Following a selection procedure by the GYA internal review committee, the 2018-19 GYA North-South Interdisciplinary Grant was awarded to Suzanne Bouclin (Canada) and Binyam Sisay Mendisu (Ethiopia) for the research project proposal: Can Digital Storytelling be used as a Tool for Countering Language Endangerment?
The project seeks to assess whether Digital Storytelling (DST) may be used as a tool for countering language endangerment in the very unique circumstances of the Arbore people in Ethiopia. The more targeted research goal is to offer a DST workshop to interdisciplinary scholars working with and for the Arbore people in a train-the-trainer format. The proposal builds on the interdisciplinary expertise of two collaborators, one from the human rights / engaged-research perspective; the other from a linguistics / capacity buildings standpoint.
This project is intended as a pilot project to a potentially larger and more expansive project involving international NGOs and other interdisciplinary research collaborators.
About the GYA North-South Interdisciplinary Grant
The GYA includes a diverse membership of scientists and scholars, in many disciplines, based in developed and developing countries. This grant scheme was initiated in 2014, aiming to foster collaboration across the lines that often separate researchers and limit possibilities. Specifically, this scheme facilitates the development of small-scale, innovative, curiosity-driven, blue-sky, exploratory research pilots or prototypes that unite researchers in developed and developing countries and cross disciplinary boundaries.
The North-South Interdisciplinary Grant is awarded annually, and is meant to provide seed money to enable GYA members to prepare a proof of concept, prototype, or pilot research project with a view to securing larger external funding.
Current and past grant recipients and projects:
2018/19: Can Digital Storytelling be used as a Tool for Countering Language Endangerment?
2017/18: Biochar for food security and sustainable ecosystem services
2016: Ethics in environmental decision-making: From individual acts to global outcomes
2015/16: Connecting epigenetics and natural resources
2014/15: One-dimensional molecular current wires using tailored-to-the-purpose chemistry
