Indigenous-led journalism to strengthen the Tzeltal language
Juan Vázquez Méndez is training the youth to become local journalists
Originally published on Global Voices
##StoriesThatInspire. Meet 10 activists who use digital media to strengthen and promote Mayan languages in Mexico.
Photo by Juan Vázquez Méndez, used with his permission.
Learn about the inspiring story of one of the grantees selected for the 2024 Mayan Language Digital Activism Fellowship organized by Rising Voices. In this personal essay, the author shares about his experience in activism and the project through which he seeks to promote his native language, within his community and in digital spaces.
My name is Juan Vázquez Méndez, better known as Xunté. I am originally from the municipality of San Juan Cancuc and I speak the Tzeltal language. I am currently 35 years old.
San Juan Cancuc belongs to the Tzeltal Mayan culture. What I like most about my community is that we still preserve our mother tongue, community organization, as well as the use and production of textiles in an artisanal way. For me, the Tzeltal language has a deep meaning, since in the municipality of San Juan Cancuc approximately 90 percent of inhabitants still speak this language.
Since I was 16, I have contributed as a translator and interpreter in cases of violence against women in my community. I currently work with Tzeltal youth, facilitating workshops on empowerment, youth rights and Indigenous peoples. This work has led me to consider myself a cultural promoter and defender of human rights within my community.
My career as a community facilitator motivated me to apply for the Mayan Language Digital Activism Program, of which I am now a part. Participating in this program will allow me to strengthen the work I do for my community, my language, and the rights of the Mayan peoples.
Training the youth to become local journalists
In San Juan Cancuc we have not had the opportunity to communicate to the outside world the social or environmental problems we face. In our community, there are no alternative media that report on what is happening in our territory and promote our rights. Therefore, within the digital activism program, I will develop a project that seeks to report on the events that occur in our community, and also to share our worldview, such as knowledge, practices and ways of life.
As part of the project, I have invited teens from the Iwiltic community to participate in face-to-face training on the promotion and revitalization of the Tzeltal language through digital journalism in San Juan Cancuc. These training sessions seek to strengthen the youth's skills to document and tell the stories of their communities.
Image by Kiltik Periodismo, used with their permission.
Communicating our knowledge entails a great responsibility in the use of digital media and information, which is why I focused on community digital journalism because it allows us to think about the responsible use of technology and digital media.
The project involves the articulation of different people in the community, which is why I consider that it will be a good start to promote the work of youth in the long run. The participation of youth is fundamental in the construction of town agreements that promote respect for all people, including children and adolescents in the community. As an agent of change in San Juan Cancuc, I would like to see young people as subjects of human rights who act with social responsibility both in their communities and in their families.
I invite the young people of the Indigenous communities to dare to dream and take small actions for themselves and for their community to create more equitable and inclusive spaces with our people and with nature.