CANADORE COLLEGE
Canadore facilitates collaboration between Indigenous communities to preserve language through AI

The First Peoples' Centre at Canadore College is helping to preserve the language of the Maleku, a small Indigenous community in Costa Rica, with the help of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.

Photo by Vanessa Tignanelli / Canadore College

"More than 650 people of the Maleku communities will have the opportunity to learn and teach their language, Maleku Jaika, to the next generations," said Jessenia Vásquez Quesada, Maleku College Partner, Cost Rica. "They have Maleku Jaika without technology, but it is difficult because they do not have enough books, documents, teachers, or budget. With an application and technology, it will be easier to learn the language."

"Language is the foundation of our cultures and revitalizing it, both locally and globally, is essential to reclaiming our identities," said Sarah Julian, Director, Canadore College's First Peoples' Centre and Indigenous Engagement. "While much work remains within our own Indigenous communities, supporting global language revitalization fosters a shared movement, strengthening our collective resilience and amplifying our voice. By collaborating across borders we gain valuable knowledge, resources, and solidarity which, in turn, can inspire and inform our efforts with our own communities."

The project highlights Camb.ai's AI-powered speech and translation tool which enables content dubbing into over 140 languages using their proprietary AI models. The innovative technology is widely used in many applications including the film industry for dialogue translation. Canadore College students will apply this cutting-edge technology to produce real-time translations into the Maleku language, supporting efforts to preserve and share the community's linguistic heritage.

"Working on Indigenous language preservation not only fits our mission as a business but helps preserve languages on the brink of extinction which, in turn, preserves the very fabric of such cultures," says Akshat Prakash, co-founder. "For Camb.ai, this is an extremely gratifying project. To be able to help preserve a language, a culture, and an entire heritage goes beyond any business satisfaction.  This project will lay the foundation for cultural preservation for the world to emulate, and that brings us tremendous gratification."

The groundwork for this initiative began nearly two years ago with a small group of Canadore students traveling to Costa Rica. A second group visited in March 2024 with financial support from the Global Skills Opportunity Fund, a program supported by Colleges and Institutes Canada. During their time in Costa Rica, the students immersed themselves in the Maleku cultural practices, fostering relationships and an understanding of the community's goals.

"Canadore College is proud to collaborate with the Maleku community on a significant initiative to preserve their language," said George Burton, President and CEO. "The College is committed to supporting the project respectfully, in partnership with Camb.ai and the Maleku people."