ABSTRACT
The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) is a government-funded institution with two primary programs: supporting the development and usage of digital language resources and promoting Digital Humanities (DH) in South Africa. Initially, SADiLaR’s training events were organized based on requests from researchers, but there were challenges in reaching researchers unaware of the opportunities. To address this, SADiLaR initiated the Escalator project, aiming to create a local community of practice for digital methodologies within humanities and social sciences. Escalator offers mentorship opportunities, communication channels, and nine different tracks tailored to various skill levels and focus areas. Although the main communication platform is the Escalator Slack workspace, its usage is still limited, necessitating alternative information channels. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, training activities transitioned to online formats, albeit with technical challenges leading to dropouts. Recently, with relaxed restrictions, SADiLaR is organizing in-person or hybrid DH-IGNITE events across the country to reach researchers from various universities.
