Meet the third generation of Mayan languages digital activism fellows!

04.09.2024 19:31

Globalvoices.org

Ten activists from different Mayan languages will be part of this program in its third edition

Originally published on Global Voices

From left to right: Manuel de Jesús Pérez, Yamily Hu Yama, Carlos Chi, Roger Kuyoc, Marlene Sánchez, Juan Vázquez, Nehemias Chable, José Sánchez, Juan Gómez y Cristina Álvarez.

The Mayan Languages Digital Activism (ADLM, for its initials in Spanish) is a program that promotes community digital activism projects in Mayan language-speaking communities, mainly in the states of Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. In 2024, the third cohort of this program has been selected and includes ten speakers of Mayan languages chosen for their community proposals that stood out.

These Fellows demonstrated a commitment to their community and a great interest in positioning their languages in the digital space. They are speakers of the Yucatec Maya, Ch'ol, Tseltal, and Tsotsil.

Within the ADLM project, they will carry out different activities such as digital activism workshops, regional meetings, and the ADLM Fellowship program through support and mentoring with local activists with extensive experience. They will hold monthly virtual meetings with digital activists recognized for their experience in digital activism and community participation processes. In addition, a stipend of 2,500 USD is granted for the materials and equipment required for the development of their projects.

The methodology within the project includes peer learning, as it recognizes the experience of each of the people who participate and those who support them in the process. That is why during the program the scholarship recipients share their knowledge with the rest of the group as mentors.

As the final part of the program, the scholarship team will present their projects at the ADLM Summit in 2025, a space that brings together activists, researchers, communicators and organizations that are working to defend Mayan languages and other languages of Mexico and Latin America. There will be more information about this in the future.

The following are part of this year's selection:

Yamily Abigail Hu Yama
Language: Yucatec Maya
Community: Señor, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Roger Israel Kuyoc Tuz
Language: Yucatec Maya
Community: Tizimín, Yucatán, Mexico

Marlene Sánchez Guzmán
Language: Ch'ol
Community: Hidalgo Joshil, Chiapas, Mexico

Juan Vázquez Méndez
Language: Tseltal
Community: San Juan Cancuc, Chiapas, Mexico

Cristina Agustina Álvarez Díaz
Language: Tseltal
Community: Amatenango del Valle, Chiapas, Mexico

Nehemias Chable Hau
Language: Yucatec Maya
Community: Tahdziú, Yucatán, Mexico

José Raúl Sánchez Pérez
Language: Ch'ol
Community: Tila, Chiapas, Mexico

Juan Carlos Gómez Pérez
Language: Tseltal
Community: Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico

Manuel De Jesús Pérez Pérez
Language: Tsotsil
Community: San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico

Carlos Alberto Chi Chan
Language: Yucatec Maya
Community: Dzitbalché, Campeche, Mexico

We invite you to learn more about the previous editions of the Mayan Languages Digital Activism Project:

The ADLM project is an initiative of Rising Voices with support from the W.K.Kellogg Foundation.