Nigerian Group Beats 135 Countries to Win UNESCO Local Language Hackathon, Their Story Goes Viral
- A Nigerian group has successfully defeated 135 other groups from other countries to win the UNESCO hackathon ICTs for indigenous languages
- The winning entry is a language gaming prototype and it was created by three Nigerians who are passionate about the Ekpeye language
- The winning team has taken to social media to celebrate their victory even as they have also been recognised by the Federal Government
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An entry by a Nigerian group has won the 2022 UNESCO hackathon in the ICT for indigenous languages category.
The winning entry is a language gaming prototype and it was created by three Nigerians and it successfully clinched the top prize.
Source: Facebook
Sharing the good news of their victory on Facebook, Umasoye Igwe who was part of the group said she started teaching people her indigenous Ekpeye language in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown.
She said she feels happy that her efforts have yielded results.
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"In the year 2020, I was just a clueless 300lv undergraduate who wanted to help other students from my ethnic group learn the Ekpeye language. This passion has shown me ways through which tech can be used in achieving SDGs.
"In the past few months, I co-created a language gaming prototype with Sims Carl and @Noah which was our entry for the hackathon by UNESCO en español and WSIS Process.We emerged winners in our category out of over 135 countries that participated in the hackathon.
"It was an honor to be recognized by the federal republic of Nigeria as a global and national winner contributing solutions for SDGs (Sustainability of indigenous languages) during UNESCO's hackathon ICTs for indigenous languages."
A heartwarming video shared by the Federal Ministry of Communications showed the moment the group received the award from the Minister of Communication, Isa Pantami.
Legit.ng contacted Umasoye for comments on the story and she said the app that won the top prize is built for all African languages. She said it is called Afrilingo and that it is still in the ideation stage.
Her words:
"Afrilingo is an African language gaming app for all African languages. The app is still in the ideation phase."
Watch the video below:
Nigerian lady uses Yoruba language to teach data science
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian lady used Yoruba language to teach data science.
In a Youtube video, the lady identified as Wuruola Oyewusi used her mother tongue to pieces the chosen topic into interesting bits understandable by her followers.
The nice video excited Nigerians on social media as many of them are commending her for her effort at using her language to propagate knowledge.
Source: Legit.ng
