By Sylvia Mariadassou | Project Manager
Dear Friends,
I hope you're all doing well.
The Billion Readers (BIRD) AniBook pilot project, supported by the Department of Indigenous Affairs (DIA), Government of Arunachal Pradesh, and PlanetRead, is working to revitalize six indigenous languages of Arunachal Pradesh: Adi, Idu, Singpho, Tai-Khamti, Kaman, and Tawrã. The project aims to promote indigenous scripts, strengthen cultural identity, and improve reading and language skills, while also developing local talent in narration, translation, music, animation, and coordination.
The project will create six new AniBooks with translations into five other languages, convert five existing AniBooks into six languages, and produce accompanying PDFs and activity sheets. It will also introduce Same Language Subtitling (SLS) in 13 Doordarshan Itanagar TV episodes and build a database of local creative talent. Another key focus is the transcription of folk stories in collaboration with Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and native speakers, prioritizing endangered tribes such as the Meyor and Sartang.
Progress has been steady, despite challenges such as a limited number of language experts, scarcity of trained animators, tonal and writing complexities, connectivity gaps, and administrative delays. These are being actively addressed through training, stronger community engagement, and revised planning.
By December 2025, we aim to deliver one new Tai-Khamti AniBook with translations into the other five languages and convert five existing AniBooks into six languages. By January 2027, five more original stories will be developed with activity guides and translated into six languages.
Our project facilitators, Mr. and Ms. Deshmuk, along with field coordinators Ms. Chikro and Ms. Mimi, are coordinating closely with language experts from the various tribes to finalize translations and narrations in collaboration with the respective CBOs.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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