and Society of the University of Rosario in the indigenous territories and with the populations with which activities are developed. The mechanisms include codes of conduct, formal documentation, data processing, training programs, advisory services, decision-making, management, among others.

The ethics protocol was developed by the coordination of the project, was put into consideration by the indigenous communities, who proposed several changes and corrections. The ethics protocol consists of the ethical considerations, the informed consent form, the submission letter, the description sheet of the ethical approaches of both the research and the research center. It was finally presented, evaluated and approved by the ethics committee of the Universidad del Rosario.

4.7.2. Security protocol[edit]

The security protocol seeks to make known the main preventive actions that must be developed while any of the special situations that affect public order and personal security are being carried out. It is addressed to all the researchers of the Centro de Internet y Sociedad of the Universidad del Rosario for any work that is carried out. The security protocol consists of three main moments: 1) prior to fieldwork; 2) during activities or mobilizations; and 3) after fieldwork.

Finances[edit]

Please take some time to update the table in your project finances page. Check that you’ve listed all approved and actual expenditures as instructed. If there are differences between the planned and actual use of funds, please use the column provided there to explain them.

Then, answer the following question here: Have you spent your funds according to plan so far? Please briefly describe any major changes to budget or expenditures that you anticipate for the second half of your project.

Learning[edit]

What are the challenges[edit]

6.2.1. Challenges related to the Wikimedia movement[edit]

To find an intermediate point that enables participation through orality in the projects of the Wikimedia Foundation, with the aim of strengthening the presence and participation of speakers of indigenous languages in the platform.

The foundation's projects should include other ways of understanding science, as well as ancestral knowledge such as that of indigenous peoples, and studies and projects being developed in different parts of the world should be taken into account as a primary source for the formulation of projects and lines of action at the global level.

What is happening with the rest of the languages on the Internet? What actions are being generated for the speakers of these languages to participate in the Internet from the Foundation? Faced with these questions, we believe that the Foundation should think about programs that facilitate the technical training of new contributors, the adaptability of programs and developments for speakers of indigenous languages, the involvement of the community in decision-making, and the impact of actions in terms of revitalization and use of indigenous languages in digital environments.

6.2.2. Community Challenges[edit]

Digital divide and infrastructure problem. The ancestral territory of the Wayuu people in Colombia is the Department of Guajira. In this department and many of its municipalities there are several challenges in terms of infrastructure, for example, several do not have infrastructure to supply the community with drinking water, mobility is very difficult and transportation is scarce. In terms of connectivity, there are several projects that promote the use of the Internet and connection in schools and educational centers. However, there is also vulnerability in social, cultural and economic spheres. In relation to the latter, the lack of computers or devices to access the Internet is the main challenge.

Technical challenges. In the exercises with Wayuu women we have encountered challenges in relation to knowledge and use of digital platforms by some of them. Thus, the editions are very complex to make, there are no support groups or permanent accompaniment, the incubator project is difficult to understand and also, although it is based on Wiki projects, has a different logic. The visual editor has greatly facilitated the syntax work of the code of the projects, however, the code behind the editions generates fear in the participants. The activities had to be approached taking into account three profiles: 1) Wikipedia users; 2) Wikipedia connoisseurs and, 3) Wikipedia beginners.

Linguistics challenges. Thinking about the written format for the use and preservation of ancestral knowledge at the outset is an idea not accepted by many speakers of indigenous languages. In this project, many of the teachers who are part of the publishing group were literate and learned to read and write in Spanish. Some of them were trained in higher education centers, where they learned to read and write Wayuunaiki, however, the writing systems used in the instruction followed Western logic. At the moment there are two challenges in terms of writing: 1) the selection of a unified orthographic system, and 2) the selection of the Wayuunaiki variant that will precede in Wikipedia (there are three dialectal variants of the language). Other publishers do not know the writing system and these have been the spaces to know the orthographic proposal and to be introduced in this format as a means to participate in the Internet.

What is working well[edit]

The realities and dynamics of each indigenous people are different, as diverse as they are among them, so it is necessary to set achievable objectives in terms of any project proposed for such contexts. In the case of the indigenous languages spoken in Colombia, having a version of Wikipedia in each one is very costly to achieve due to the amount of economic, human and temporal resources needed. However, there are many indigenous peoples who are reflecting on the social changes that have occurred based on the use of new information technologies in the territories, so the work has to be done with peoples and communities that are organized and want to undertake actions for the promotion of their languages in digital environments.

Women have a fundamental social role, at least in the villages with which we have worked, they are responsible for transmitting knowledge, teaching languages and safeguarding the identity of peoples. They are agents of change, those in charge of preserving, caring for and transmitting the legacy from generation to generation through orality. So thinking, discussing and exposing from the context what happens from their realities, roles and voices has given strength to the team of editors. For the Wayuu group, we do not have desertion in participation and, on the contrary, we have community commitments acquired by the women for the continuity of the project from a more local level.

Convening a space in which the participants are agents and have an active role has been one of the added values of the project, given that they are in charge of the formulation, design, undertaking of the projects and the inclusion of Wikipedia within their activities. It is possible to have versions of Wikipedia in all spoken languages, however it is necessary to have technical support, economic and human resources and also to have time.

Next steps and opportunities[edit]

Based on this research, the participants have developed proposals for continuity of the project within the communities. Among the topics discussed we find respect for territorial rights, educational projects (in the school, in teacher training spaces and also in the field of own education), cultural projects focused on dance, health itself, the construction of community economies that allow sustainability in the territories. In the same way, from our experiences we carry out a new approach of objectives and activities.

7.1. Objectives of the project[edit]

7.1.1. General objective[edit]

Promotion of new practices and incentives for participation, content creation and local visibility, and ways in which users can play a more contributory and informed role in Wikimedia projects.

7.1.2. Specific objectives[edit]

  • Develop activities, integrations and workshops in which access to information technologies is democratized and Colombian indigenous peoples are integrated into the Wikimedia movement.
  • Encourage the creation of articles, the evaluation and editing of existing content related to Colombia's indigenous peoples, and the participation of new indigenous editors in Wikipedia in Spanish and indigenous language incubators.
  • Understand the motivations and interests that allow new opportunities for social and political participation of Colombian indigenous women in Wikimedia projects.

7.2. How will you know if you have achieved your goals?[edit]

There will be 10 workshops to edit and create articles for the different Wikipedias (Spanish) and incubator (Wayuu) in which indigenous leaders will participate. The objective is to build work plans that involve short, medium and long term objectives in order to build a strong community of Wikipedia collaborators and editors.

Throughout the activities and workshops, the project report 'Wikipedia, women and ancestral knowledge of the global south, in the Colombian context' will be under construction. The aim is to document good practices, challenges and an action guide so that this project can be replicated in other contexts. The planning of the workshops will be done with the communities and two work plans will be made. An agenda of topics of interest and motivations for women's participation in the social and cultural field through digital technologies. And the second work plan will include plans to link Wikipedia with other public domains within communities, such as education and culture.

7.3. Do you have a goal regarding participation or content?[edit]

  • Increased content in the Wayuu incubator project.
  • Creation of 10 articles in Wayuu for the covert project.
  • Edition of the main page of the project in Wayuunaiki.
  • Constitution and implementation of the orthographic system in Wayuunaiki.
  • Editing and construction of 20 articles on indigenous languages spoken in Colombia and Colombian indigenous peoples.
  • 30 new editors for covert projects
  • Editions based on indigenous peoples' knowledge of Wikipedia articles in Spanish
  • Building a plan to develop Wikipedia projects with speakers of other languages (Arhuac)

7.4. Activities[edit]

The concrete results of this project will be agreed directly with the communities, however the following activities will be carried out.

  • Review and editing of articles found on Wikipedia in Spanish related to the Colombian indigenous communities of origin of the women involved, as well as those related to their territories and customs.
  • Review Wikipedia articles in Wayuunaiki and add cultural and thematic knowledge.
  • Revision of the spelling used in the covert Wayuunaiki project.
  • Implementation of the standard orthography used by the Wayuu community.
  • Planning a publishing program for wikipedia in Wayuunaiki.
  • Document review and digitization of documents on topics of community interest for use in workshops.
  • Workshops and meetings with indigenous communities.
  • Workshops to encourage local community participation through mentoring strategies, knowledge sharing and strategic support.
  • Registration of activities, systematization of the experience and construction of the report and methodologies to be implemented in the workshops.
  • 10 editing workshops:
    • 4 in the Guajira with the Wayuu people
    • 3 in Bogotá at the Universidad del Rosario
    • 3 with communities in the territory (Valledupar and Atlantic coast)

Grantee reflection[edit]

8. Foresight and sustainability[edit]

8.1. Prospective[edit]

There will be 10 workshops to edit and create articles for the different Wikipedias (Spanish) and incubator (wayuu) in which indigenous leaders will participate. The objective is to build work plans that involve short, medium and long term objectives in order to build a strong community of Wikipedia collaborators and editors.

Throughout the activities and workshops, the project report 'Wikipedia, women and ancestral knowledge of the global south, in the Colombian context' will be under construction. The aim is to document good practices, challenges and an action guide so that this project can be replicated in other contexts with the presence of indigenous peoples. The planning of the workshops will be done with the communities and two work plans will be made. An agenda of topics of interest and motivations for women's participation in the social and cultural field through digital technologies. And the second work plan will include plans to link Wikipedia with other public domains within communities, such as education and culture.

8.2. Sustainability[edit]

In relation to the sustainability of the project, we propose the following actions:

  • Since one of Wikimedia Colombia's objectives is the "promotion and use of Colombian indigenous languages", this project will be continued by the user group as an affiliate of the movement.
  • Establish relations and alliances with other local and international institutions that allow the project to be visible, take it to other instances and disseminate it in different contexts.
  • Include this project within the education plans of the communities.
  • Take the project to other instances and institutions through, for example, social service accreditation programs with indigenous student editors.

9. Scholar's Reflection[edit]

Being together with the Wayuu publishers has allowed us to consolidate, from our disciplines of interest and expertise, our contributions to society and the identity of the country. It is they who have become the protagonists, the connoisseurs, the experts, the people who have much to say and contribute to the consolidation of universal knowledge. In the same way, in the meeting spaces, they are the ones that have hierarchized and given order to the activities and initiatives, so that before the different challenges that are presented, creative and pertinent solutions or interpretations result.

From the beginning, there was a strong concern for the construction of a space and activities in which trust was paramount. Then, we asked ourselves questions such as: How to relate to the people of the community to talk about the knowledge they possess? How to ask? How to respond to the ethical imperatives of the communities?

Another important aspect is the network of work and cooperation that has been consolidated with other researchers, organizations and institutions with which in the framework of this project we have consolidated networks of support, advice and work.

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