CJV kicks off international project EPSULA which will help to preserve indigenous languages and cultures of Latin America
The EPSULA project (Educational Portal for Sustainable Cultural Diversity in Latin America) aims to preserve cultural heritage, including the languages of the indigenous communities of Latin America that have never been recorded in writing. Masaryk University Language Centre, as the main coordinator, is working with six institutions from Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, and Finland to create a multilingual online portal that will preserve authentic language materials while promoting sustainable tourism. The project aims to use a combination of technology, education, and cultural heritage protection to improve the situation of vulnerable indigenous communities in remote areas in an environmentally friendly way. The first joint meeting of the partners will take place on 28 March in the second largest city of El Salvador, Santa Ana.
The universities collaborating on the EPSULA project are Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, University of Azuay, Universidad Católica de El Salvador, and Universidad Don Bosco. The impact of the project will be, in addition to the creation of educational materials, a greater connection between local communities, non-profit organizations, travel agencies, and public authorities in order to create a functional model of re-skilling courses and workshops for working with Latin American cultural heritage in places where know-how is disappearing and opportunities for residents are very limited.
The Ecuador and El Salvador partners will collect and record materials among the indigenous communities, transcribe and translate them into Spanish, while the European partners will develop the online portal and educational modules based on the authentic materials. The Ecuador and El Salvador partners will pilot the educational modules, methodologies, and sustainable tourism support materials in their existing and newly-established programs. Finally, all partners will present the portal to target groups (educators, social workers, tourism agents) in Latin America and the EU.
The meeting in Santa Ana on 28 March will also include the Ambassador of the European Union to the State of El Salvador and the Rector of the partner university (Universidad Católica de El Salvador).
CJV will continue to inform about the EPSULA project, which will last until 2025, through its website and social networks.
This project is supported by the European Union.
