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Tjeerd DE GRAAF
Research Assosiate, Mercator European Research Centre
(Paterswolde, Netherlands)
The Foundation for Siberian Cultures
and the Use of Information Technology for the Preservation
and Teaching of Indigenous Languages in Siberia
The Foundation for Siberian Cultures was established in 2010. The idea for
this foundation emerged from many years of research with the peoples of the
North and from initiatives for the preservation of their cultures. More recently
the focus has been on Siberia and the Russian Far East.
Beyond the preservation and further enhancement of art and craft traditions of
indigenous peoples, some of the main aims of the foundation are the preservation
of indigenous languages and the knowledge (especially ecological knowledge)
expressed in them. Furthermore, exhibitions, cultural exchanges by means of
tours of artists and workshops, as well as conferences in Germany and Russia
will serve to enhance mutual understandings of peoples with different cultural
backgrounds and encourage valuable and productive dialogues between them.
A digital library and ethnographic collections on the world wide web provide
above all indigenous communities open access to relevant scholarly resources
and research materials. Recent or current projects are presented at regular
shows on the web in the form of alternating photo-video shows. This provides a
forum through which indigenous communities can participate and be informed
about how their traditions are presented and received abroad.
Main Issues from the Foundation’s Programme
Endangered languages and traditional knowledge
The main goals of the Foundation for Siberian Cultures include the
documentation of endangered languages and, especially, the local ecological
knowledge expressed within them. But it also aims to take decisive steps toward
preserving those languages and that knowledge by means of assisting local
communities to produce relevant learning tools. To realize this mandate, the
Foundation is playing an active role in international discourse on these issues.
During workshops and seminars local traditions and experiences are placed into
wider global contexts and provide a base for next appropriate methodological
steps to be taken in order to realize this programme most effectively.
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