Today is the close of the International Year of Indigenous Languages!
View this email in your browser ([link removed])
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed] https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fculturalsurvival.org%2Fiyil2019 Tweet ([link removed] https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fculturalsurvival.org%2Fiyil2019)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])
Support our work ([link removed])

Dear Friend,

We are excited to share with you this news!

Our grant partner Instituto Superior Pedagógico “Quilloac” Bilingüe Intercultural ([link removed]) in Ecuador just launched their Kichwa Kañari language learning app for children, Chunkay ([link removed]) , to address the reality that only one in three Indigenous children speak their parents' language at the end of schooling.

Cultural Survival’s Keepers of the Earth Fund ([link removed]) supported Instituto’s project to strengthen their ancestral language Kichwa Kañari through the use of interactive materials, including mobile apps.

“Chunkay” refers to a change of dimension, a transfer from the physical to the digital world. The game’s characters are Duma and Itza, in honor of the great Cacique Duma, a defender of the Kañari Peoples; and Itzá, from the Mayan language with which it seeks to highlight the vision of interculturality. The app is rooted in Kañari mythology and is a learning journey through the Quilloac community and landscape. The goal is to reach the top of the Narrío Hill, where, according to Bolívar Zaruma stories in the book ‘Hatun Cañar’, there is an ancestral sanctuary. Here the adventure begins. The user meets the Urku Yaya or grandfather spirit, who tells them how to get to the sacred temple.

The launch of the application took place within the framework of the UN International Year of Indigenous Languages, which aims to draw attention to language loss and the need to strengthen and revitalize them. Although Indigenous Peoples make up more than 5 percent of the world's population, they speak more than 4,000 of the world's 7000 languages. Of those languages, 420 are spoken in Latin America and 26 percent are in danger of going silent. UNESCO predicts that between 50-90 percent of Indigenous languages (~3000 languages) will disappear by the end of this century, if action is not taken now. Language loss also carries with it the loss of environmental, technological, social, economic and cultural knowledge.

“We thank Cultural Survival for helping to activate in our community the recovery of ancestral wisdom. By stimulating interest in the Kichwa language, we hope to implement a rebirth of the Kichwa Kañari ancestral language and traditions,” stated Juan Solano (Kichwa Kañari), research unit coordinator at the Instituto.

In the past three years, the Keepers of the Earth Fund has funded 74 projects in 19 countries, totaling $342,793.

In observance of the close of the UN International Year of Indigenous Languages, join Cultural Survival as we support Indigenous rights worldwide. Please give today ([link removed]) . Every gift will go to amplify Indigenous Peoples voices around the world as we continue to fight for our lands, languages, spiritual and artistic traditions, and dynamic cultures.


Now until December 31, your gift will be doubled up to $40,000, thanks to a generous match by our Board of Directors.
Give Now! ([link removed])
With Gratitude and Wishes for Peace this Holiday Season,
Galina Angarova (Buryat)
Executive Director


P.S. Listen and share our Indigenous Rights Radio series on Indigenous Languages ([link removed]) .


[link removed]
[link removed]
Cultural Survival advocates for Indigenous Peoples' rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience since 1972. We envision a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples' inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance.

============================================================
** ([link removed])
** ([link removed])
** ([link removed])
** ([link removed])
Advancing Indigenous Peoples' Rights and Cultures Worldwide, since 1972
** Cultural Survival ([link removed])

2067 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
(617) 441-5400
** www.cs.org ([link removed])


Want to change how you receive these emails?

You can ** Update your preferences. ([link removed])

Want to stop receiving anything from us? ** Unsubscribe from ALL of Cultural Survival's lists. ([link removed])