Adrian

Summary of PowerPoint Presentations

Presentation 1: Universal Acceptance and Plains Cree Language Revitalization in Alberta, Canada

By Mildred Weiss, April 4, 2025

This presentation focuses on the challenges and opportunities in revitalizing the Plains Cree language (nêhiyawêwin) in Alberta, Canada, particularly through the lens of Universal Acceptance.

Key Points:

• Indigenous Context: Alberta is home to 48 indigenous communities organized under Treaty 6 (1876), Treaty 7 (1877), and Treaty 8 (1899), with multiple indigenous languages, including Cree, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Dene, Beaver, Chipewyan, and Stoney/Nakoda.

• Maskwacîs Community: Located 70km south of Edmonton, this Indigenous community comprises four nations: Samson, Ermineskin, Louis Bull, and Montana.

• Plains Cree Language Characteristics:

  • 10 consonants and 7 vowels (3 short, 4 long)
  • Polysynthetic language with complex verbal structures

• Educational Initiatives: The Mamawi Atosketan School ("Working Together") promotes Plains Cree language use in homes and schools, offering education to Maskwacîs tribes.

• Challenges:

  • Educational: Limited resources, intergenerational gaps, dialect variations, complex grammar, and limited class time
  • Technical: Special characters, font compatibility, syllabic support, lack of standardization, and software limitations
  • Infrastructure: No physical keyboards, few virtual keyboards, and limited educational applications

• Current Solutions:

  • Resources: Audio recordings, dictionaries, virtual keyboards, videos, and online graphic resources
  • Community initiatives: Elder-led language immersion programs, integration of language tools with modern technology platforms, and growing recognition in curricula

• Future Plans: Development of educational applications and technical tools, implementation of Universal Acceptance principles for indigenous language representation online, particularly through diacritics in domain names.

Presentation 2: The State of Universal Acceptance

By Adrian Schmidt, April 4, 2025

This presentation examines the status of Universal Acceptance (UA) implementation, particularly in Latin America and Argentina.

Key Points:

• Universal Acceptance Background: A steering group has been active since February 2015, addressing particular challenges in Latin America due to linguistic diversity and the digital divide.

• LACRALO Activities:

  • Working group on Multilingualism and IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) since 2019
  • Led by Sylvia Herlein (Argentina) and Gerardo Martinez Hernandez (Mexico)

• Regional Coordination: LACTLD (Latin American and Caribbean TLD Association) helps coordinate between ccTLDs (country code Top-Level Domains), fostering regional cooperation on UA standards.

• Implementation in Argentina:

  • nic.ar has implemented special characters (ñ, ç, accents) for domain names
  • Progress includes technical implementation, partial technical support on government sites, individual efforts, academic initiatives, and university training

• Challenges in Argentina:

  • Lack of unified public policy
  • Dependency on individual willingness
  • Insufficient investment
  • Inadequate inclusion of native peoples (Guarani/Mapuche)
  • Digital divide

• Next Steps:

  • Expanding educational initiatives from awareness to technical training
  • Updating the 2020 regional study and compatibility evaluations
  • Increasing collaboration between government, academia, private sector, and civil society
  • Focusing on Indigenous languages (economic viability)

• Resources: Portal AU Argentina, tool repository, community support, and technical assistance.

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I hope this helps!

Adrian