Dear friends, I just returned from a fascinating trip to Morocco, where, among other things, I helped to organize this event on language localization in Casablanca. I thought this statement might be of interest. Take note in particular of the project homepage (http://www.bisharat.net/PanAfrLoc). This announcement is also posted on the Kabissa site at http://www.kabissa.org/gong_gong/ict_news/casablanca_statement.html
It would be interesting to discuss where Mailman fits into this picture. Best wishes, Tobias Begin forwarded message: > From: "Donald Z. Osborn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: June 21, 2005 10:52:57 AM EDT > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Casablanca Statement on ICT Localisation in Africa > Reply-To: "African Network of IT Experts and Professionals (ANITEP) > List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > The PanAfrican Localisation workshop held in Casablanca, June 13-15, > brought > together localisation experts and representatives of localisation > projects from > various countries in Africa and some beyond. We considered the state of > localisation on the continent, key issues, and ideas for facilitating > and > advancing localisation efforts. The meeting also produced a brief > declaration > (below). URLs for the sponsoring and collaborationg agencies and for > the > project webpage follow. (Pardon the cross-posts.) > > Don Osborn > Bisharat.net > Coordinator of the PanAfrican Localisation Project > > > > Pan African Localisation Workshop > > Casablanca Statement > > African localisation experts met in Casablanca in a workshop organised > by > Kabissa with Bisharat under IDRC funding, and in collaboration with > MTDS and > the Casablanca Technopark centre. The event benefitted from > contributions from > the Moroccan Minister-Delegate to the Prime Minister in Charge of > General and > Economic Affairs, the Canadian Ambassador to Morocco, and experts from > other > continents. > > After three days of work, the participants in the meeting reached the > following > conclusions: > * Limiting people to the use of information and communication > technology (ICT) > in a foreign language tends to exacerbate the digital divide; makes ICT > adoption long, difficult, and expensive; and impoverishes local > culture. > * Localisation makes ICT more accessible to everybody, including users > from > rural areas and young students, reinforcing the importance of our > culture and > helping us preserve our identity. > * Localisation of ICT into indigenous African languages is therefore > key to > rapid and fair development in Africa. > * For localisation to succeed and have its maximum impact in society, > collaboration among governments, civil society, educators, linguists, > computer > professionals, standards organisations and development agencies is > necessary. > > We, the participants, commit ourselves to promoting this vision and > working > towards social development in Africa through ICT localisation. > > > Casablanca, 15 June 2005 > > > > IDRC http://www.idrc.ca/ > Kabissa http://www.kabissa.org/ > Bisharat http://www.bisharat.net/ > MTDS http://www.mtds.com/ > Casablanca Technopark http://www.casablanca-technopark.ma/ > PanAfrican Localisation Project http://www.bisharat.net/PanAfrLoc > > For further information, write: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Mailman-Developers mailing list [email protected] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/mailman-developers Mailman FAQ: http://www.python.org/cgi-bin/faqw-mm.py Searchable Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/mailman-users%40python.org/ Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/mailman-developers/archive%40jab.org Security Policy: http://www.python.org/cgi-bin/faqw-mm.py?req=show&file=faq01.027.htp
