 Alright, thank you very much. Hi everyone and good morning from my end. Thank you for joining my session. So today I'm going to be talking about Wikitons and how it's been preserving language diversity and also empowering communities through language documentation. Okay, so as you all know, or maybe you might not know, but there are over 7,000 languages spoken across the world today. But then every an average of one language dies or that's one language every two weeks dies. And when a language dies, it's not just the words that are lost, which maybe some people might think it's also the history of those people, their culture and the knowledge of the people who spoke it. We lose important information about the world and we also lose a way of seeing the world. And this is one of the things that Wikitons is working to prevent from happening. They're using technology as well as Wikimedia projects to document endangered languages so that they can be preserved for future generations. They're also working to empower communities to use these languages so they can thrive. Some languages, when you check them today, they only have 20 to 30 living speakers. The Donsa language, for example, in Papua New Guinea has an estimated number of 20 to 30 living speakers. There is also the Kambap language in Cameroon and so many more languages. Now you might be wondering what Wikitons is because I know a lot of people are not familiar with Wikitons. Wikitons is also a Wikimedia user group and a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve endangered languages and empower communities through languages. Now you'll be wondering, language documentation, why is it important? I mean, it's necessary. It's actually very important to document languages and some of the reasons why it could be that it preserves endangered languages. When a language is documented, it's preserved for the future. And this is important because endangered languages are very valuable to humans and it's also a very valuable aspect of human knowledge and culture. And if we have to, should I say, if as the Wikimedia movement, we are promoting free knowledge, free and open knowledge, then language is also a very vital part of that promotion and that knowledge we're talking about. And another reason for documenting languages is that it empowers communities. Language documentation can empower people by giving them a voice. It helps you to know where you're coming from and where you're going to. If you do not know your language, sometimes you feel like you're being left out, especially from the part of the world where I come from. It also helps to prevent language loss. So when there is documentation, the future generation can have access to them. I used to know of a language that the last living speaker died in 1992. And ever since then, it's been hard getting other living speakers of the language. Now, you'll be wondering how Wikitons actually documents these languages. So the first one is that it uses technology to make documentation more accessible and efficient. There's a crowd sourcing platform and what we call a seed bank where linguists actually a group of or a network of linguists get to document languages and upload them for use. There are over 700 languages in those seed banks. It can be there in form of videos and audios and so much more. Then there's also the community engagement part of it. When Wikitons works with communities, they ensure that language documentation is done in a proper way. You can just go into a community and then you decide to start documenting. Sometimes it causes problems. So they try to teach you how to be respectful and how it should be beneficial to the community. And then they also train community members to document their own languages. Now we have a language accelerator program as well. Wikitons organizes a language accelerator program. Since 2022, it's been organizing this program and we started with 10. This year, we have 21 people in the program and these linguists or these activists, they come in to do a whole lot of things for their communities to preserve their languages. Some of the languages I noticed, they had like 2,000, 3,000 living speakers, some had 7,000 and they came from different parts of the world. Some came from Africa, some came from Asia, Europe, Australia and so many places. And for this year, the selection was made across 20 different countries. And for the seed bank of language diversity, which is another way that Wikitons documents their languages, this is way that in this aspect, you can contribute your videos, your audio recordings, your dictionaries and other resources related to your mother tongue. So for example, the participants of the language accelerator program, some of them develop keyboards. I know of someone who is developing a keyboard. There are people who are building up dictionaries and so many things to use and preserve their languages. Now these resources can be uploaded to the seed bank of language diversity. Some of them can be in form of audios and those keyboards that I mentioned about. And then there's the global network of linguists. We can't do this alone without linguists, our language enthusiasts or language activists. So that is the reason why we have a global network of them. A lot of them get to donate videos, a lot of them get to donate audios that have to do with those languages that they are working to preserve or to revitalize. And there is also the language sustainability tool kit. So for example, as a Wikimedia, you come from a community which the language is endangered. We have the language sustainability tool kit that you can use to document your language. So this tool kit helps you to develop your, should I say like your plan and your goals for starting a revitalization project for your community. It guides you, for now it's still in English, but we're working towards getting as many translations as possible. But then Wikiton's projects are not restricted to English. We have speakers of other languages and during the language revitalization project, for example, we have speakers of other languages and we have access to translators and translation tools to make it easier. Then there is the Jewish Languages Project which is intended for the documentation of endangered languages. There are lots of endangered Jewish languages which the Wikiton projects are working to revitalize and to also document. Now I will invite you to take action whether you're a linguist, a community member, or simply passionate about cultural preservation. There's a role for you. You can either visit Wikiton's website to contribute documentation efforts and also spread the word about the importance of language diversity. And another thing you can also do is to join the Wikiton-Suzar group. So the Wikiton-Suzar group has been down for a while, but now we're back to the community and we're going to be starting our first program in September next month. So you're welcome to join the Wikiton-Suzar group if you're enthusiastic about languages or preserving a language. And the good thing is that the language accelerator program is open to everyone. All language documentation and revitalization projects are also open to everyone. So it's not something that is just for outsiders or linguists or you as a Wikimedia can join. We have 10 Wikimedians in the language revitalization accelerator and they're also working to preserve their projects through various areas and aspects. Some of them are building Wikimedia projects, they're building Wikipedias, some are building legs, some are working on developing keyboards that can help in contribution to their languages. So you're welcome to join us in any way you think that you might want to help your community grow or revitalize their languages. In conclusion, let's remember that language diversity is a treasure that enriches our world. And Wikiton's dedication to preserving languages and empowering communities is an inspiring example of what we can achieve when we work together. So I'm inviting you if you feel that your language has less speakers, less living speakers, or it has some that actually have one living speaker. And once the one living speaker dies, that simply means the language dies if it is not preserved. So you're welcome today to join us in Wikiton's to preserve your language. Thank you for joining me in this exploration. You can email me at stochie at wikitons.org or you can email the whole Wikiton's team at hello at wikitons.org. I'm also on LinkedIn at Stochie Precious. Once again, thank you for joining the session. If you have any question regarding language revitalization or documentation, I'm open to that. Thank you, everyone. And hello, Tochi. This is Daria from Wikimedia UK. I have a question for you. Hello. I'm curious if you feel what Wikitonx is doing is completely unique in the Wikimedia movement, or maybe are there other initiatives that you think are, I don't know, similar or connected? I guess I'm thinking, are you like an island that is doing this thing, or are there like connections, maybe overlaps or other projects that are supporting you? I was thinking, for example, about, I don't know if you know, like the manuscript preservation, it's more Wikisource. But it reminded me a little bit of the idea of preservation. I think I lost you, but I don't know if you have any questions. So, simple question. I don't know. I don't know how to help. Are you working alone or with others? I can write in chat, maybe. I don't know. Okay. But it's, it's red. So, yes, yes, yes. I think so too. Oh, it's a shame. I can try again later. Sorry, Daria. I lost you. Okay. Did you hear anything? I heard when you were asking if there were other communities in the, if there are other user groups or communities being something or are you collaborating? Yes. Are you collaborating? Are there other people or is your project, would you say unique?