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Dear Friend,
We are excited to share with you this news!
Our grant partner Instituto Superior Pedagógico “Quilloac” Bilingüe Intercultural in Ecuador just launched their Kichwa Kañari language learning app for children, Chunkay, 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 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. 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.
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