Online translation service to be created for small indigenous peoples
© RIA Novosti. Vitaly Ankov

Online translation service to be created for small indigenous peoples

Experts are creating an online translation service for 19 indigenous peoples, including those living in Russia’s Arctic regions.

 “A meeting held to discuss the preparations for the upcoming Decade of Indigenous Languages proposed adding a number of events to the global plan of the Decade suggested by Russian and international experts. They highlighted the ongoing project to create and support nomadic schools and kindergartens for the Arctic regions, plus an online translation service for many indigenous peoples on which several IT corporations are working together,” according to a press release of the Board of the Association of Small Indigenous Peoples of the North KMNS Union issued following a meeting on the Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032).

The project is ongoing at the Cyrillica Center publishers and the Center of Arctic and Siberian Exploration (CASE) at the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, with support from the International Shukhov Foundation. The online glossary they are compiling will be used for creating an online translation service on a platform already designed by a Russian corporation.

The meeting on the upcoming Decade of Indigenous Languages, held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, was attended by representatives of the indigenous peoples of Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia. The two-day event concluded with a statement made by Jaco Du Toit, Chief of the Universal Access to Information Section at the Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO.

“Russia has accumulated a wealth of experience and capabilities for the Decade of Indigenous Languages. The relations between Russia’s indigenous peoples and government agencies allow us prioritize the opinions of indigenous peoples when it comes to the preservation of their native languages,” said Inessa Tomskaya, Deputy Board Chair of the North KMNS Union, as quoted in the press release.