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Revitalizing Minoritized Languages and Cultures

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Senior Landecker Fellow Noufel Bouzeboudja, a writer, translator and artist, is currently involved in a program called HIBIL, organized by the Basque NGO Garabide, an association that combines learning and social activism to help minoritized linguistic communities, mainly in Latin America, through various educational projects.

The HIBIL program has two phases – the first being a three-month online course, and the second a trip to Euskal Herria (Basque Country) to deepen the lessons from the course and learn more about revitalizing the Basque language. 24 participants in the program come from 12 distinct minoritized linguistic communities:

  • Mapuche (Walmapu)
  • Amazig (Rif, Kabilia, Melilla)
  • Nasa Yuwe (Colombia)
  • Tutunaku (Mexico)
  • Nawat (Mexico)
  • Maya (Yucatan, Mexico)
  • Quechua (Ecuador),
  • Pipil Nawat (El Salvador)
  • Guarani (Bolivia)
  • Tzeltal (Mexico)
  • Quechua (Peru and Bolivia)
  • Kitxe (Guatemala)

A native speaker of Kabyle, Noufel’s participation in the program centers on his work combining arts with social activism, particularly around revitalizing Kabyle.

Noufel speaking to participants in the HIBIL program.

While traveling to Euskal Herria, Noufel and the other program particpants spoke to students, politicians and the public about the importance of preserving and revitalizing minoritized languages. Noufel also helped other program participants by coaching them on journalism techniques, such as interviewing, video and audio recording.

Noufel is one of thirty 2020-2021 Landecker Democracy Fellows. This fellowship, a collaboration between the Alfred Landecker Foundation and Humanity in Action, was created to strengthen a new generation of leaders whose approaches to political and social challenges can become catalysts for democratic placemaking and community building. Read more about the fellowship here.