Partnering in Oaxaca, Mexico to Connect Indigenous Communities
This is an adapted version of a post originally published on the Endless OS Foundation blog.
In Oaxaca, the fifth largest and most ethnically diverse state in Mexico, Indigenous communities preserve rich cultural and linguistic traditions that have lasted centuries. Yet digital integration has been slow in this region, and without reliable access to internet connectivity or cellular data, these communities face challenges in education, language preservation, and more.
To begin combating these challenges, the Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca (FAHHO) partnered with the Endless OS Foundation to improve connectivity issues through the effective use of the Endless operating system (OS). Endless OS, designed for first-time computer users, provides access to educational learning tools and content libraries without a need for internet connection.
The FAHHO, which works to bring connectivity, digital learning tools and educational resources to rural Indigenous communities in Oaxaca, is distributing thousands of computers running Endless OS in a variety of settings including homes, communities, libraries and schools.
Through this project, the FAHHO has designed creative and inclusive ways to introduce valuable new digital skills and access to the digital world. Although almost a third of Oaxaca’s population speaks an Indigenous language, these languages have not been successfully incorporated into the state’s education system. Recognizing that this has contributed to language-based equity issues and poor academic achievement, the FAHHO is also assisting Indigenous communities with the creation of digital learning content in their own languages.
Endless OS Foundation has supported this deployment through delivering training, assisting with the procurement of computers and providing customized versions of Endless OS incorporating newly-created Oaxacan content.
Computers with Endless OS help Oaxacan students during the pandemic.
Since the project began in 2019, the FAHHO has deployed 1,888 computers running Endless OS with the support of the Endless OS Foundation, and the OS is now in daily use in 45 Oaxacan communities. In each of these communities, local project liaisons work closely with schools and families to facilitate training and assist with computer use and maintenance.
The FAHHO program was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 lockdowns and health protocols that started March 2020. Since then, there has been no in-person school. Given the state’s poor connectivity, this has meant that most children have not been able to attend school virtually, either. Under these circumstances, computers loaded with offline educational resources became a unique and vital tool for children’s learning. Because of this, the FAHHO stepped up deployment and also began working in communities closer to Oaxaca City. During 2020, a total of 1015 additional computers were distributed to 29 communities, in part thanks to a collaboration with Banamex through the program “Home Runs Banamex.” So far in 2021, 689 additional computers have been distributed to 15 communities.
Dr. María Isabel Grañén Porrúa, President at FAHHO, speaks to the need for finding the right technology partner equally coupled with deep community engagement for success: “Technology alone is not enough to improve the quality of children’s education. It is crucial to be close to them, their teachers and their families. The projects at the Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca are exciting because we work directly with communities and from this interaction innovative proposals arise, such as the publication of books and digital stories in Oaxacan languages, so that technology responds to the needs of each community.”
Creative uses for PCs and Endless OS: community documentation of languages for the first time, and more.
Highlights of the creative use of Endless OS and computers in Oaxaca include the use of Storyweaver to generate digital children’s stories in Oaxacan languages. This has resulted in six new Oaxacan languages on the Storyweaver platform: Triqui, Mixe, Chatino, Mixtec, Chocholtec and Zapotec. 438 translations of children’s stories have been created in these languages, approximately 100 of which provide the basis for the Endless OS app “Libros y Recursos multilingües'' (Multilingual Books and Resources), with more accessible through Kolibri on Oaxaca’s deployed computers.
In San Juan Quiahije and Cieneguilla, computers with Endless OS are being used in the community documentation of the Chatino language. Dr. Emiliana Cruz, a linguistic anthropologist at CIESAS (a Mexican national research institute) and native speaker of Chatino, has coordinated a workshop in the community to transcribe recorded texts in Chatino using software that was installed on the Endless computers. According to the FAHHO, this Chatino project is a model for other community-based language documentation projects.
The FAHHO has also established collaborative ties with the Wikimedia Mexico Foundation to develop content about Oaxaca through Wikipedia editing workshops. Wikipedia is the most consulted digital encyclopedia in Mexico, and it is also the basis for content in the Endless OS “Encyclopedia” app, which has been updated to include these articles. Indigenous communities, often with little voice in educational institutions and publishing houses, are often misrepresented in Mexico’s educational texts and reference materials. Accurate and truthful information about Indigenous communities and languages helps combat the racism and discrimination that often permeate educational materials about Mexico’s Indigenous peoples.
And finally, the first computer class ever given in Cieneguilla was given in Chatino and made use of the Chatino language content on the “Libros y Recursos Multilingües” app. Too often, the deployment of technology reinforces hegemonic languages and cultures and strengthens a common type of discrimination experienced by many Indigenous peoples: that their languages, culture and knowledge belong in the past, not the future. By opening spaces for the development of local content, the FAHHO and its partnering communities not only seek to provide innovative educational experiences that help instill curiosity and a love of learning, but also contribute to processes that utilize technology for cultural preservation and emancipation.
Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil, an important Indigenous-rights supporter from the Mixe community of San Pedro y San Pablo Ayutla, observed the impact of the FAHHO/Endless program: “Normally, we hear about the impact that the mere presence of a computer can have on individual children’s learning. However, seeing closely how the Endless computers of the Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca are functioning in Ayutla has confirmed to me that their presence and proper use generates a small family learning community that causes an unsuspected chain of effects for collective learning.”
Community Engagement, new access, and the future.
Reception to the project has been very positive, and has generated considerable interest from the participating communities in various uses of technology. Teachers, students and communities are motivated to engage digitally. This includes the teaching of programming through the Scratch app and Tux applications designed for small children.
The FAHHO is diligent in engaging with each community to identify reliable partners and to seek the biggest impact possible, from delivering new PC and operating system training, setting-up points of contact in the communities, and making sure students are active in their use and understanding of their computers, Endless OS and the tools contained.
The development of reliable local content through these Oaxacan programs has had several valuable implications. Importantly, it has generated local interest in the development of Oaxacan content and the technological PC skills this requires. It has also allowed the FAHHO to connect this project with an important international movement of digital activists in Indigenous languages.
The amount of work required to do a successful deployment like this is huge, and these communities are lucky to have a group like the Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca putting so much effort into this important work. The FAHHO feels that the programs and progress being made in Oaxaca could support interest in similar programs rolling out to other offline communities in rural areas of Mexico. There's more to follow, and we look forward to posting an update about the communities in Oaxaca engaging with their new digital tools.