Kabarak University is proud to be collaborating with Maseno University and other Kenyan institutions in the AFRICA NEXT VOICES project, a one-year pilot initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The project is focused on preserving local languages through data collection, led by the KenCorpus consortium, a coalition of Kenyan universities. The aim is to create a digital corpus for five key languages spoken in Kenya: Dholuo, Gikuyu, Somali, Kalenjin (Nandi/Kipsigis dialects), and Maasai.
Kabarak University, under the leadership of Dr. Andrew Kipkebut, a leading expert in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), is spearheading efforts to gather data for the Kalenjin language. Other institutions involved in this project include Maseno University, which is handling Dholuo and Somali, USIU working on Maasai, and Dedan Kimathi University and LDRI focusing on Gikuyu.
Andrew K. Kipkebut, PhD - Coordinator Innovation and Business Incubation, Kabarak UniversityThe project aims to digitally preserve these languages and enrich their representation in the technological space, making a significant contribution to cultural and linguistic research. By digitizing text and voice data, AFRICA NEXT VOICES seeks to ensure that these vital languages are protected for future generations while fostering research in AI and language preservation.
On Thursday, 29th August 2024, the AFRICA NEXT VOICES team convened at Kisumu Hotel for a successful workshop. Organized by Maseno University, the workshop brought together key stakeholders from participating institutions to discuss project methodologies, tools, and the way forward.
The event featured a keynote address by Prof. Collins Ouma, Director of Research at Maseno University, who highlighted the role of under-resourced languages in the advancement of AI. Breakout sessions were held for each language group, where participants discussed data collection tools and engaged in hands-on demonstrations led by experts from the THiNK team.
The workshop was a crucial platform for the project’s language leads to align on methodologies for data collection and text generation. It also provided an opportunity for feedback and discussion on the next steps, including quality checks, participant recruitment, and administrative planning.
The event marked a significant milestone for the AFRICA NEXT VOICES project, which continues its mission to digitally preserve Kenya’s rich linguistic diversity and contribute to the global AI landscape
