a community guide to archiving languages, memories & knowledges
An emerging network of language and memory keepers, organised by OpenSpeaks.
Launched 3 September 2026 at WikiConference India
a community guide to archiving languages, memories & knowledges
An emerging network of language and memory keepers, organised by OpenSpeaks.
Launched 3 September 2026 at WikiConference IndiaArchiving the Present is a community guide to documenting and archiving languages, memories, and knowledges, grown out of a three-month online workshop series with nearly 20 trainers from seven countries. Published in print, as an e-book, and as a certificate course on WikiLearn.
A self-paced version of the same eight modules, adapted for WikiLearn from the CLDAT workshop series that produced the manual, free to take at your own pace.
Archiving the Present is an emerging network of language and memory keepers, organised by OpenSpeaks, working together on community-led documentation and archiving.
A community network helping Indigenous and marginalised-language communities across South Asia document and archive their own knowledge.
Archiving the Present grew out of the OpenSpeaks Community Language Documentation and Archiving workshop series. It launched in person as a workshop by the same name, alongside WikiConference India, Kochi, on 3 September 2026, celebrating Creative Commons' 25th anniversary. Groups, collectives, and organisations that contributed in its early conception in and beyond the workshop include Adivasi Lives Matter, Adiwasi Janjagruti, Archival and Research Project (ARPO), Design Beku, Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR), Endangered Languages Project, FOSS United, Global Voices, Janastu, Open Knowledge Initiatives (OKI-IIITH), People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), Rising Voices, Santali Art & Film Development Foundation, Whose Knowledge?, and Wikimedians of Kerala User Group. Participants also documented Allahabadi-Awadhi, Angika, Badi, Balesoria-Odia, Bangla, Damai, Dangani, Gandharva, Garhwali, Gondi, Hindi, Ho, Juray, Kami, Koda, Kurukh, Lanjia-Sora, Mahli, Mavli, Mundari, Sadri, Santali, Sarki, Tamil, and Van Gujjari. We are reaching out to these and other groups now to confirm listing.
Registration form coming soon
Fundraising is a skill, like recording or archiving, and community documenters can learn it too. A few funders that support language documentation and archiving work directly:
Grants for language documentation fieldwork worldwide, plus Legacy Material Grants for digitising old recordings.
Grants up to $10,000, including a supplemental grant for oral literature and traditional ecological knowledge. Deadlines fall on 15 January and 15 June each year.
Language Legacies grants, open to community members and researchers from any country.
Small grants, around $1,000, for documentation and revitalisation projects.
Compiled from Module 8, Fundraising, by Mandana Seyfeddinipur.
Coverage of the network and its launch at WikiConference India, Kochi.