Ulwazi's users browsers

At the Indigenous Knowledge and Technology Conference in Windhoek last year, we presented a paper titled ‘The Number in my Pocket: the Power of Mobile Technology for the Exchange for Indigenous Knowledge’ (see more on the conference here) which looked at ways to further interaction between the Ulwazi Programme and its users through mobile technologies, and this is definitely an area we will be exploring in greater depth in 2012.

And we think it looks really great!  What are your thoughts?

• Download the Goethe Schools Report

Greyling and McNulty presented a paper titled ‘The Number in my Pocket: the Power of Mobile Technology for the Exchange for Indigenous Knowledge’, which explored the ways in which the Ulwazi Programme is extending its reach through the use of mobile phones.  The paper has been selected for publication in a special issue of the journal Knowledge Management for Development, out in December 2011.

IKTC 2011 Greyling and McNulty presentation

On the panel were eThekwini living legend Gcina Mhlophe, trail blazer in the transmission of intangible heritage through storytelling; Thulani Mbuli, chairperson of IsiZulu National Language Board under the Pan South African Language Board; Zandile Radebe, educationist and writer in IsiZulu; Nceba Gqaleni, leader of the Traditional Medicine programme at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine and Chair of Indigenous Health Care Systems Research; poet Bongani Mavuso, producer and presenter for Ukhozi FM; and social and political commentator Nhlanhla Mtaka, a columnist with largely isiZulu print media.

Gcina Mhlophe offered a nostalgic account of how Africans used to connect with nature through language. She reminded the audience how, in African culture, imilolozelo (lullabies) and izinganekwane (folktales) signified the connection between humans and animals and highlighted the link between language and identity.

Mbuli asserted the need to contextualize South Africa as part of the African continent and to understand that no language can develop on its own. He lamented our reluctance to confidently express ourselves in our mother tongues and decried our negligence in developing indigenous languages into languages of scholarship; how we have become complacent in using foreign languages as languages of discourse.

Zandile Radebe called for parents to advocate for promotion of indigenous languages in schools and pointed out that communities should work in tandem with the Department of Education to give effect to language policy. The general view from both the panel and the audience was that despite policies which endorse and support equitable development of all official languages the owners of indigenous languages are not keen to take advantage of these policies and lobby for their recognition and development.

Gqaleni provided an instructive illustration of language as a transmitter of cultural identity and meaning within the medical context. He pointed out that medical systems have languages of their own and the mastery of the field depends on the understanding of the language used. To illustrate the point , he expanded on the concept ‘cure’ and how its meaning as understood in the bio-medical field compares with the isiZulu concept ‘ukwelapha’ and the meaning thereof as understood in the field of traditional medicine.

Mavuso posited language as a weapon of colonization, lamenting how languages of colonization have entrenched their hegemony across Africa. He echoed Radebe’s call for lobbying for recognition and development of indigenous languages.

Mtaka spoke of a dual identity dilemma and the concomitant loss of identity as observed in African communities with its apparent hankering after both Western and African cultural practices. He reiterated that indigenous languages are undermined and laid the blame at the doorstep of the speakers of these languages and pointed out that government has failed to ensure that indigenous languages are recognized and developed.

There was consensus regarding the urgency to promote, develop and preserve indigenous languages. The preference of indigenous language speakers to speak English was criticized and the pivotal role of government in indigenous language preservation stressed. Promotion of usage of indigenous languages at home was also emphasized and parents were discouraged from sending their children to English medium, former whites-only schools.

Written by Bheki Mchunu and Betsie Greyling

The Ulwazi school’s project will run at township and rural schools where there are computer laboratories, two schools during the 2nd semester 2011 and two schools during the 1st semester 2012. Students selected will be from grade 9 and 10, with an interest in history, language or IT. The project will be run in the afternoons as an extramural activity. As such, students will not receive credit towards their end of term results but on completion on the project they will receive a competency certificate from Ulwazi.

The pilot project will be run with a practical task-based section and an online e-learning component, with a mentor assigned to each school.

A project blog, with more information, has been set up at http://ulwazi.org/school/.  The students and mentors will take ownership of the blog and publish their own articles on it, for the duration of the project.

The poster and abstract can be downloaded from the M-Libraries Conference website at http://www.usq.edu.au/m-libraries/program/posterinfo

The first day looked at an introduction to oral history – the process of oral history (speaking, listening, remembering), possible questions that participants could ask and how to prepare for and conduct an interview (download the presentation). We then watched and critiqued a number of oral history video interviews the Ulwazi Programme had conducted over the past few years. The second day involved practical exercises with participants writing questions, conducting interviews with each other and reporting back what they had learnt from the interviews.

The third and fourth days were devoted to improving participants ICT skills, with sessions focused on effectively using word-processing software, conducting research online and using Internet communication tools.

ICT training by Mabusi

So, it was very rewarding to see the Umbumbulu field-workers take control of the shoot, from correctly framing the shot to operating the video and audio recorders.  Well done!

Oral history interview