CODI is excited to launch CODI Signals, a new “Ask an Expert” blog series spotlighting sharp insights from across our community. In each edition, we pose timely questions on multilingualism, digital access, and Universal Acceptance and share candid responses from CODI members and partners.
For this month’s first edition, we are spotlighting insights from CODI’s The Global Web: Understanding Your Needs survey to answer the critical question: “What do last-mile organizations say they actually need?”
Dive in below to hear directly from our experts.
Alice Castillejo, Director of Influence and Language Justice, CLEAR Global
“Organizations that work with partners all over the world, like CLEAR Global, face several key challenges. We are constantly faced with the narrative that language problems are already "fixed," while trying to get traction with people producing digital tools to recognize that they need to go beyond the dominant language in each context. At the same time, we struggle to secure funding for foundational voice data that would most benefit people who have had limited access to education. We need meaningful evidence that supports advocacy, challenges the narrative, and demonstrates how gender inequality is compounded by the lack of voice technology.”
Amin Dahiry, Consultant and Editor, Rise Afrika Consulting
“Connectivity is often limited or intermittent in remote areas, so mobile-based access and lightweight, localized digital content are essential for meaningful online engagement. There are also localization and representation gaps, where global platforms rely on heritage speakers or generic language models rather than indigenous and community-based speakers, leading to inaccuracies, tokenism, and reduced trust. We have seen strong progress where digital access efforts are community-led and language-first. Community validation by native and indigenous speakers has helped produce more accurate, culturally relevant content and higher-quality language data for digital platforms and AI systems. Additionally, partnerships between local organizations and global platforms have demonstrated that investing in underrepresented languages meaningfully increases user engagement and adoption when local linguistic realities are respected.”
Internet Society Uganda Chapter
“Challenges with poor internet service quality, insufficient devices in schools and communities, and frequent power outages, which hinder consistent and reliable access, remain. Additionally, navigating a landscape where governments sometimes impose measures that restrict the openness of the internet, such as blanket internet shutdowns or "repressive legislation," can cultivate self-censorship and mistrust among users. Despite these ongoing issues, Internet Society’s Uganda Chapter has focused on bridging the digital divide through digital skills training for a vulnerable community. The need for a diversified funding strategy for the chapter to ensure financial and project sustainability is more important than ever, and for civil society as a whole to build its institutional capacity to proactively advocate for tech accountability against big tech and government actions.”
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