Human-Computer Interaction as an Instrument for Strengthening Culture and Language of a Colombian Native Community

This paper is about the relationship between culture and human-computer interaction. Cultures are live, open and in continuous change. Computer and information technology, as external factors for non-Western-industrialized societies, may trigger transformations, that sometimes, could be considered as negative or unwanted. For example, the usage of Western word-processors modified the Japanese writing system when Japanese people faced a number of unfamiliar concepts introduced in those computer tools [8]. At the same time, minority societies around the world are in danger of extinction. The Nasa people, our target population, struggle to revitalize their mother tongue and cultural traditions. This text presents an experience about developing or adapting computer tools to help the revitalization efforts. The use of the computer could lead to positive effects, or at least, to effects aligned with the policies of the society.