[UgaBYTES] How volunteer translators impact local communities: A Ugandan case study

[Mwathi Francis]

Uganda <http://www.google.co.ug/> gets Luganda (in addition to Kiswahili)

The Luganda interface and those launched in early
July<http://google-africa.blogspot.com/2009/07/language-lens-for-experiencing-culture.html>are
the first examples of a new volunteer translation model at work.
Google
'partner' volunteers mobilize language enthusiasts on the ground towards the
translation effort, relying only on Google Africa
team<http://www.blogger.com/dgikunda@google.com>to facilitate offline
work and events. These groups will self-organize and
vet the translations themselves.

Beyond the productivity gains and broadened access to Search, I have found
this volunteer translation model to be vastly rewarding for participants and
their communities. But don't take my word for it! I leave you the insights
of three of the partner volunteers who made the Luganda user interface
happen - Jonathan Gosier of the Appfrica
Labs<http://appfrica.net/blog/about/>team, and Nabireeba James and
James Olweny of Makerere
University <http://www.mak.ac.ug/>.

Click read the full
interview<http://sites.google.com/site/gwscommunitytranslation/uganda/volunteertranslatinggooglecougintoluganda>

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Francis Mwathi
Support Community Facilitator
UgaBYTES Initiatives (www.ugabytes.org)
Telecentr.org (www.telecentrecommunity.ning.com)
Tel: +256 414 370163
Mob: +256 783 010269
Skype: francis.mwathi
E-Mail: mfrancis at ugabytes.org