 we are so happy to introduce our first speaker. She's not only a journalist but also assistant professor at Sami University. Let us make her feel extra welcome. A big hand to Liv Inger Zombie. I'm glad she's understanding Sami. Hello, my name is Liv Inger Zombie and I'm so glad and honored that I'm invited to Vikimania and to talk about what we care about our situation, our children and how we are delivering information to you because this is also about collaboration. As just mentioned, the International Year of Indigenous Languages. This is the year when we can have the shift that we will have more focus about the situation for the Indigenous Languages. I'm going to talk about that later. I have my topic as the importance of Indigenous Languages and what are the challenges in my area? We are divided into four different countries and we have nine different languages. I'm also going to talk about that and I'm also going to talk about the responsibility for Vikimania, Wikipedia, Wikimedia, so we will be more visible. Just briefly about me, you can read so I don't need to say that, but I have been working as journalist for many decades. I was 14 years old when I started first time because I do care about stories. I was maybe seven, no I was a little bit older when I wrote Letter Home that can you please send me money because I'm going to buy a recorder because there are so many interesting stories at the boarding school where I went to. I wanted to document my life at the boarding school. I work now at Sami University, I call it Sami Allah School. Can we make an agreement that next time when we meet each other you will say it in Sami language, Sami Allah School. This is the university based in Guadagano, in North Sami region, in North Norway and I'm teaching their journalism, indigenous journalism and also Sami language. I'm now member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Norway. We are working with the tough issues, the pain, the traumas and we are now going to collect the stories from the people. Their life stories, how they have, how assimilation has affected them, the loss of the language and also the consequences of Norwegianization. I'm also, because I have been working as a journalist for many decades, I'm also a member of different councils at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and Narko. So, and I grew up on Finnish side. It means that I had to go to a Norwegian school and I have also worked for almost three years in Russia, Kula Peninsula, Murmansk Oblast or Murmansk region to develop a Sami radio station. In my heart I was thinking that if we are going to have radio programs in Sami language for the Sami people in Russia, then we can do something that the people are proud of their language and they can get news in their own language. These are our students last year, part of them the graduation and also in our Sami Allah school we have about 270 students from bachelor, master and PhD level and our students, they are both international students, those who are taking courses master education in indigenous journalism, but we also have quite many of those for studying language, teacher training, journalism, traditional knowledge, reindeer herding and also handicraft Duotje. Then about the indigenous perspective. When we are now talking about the international year of indigenous languages, when I'm looking at this picture I keep thinking that I really want that my Aymara friends from Bolivia that they're able to read their news in Kecia language, but as you all know the languages that are chosen are like Spanish and also when I'm looking at this picture I was also thinking about that when we are gathered at United Nation my wish is that we are able to share stories in our own language to our own people. When I'm using social media I usually prefer to use Sami and English because in English I can communicate with my friends, those who speak and Sami then I'm communicating with the Sami people. Indigenous people's perspective, I already know challenge Wikimania, you have to start to think about how you are going to cooperate together with the indigenous peoples. What about that Wikimania, Wikimedia, Wikipedia already next year in April or May when the indigenous peoples are gathered at United Nations permanent forum on indigenous issues that you will be there and listening that what are the possibilities so you are able to start to in one way also with a good collaboration because at you and permanent forum there are about 2000 indigenous peoples each year and there you are able to be connected have a side event where you are telling how you are working and also to inform the indigenous peoples about what Wikimania is and also what Wikimedia is and also what Wikipedia is. Earlier this I saw that 86% of these people in Sweden are using Wikipedia. I must say that on the other hand there are quite many few there are quite few samis who are using Wikimedia in their own language because we don't have that opportunity yet. As a reminder to you when you are going if you are planning to find tools how to communicate how to get in touch with indigenous peoples the it's the language revitalization you have to have in mind and also that as a goal that the language shall survive that the indigenous people are able to read use internet in their own language. As in Canada there are more than 60 aboriginal languages. I don't know how many of these Canadian Wikipedia are using like traditional place names. I don't know because I'm not expert about that but if there is anyone from Canada or from Australia thinking about why we should also use aboriginal place names. There are more than 370 million indigenous peoples around the world. They live in 90 different countries. They speak 7000 languages and four of 10 are on UNESCO's red list. It means that they will disappear. Then I will ask Wikimania to think that if we want to allow our languages to develop to strengthen our languages in what way will you do when you go back to your countries to your offices to your institutions and also when we are thinking about the goals I was looking at them and I thought that okay now when I'm talking about the language I will also use number four prefer number four quality of education. It's not only the education that you have in the classroom or at the university but it's also about the education that you have in your homes the traditional knowledge the wisdom of how we are using our language and also the understanding that how weak we are as indigenous people that we seldom see anything in our own language or in our own languages. On this picture you might know Johan Henrik Fjellgren those who are from Sweden. He is a very famous joker singer and he's singing in South Sami. It means that there are only about 300 people left who speak South Sami. I have a little story because I think it's important to also tell stories. When I was working in Russia I was thinking about the situation for the killed in Sami. In Luyauri, in Murmansk Oblast there are no Sami children learning Sami at school. They have maybe one or two or three lessons because they don't have enough language teachers and you know the language situation is quite traumatic now in Luyauri or in Russia because people who are older than 45 they speak killed in Sami or killed in Sami. Those who are younger they are not using it. What the youth are doing they are coming to our university to learn the language I'm speaking North Sami because North Sami language will give them the opportunities. So I'm reaching out my hand to the people here. How can you do to be engaged, thinking about how can indigenous languages survive in Russian side of Sami and also the indigenous languages farther east. Are you able to start to think about the project where you are planning that how can we strengthen not only the language but also that people are able to read in Wikipedia in killed in Sami about their situation. If you're only writing couple chapters it's a good start because believe me my heart is bleeding when I'm thinking about that the children in Russia in Kola peninsula in Luyauri they are not learning the Sami language as they have their rights because when we're talking about the indigenous rights it requires states to take the responsibility because we have this United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. It was adopted by the General Assembly at United Nations in 2007 and article 13 is very clear indigenous people have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons. This is our right but do you think the states are following it? No. Some states are working better than others. Some countries are not because as I said indigenous people they live in more than 90 countries. This is also about the children. I do care about the children because they are our future because the indigenous individuals particularly the children they have the right to all levels and forms of education of the state without discrimination. I called this morning and asked Swedish television how many hours do you produce children's TV for Sami children in Sami language? How many hours do you think? Only eight hours. In Norway, NRK, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, the Sami division, they're producing 100 hours. So it shows and in Finland also it's not that many hours and in Russia nothing. So you also when you go back home you ask how many hours are actually the television stations making children's TV in indigenous languages and also to use it on internet. How many plays and games do we see? Not that many. As I mentioned and also as it was mentioned the international year of indigenous languages. I already now do you see all the engagement, how people are working in Asia, how they're working in Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia. I'm following this hashtag and looking what's happening around the world. But I'm also seeing that there are quite many countries that are invisible because the language Gjella, it has an important role in our daily lives. It's about how we can communicate, how I can learn, how I can read, how we can play. Can you imagine a Sami child having a Sami language at home going to internet trying to find something in Sami language? In Sami languages it's difficult. So I have chosen these pictures because I'm also showing the possibilities. This is from Svakensikte in South Sami region in Norway where they had this huge revitalization project that lasted for many years. And this group of Sami's reindeer herders, they have managed to do something. They are now speaking Sami again. Teaching, learning from the elders and also having this good, huge, important project run by Professor Jund Tudal who is working at our university. So there are possibilities. I teach indigenous journalism and when we are teaching indigenous journalism then it is about who owns the story, from which perspective are you producing the news or the stories. How are you communicating with the people? In what way? And also when you are doing the interviews, how are you communicating with the community after when you leave, when you have had your deadline? We are working with these topics when we are teaching our students. And we are also looking at how the mainstream press is covering indigenous stories. And we are doing research. We have many master thesis now about how Sami's feel when foreign journalists are coming to make stories. What is absent? And it's absent how to make the agreements, how to be equal, how to share the pictures, the movies, the stories after when you have done your deadline. This is also about how you are able to communicate. I'm also thinking about Wikimania, free knowledge and global goals. How can you implement indigenous methodologies? How can you think that when you are going to indigenous societies that you get the access? Are you again one of those who are coming to indigenous communities and asking for stories, asking for knowledge and then leaving? Or are you also thinking about the equality that you can also, you are also able to teach our society? Because remember, we are not the experts, you are the experts. We need also you to come to our communities so we are able to strengthen the knowledge about us to you and also internal. Are you sharing the knowledge, how you, when you're working in indigenous communities? Or are you just taking it? Think about that. Because there is a huge skepticism among the indigenous peoples when foreigners are coming and saying that we want to collaborate, we want to do something together. Because most of the projects are from their perspective, not us. It's the non-indigenous asking for the knowledge. So we need information about how we can educate our people and also that we need good partners so we are able to find, like in Wikipedia in Sami language. And how can you learn from indigenous academy? As I mentioned, permanent forum is the key for you next year. Maybe not next year, but year after. But think about now when you're going back home about indigenous languages and also how you are going to cooperate. These two pictures, Inti from Ecuador, he's studying indigenous journalism at Sami Allah School. He has returned back home again. It was good for us that he came to our university to share his knowledge. And we gave our knowledge to him. And then we are strengthening also indigenous societies. Some of you who don't know much about the Sami people, we are one people living in four countries. We live in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. I never say that I'm from Norway. I always say that I'm from the Finnish side of Sami. But I live now on the Norwegian side of Sami. Because this is also, it matters about the politics. In Norway there are about 50,000 Sami's here in Sweden, 25, between 20 and 25,000. Finland about 10 to 15,000. And in Russia, 2,500. You see they're quite huge areas. And we have nine languages. Some of them are in a very difficult situation. What is marked red is the Sami language. And that's on UNESCO's red list. And so are the blue languages in Russia. I live in the area where we have, which is marked green. And as you see, we don't have borders. We speak North Sami language in Finland, Sweden and Norway. And also South Sami is spoken in Norwegian side and Swedish side and so is Lule Sami. But I cannot communicate with those, I live in the green area. I cannot communicate with those who are living on the blue side or in the red side. Because South Sami is difficult. It's for me to understand. And also the Gilda Sami Gella. Nine languages. Are you able to make anything in these languages? And how you can do that? That's a challenge for Wikipedia in Norway, Sweden and also Finland. And also how to implement Russia. What are the challenges being divided into four countries? We have four states. And do you think that these states are communicating that how can we work so we can get better situation for the Sami people? The land rights, the cultural rights, the language rights. We have language act. But how are they strengthening our languages? We have three different Sami parliaments. One in Norwegian side, Swedish side and Finnish side. They work together. But the states, they have their own reforms, school reforms. It means that if they're making a mathematic book in Finland, Finnish side, in Sami language, the children in Norway are not using that because it's not as required fit into a Norwegian school reform or curriculum system. So why don't we start to think about, okay, can we do it this way that during these days here and also that you who are here at Wikimania can start to think about how you can share information with the Sami parliaments. How you can start to ask for projects? Is there anything that we can do together? Because the Sami parliaments, they do care about the school situation. How come that we don't have history books? How come that we are not making digital platforms where Sami children can learn about Sami history or language on internet? Why is it so difficult? I'm asking these questions because I want you to think, because believe me, many times I get very sad when I see the situation for our children. Because what they say, the non-indigenous, non-Sami, the state representatives, sometimes they say, but you are so few. Yeah, we are few, but there is a reason also because this is also part of colonization. A lot of the Sami's, they have lost their languages. These children here, the little boy, he's now about 11 years old. I asked him, how are you choosing? He said, choose what? Are you using anything Sami on internet? How are you working? How are you developing yourself? He is saying that I'm choosing what I find. I said, okay, what does it mean? I'm choosing what's exciting. It means that children are choosing other languages than Sami because there are not enough programs, there are not enough games in Sami language. So our children, they are forced to use the majority languages. These two girls, they are my daughters. When they were little, I gave them the best present, my language. They are fluently Sami speaking. They are also fluently speak Norwegian, English and Finnish. But when they grew up, it was that I was translating what we were seeing on television or and I was also translating in the beginning what was on internet. Also like Pippi. Pippi was in Norwegian but now Pippi finally can also speak some Sami because what these children, they have been complaining about that there isn't enough for us. Digital games, plays, movies, stories, because we are such a good storytellers but we can't find them. So what they do is that they choose Norwegian, Swedish or Finnish products. I do look forward to see the new school reform or curriculum for next year, how they will implement also digital part in that because the state budget in Norway is enormous. They will use 1.7 billion Norwegian kronor for better information and communication technology and digital strategies. But we have to communicate with them what are the Sami needs. We cannot accept that we are being invisible or only that we are getting some few million. We have to think about what are the language needs and what are the rights of our people. Because the Norwegian Sami parliament, they have their own digital strategy. They want to be the Sami pathfinders in the digital development. The Sami president on Norwegian side of Sami, Eilik Eskidalo, she wrote something in a press release which was interesting. She said that we need to be at the digital language level, not on a pencil level. Because the reality is that we still have Sami teachers who are writing and making books for the children or even giving this kind of papers to the children that so they're able to learn. But we have some good examples also, like the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø. They're using a lot of money and they're doing a great job with that language techno project, Gjellatechno, making and developing the digital Sami language. Dictionaries, grammar, language learning, spelling and even that we have this Sami keyboard that we are using. But what about the other aboriginal signs and other aboriginal letters? I see that our children sometimes when they write they're very lazy, they're not using they're using s, they're not using they, they're using d. So we see the consequences also of this digital reality. The contrasts are big from country to country. Among the Asamis we say that if the sack is up, then you have a lot of wisdom in there. The Norwegian side, the last four years, the Sami parliament, they have used 7.1 million Norwegian kronor for digital projects. Translating, but also making new apps. Swedish side 500 000 half a million and Finnish side 500 000 euro, which is about five million, five million kronor, but it's also about other products and Russian side zero. The aim is Nordic perspective. Would also like to challenge you because I'm asked to challenge Wikimania. How satisfied are you with the situation for your children? Those who are living in Sweden, Norway and Finland and other countries. How satisfied are you about what you find in Wikipedia, Wikimedia about Samis written in your language for your children? It's not much. We do have great stories. We have the traditional knowledge. We have the wisdom that we can also share with non-Sami children. So start to think about also what are your needs, because your children, they do also need to get information about Sami people, learn about Sami society. Believe me, many of the schools, they are teaching almost nothing about the Sami people here in Sweden. If you go around in Stockholm and ask children, what do you know about the Sami people? They will say that all the Sami people, they live in love. Okay, then you will start to say that. Do you know that they also have great language, that they have the digital needs? I'm sure that a minister will also do like that. So in one way, also that the states together with the Sami parliaments, including you as experts, that we can find the keys how we can start to collaborate. Consequences for children not having the best educational apps. The other day I did see 50 best apps for the children. I thought, oh, I wish it was something for me. This picture can be, this is my last PowerPoint, this can be the symbolic picture, that this little boy to be a strong Sami in the future, he has all these helpers behind him. So he will learn, learn how to communicate, learn how to be a strong child in a Sami society. He's also able maybe to move from one country to another. In one way, can you also think about this little boy, it can be the Sami people. And the people who are behind are you, who are coming from many, many countries to Wikimania. And then you start to think about the processes, the continuing processes. Because we have the wisdom among the Sami's that nothing ends, it continues. Thank you. Thank you so much, Livinger. Before you leave, I would like to give you a token of our appreciation. It's Wikimedia Sweden who has donated money in your name to the United Nations Development Program, UNDP. And I think what you're doing is so amazing. Is it okay if I give you a hug? Oh, amazing. Give her a big hand. Thank you.