FYI. Sorry this was not forwarded sooner, but it seems there still is time to
participate. (Fwd from the Linguist list)... DZO
Date: 25-May-2005
From: Signe Byrge Sørensen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Call for participation: Voices of the World
Call for participation in Voices of the World
An international media project on endangered languages
Dear colleagues around the world,
Voices of the World aims to build international popular awareness of the
diversity of mankind through a world-wide documentary film and media project.
We want to portray the peoples of the world, giving face and voice to each
culture and empowering every language community to speak. The goal of Voices of
the World is to strengthen our global mutual belonging.
The peoples of the world speak over 6,500 separate languages. Each language
employs a vocabulary and a grammar that is unique to the communities that use
them. Each reflects cultures that are equally unique, rich in folklore, history
and humanity. In a time of globalization and the telecommunications revolution
that is accompanying it, most of those languages have come under threat. A
surprisingly large number, about 50%, will probably not survive this century.
Many are already in terminal decline. Most of these languages are spoken by
indigenous peoples. Linguists calculate that planet earth is losing one
language every two weeks - and with each one that vanishes, a means of
communication, a method of expression and a way of looking at the world,
disappears.
Voices of the World is an international non-profit initiative of UNESCO's
Goodwill Ambassador for Languages Mrs. Vigdis Finnbogadottír, based on an
original idea by the internationally acclaimed filmmaker Janus Billeskov
Jansen, supported by the Danish Government, the UN and by leading linguists
from all over the world.
AMBITIONS AND VISIONS
Our first task is to create a media event in connection with UN's 60th
anniversary in October 2005. All the Nordic public service TV stations are
already committed to this broadcast. We are presently working on similar
arrangements with other European and international TV-stations. Our aim is to
reach a global TV-audience.
In order to make this a truly global event we want to invite YOU to participate
in creating key elements of the central documentary film - Voices.
Voices will tell the story of the cultural and linguistic loss the world is
suffering from the threat of language endangerment. The film takes its point of
departure in a personal talk with UN Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan, in his
own mother tongue Fante, expressing his concerns for cultural and linguistic
diversity.
But the main elements of the film are to be based on YOUR contributions. We seek
case stories, which pinpoint the various stages from language endangerment to
language death. We look for storytellers who can explain what it feels like to
loose one's language.
"VOICES" NEEDS YOUR HELP
We aim to include material from as many different languages as possible in the
film, but we have a limited budget. Thus we are looking for local
contributions.
You can participate in three different ways. Firstly, you can submit new
material. Secondly, you can submit material already recorded. And thirdly, you
can send us contacts to speakers of endangered languages.
We are looking for charismatic storytellers who can tell moving personal stories
to the world in their own language. The issues to be covered are:
1. The language generation gap - for example how does it feel to live in a
family where grand parents and grand children find it hard to communicate,
because the language of the older generation was not passed on?
2. The last speakers - for example how does it feel to be among the last few
speakers of a language?
3. Language suppression (economic, social, political, cultural) - for example
how do people cope with situations, when their language is not given space in
the public sphere? What does it mean to a person or a community, if their
language is forbidden or drained of resources?
4. Language and technology - for example how are speakers of endangered
languages affected by globalization and the new information technology?
We are also looking for success stories such as:
5. Language revitalization - for example how did a particular endangered
language community manage to turn the situation around and revitalize their
language?
6. Other vital language issues? - YOU might come up with something brilliant,
which we were not even able to conceptualize - given the limitations of our
language...
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
If you want to participate in "Voices", please start by sending us an email
introducing yourself, your language or the language you are engaged with.
Please also describe your contribution and in what way you would like to
collaborate with us. We will then send you more information about the project,
more precise specifications of what we are looking for and technical
requirements. We will do our best to support you in your filmmaking efforts and
to make use of your material in the best possible way.
Don't miss this opportunity to present YOUR language as part of the bigger
picture.
After the film is finished, all the footage collected and shot for the Voices of
the World project will be handed over to the Vigdis Finnbogadottír Institute of
Foreign Languages at University of Iceland. The aim of Voices of the World and
the university is to create a database of all the world's languages, accessible
to everybody via the internet.
Contact: Voices of the World
Project manager: Signe Byrge Sørensen
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Address: Forbindelsesvej 7; 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel: +45 35 43 60 43, Fax: +45/ 35 43 60 44
Kofi Annan on Voices of the World:
'What could be a better way to pay homage to the United Nations on the occasion
of its 60th anniversary than to stress the value of cultural and linguistic
diversity of the peoples of the world. After all, by celebrating the diversity
of human culture we only strengthen the dialogue among civilizations, an idea
rooted in the fundamental United Nations values. I congratulate you on your
excellent initiative.' Kofi Annan, Secretary General, UN.
This call will be send to indigenous people's organizations, linguists, NGOs and
filmmakers around the world.
Please pass the call to all individuals and organizations, you think would be
interested in participating in "Voices".
Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
