Onenji

Onenji is the solution to remedy the problem of the disappearance of certain knowledge from the African oral tradition. Several knowledge related to crafts, cooking, housing, agriculture or even the protection of nature disappear at the same time as the practice of several local languages disappears. Western languages (English, French and Spanish) being the national languages of several African countries, local languages are no longer spoken and are not preserved by any public policy. Today, in Gabon, speaking one's mother tongue in a public place or in a public administration can be frowned upon. Local languages are no longer spoken except in a few families who have understood the importance of speaking the local language. The majority of the population is affected. Easy access to new technologies has accentuated the phenomenon with the obligation to practice English, French or Spanish in order to be able to communicate. The appearance of AI and conversational models such as ChatGPT has made this disappearance even faster. Although part of the problem, artificial intelligence can help solve the problem. We could create AIs that would help people learn to speak these local languages. Or use AI and blockchain to digitize and share local artisanal knowledge.

My solution consists of a set of tools, educational games, audio/video lessons, a library, an audio library. The solution also offers a news section to offer users opportunities for scholarships, internships, jobs or competitions such as the MIT solve challenge. The idea is to allow each learner to enroll and benefit from a program adapted to their degree of practice of the local language. But above all, we have built it with levels linked to the age of the learner. Thus, several modules combining the services listed above have been designed:
- a module suitable for 3 to 7 year olds;
- a module suitable for 7 to 13 year olds;
- a module suitable for 13 to 21 year olds;
- a module suitable for people aged 21 and over;
The modules will be affixed to a blockchain using smart contracts to help validate the steps of the modules and certify the correct degree of learning.
In addition to these modules, we want to create Kak'agondjo, an AI that can help translate texts and converse in the local language. Kak'agondjo will also be able to answer questions about the cultural heritage of the local language concerned, recognize objects and medicinal plants and advise on their use.

Local ethnic communities living in urban areas are mainly affected by this solution. They are gradually losing the practice of vernacular languages and show very little interest in the preservation of their tangible and intangible heritage for the benefit of a modern and globalized culture. Western education tends to hamper the protection of this heritage as only modern cultural elements are reflected in school curricula. Our cultural heritage is only briefly mentioned. Languages are delivered for the benefit of Western languages. The craft is not valued and is only practiced by a few experts who grow old and will soon disappear with their knowledge. Several games and techniques for learning words, numbers, nature, values, motor skills were going away, the more people were not interested in them, in favor of violent video games that were culturally distant from us. Tales, legends and proverbs are no longer used except at high-impact traditional ceremonies such as weddings and deaths and are no longer shared with young people on a regular basis as was the case in time immemorial. So by using the latest technology and modern learning methods, Onenji will be the app that will make this happen. This by using models and environments that people are familiar with in 2023. Above all, it is the solution that will ensure the transition between the knowledge of the oral tradition in decline and the knowledge of the written tradition in perpetual expansion. . The old ones will be replaced by the AI. The initiation or knowledge learning tests will be replaced by the blockchain. Books and audios will list the stories, tales, legends and proverbs that will disappear.

We are a team of volunteers working for local traditional chiefdoms. Personally, I have been in charge of the digital communication of the chiefdom of my tribe for 3 years. We criss-crossed our community areas and noticed the decline of tangible and intangible heritage. We have created forums on facebook and on whatsapp as well as groups that meet physically at regular intervals. We have regular exchanges with families who wish to continue to practice their culture. Our solutions are based on their feedback and have done some conclusive tests. All the information that will be disseminated there will come from these communities. The advice of community elders will validate our solutions to certify their veracity and authenticity. Several members and advisers of traditional chiefdoms are part of the design and data control groups.

The first obstacle we encounter remains the financing of our activities. Although we are aware of the extent of the tangible and intangible heritage, we need the means to move around and go to the villages and towns to the people who hold the different knowledge or who own the materials that we wish to preserve digitally. In addition to travel, we lack certain equipment such as cameras, dictaphones or even equipment to photograph 3D objects and 360° places. We also need a powerful computing infrastructure capable of helping us train our artificial intelligence models and hosting our blockchain. Above all, we need experts in artificial intelligence and blockchain to help us build the best models and the best networks adapted to our solution. We can also benefit from the help of anthropologists, specialists in learning local languages or even people working to stop the disappearance of cultural heritage.