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In June, CLEAR Global joined localization professionals, language technology companies, and other industry leaders from around the world for this year’s LocWorld 51 conference in Dublin. Themed “AI and Beyond”, the conference was packed with presentations, panel discussions and networking opportunities as attendees unpacked the latest trends, challenges and innovation from global attendees. 

CLEAR Global’s Chief Executive, Aimee Ansari, was fortunate to be asked to talk about our work during the opening plenary. Aimee spoke about how 3.7 billion people face language barriers when trying to access digital information. She highlighted the challenges and risks of these language barriers. 

CLEAR Global’s focus this year was creating a fairer future and exploring the role AI technology plays. Here are the 4 key takeaways from LocWorld 51.

1. Language inclusion in AI is a global priority 

Despite the widespread adoption of AI in the language and localization industry, language exclusion is a problem in AI. Generative AI is based on large language models (LLM) and mainly trained in English, excluding 80% of the world’s population. 

Language inclusion should be a global priority to ensure that AI technologies serve all communities equitably. CLEAR Gobal’s aim in Dublin was to advance the conversation around the impact of language inclusion and the significant impact AI can have on bridging language gaps and empowering local communities. 

2. Innovation in the localization industry 

This year’s Process Innovation Challenge saw incredible advancements in efficiency and creativity, reshaping how languages are managed and localized globally. CLEAR Global’s TILES (Touch Interface for Language Enabled Services) was the runner up of the PIC, won by CaptionHub who graciously donated their prize to us. 

Innovation is at the core of language inclusion, driving the development of technology that can bridge language divides and empower marginalized communities worldwide. As these advancements continue, collaboration and investment remain crucial to ensure equitable access and impact.

3. Coordinated collaboration is urgently needed 

Language data collection efforts remain siloed; each organization collecting their own, often domain specific, data. Funding is fragmented and inadequate. But there are projects, like CLEAR Global’s project to build machine translation in Rwanda, that are open source, scalable and have incredible potential to empower marginalized language speakers and provide vital access to information.

To create inclusive LLMs that include data from marginalized languages, we need language data – digitized voice or text datasets in the right languages. Even languages with millions of speakers may not have high quality parallel language datasets. 

Collaboration is urgently needed between linguists, technology partners, and community based organizations to provide access to these speakers. Thankfully, we have a community of linguists, Translators without Borders, but greater coordination is needed between technology partners and organizations.

4. Everyone has a role to play in a fairer future 

Creating a fairer future requires a collective effort from all. Researchers, developers, development workers, linguists, community members and organizations must work together to ensure that everyone regardless of language has access to vital information. 

To achieve language inclusion in technology, now is the moment to double down and invest in technology and organizations that empower diverse language speakers globally.

80% of the world is counting on us.

Written by Megan Johnson, Communications Officer, CLEAR Global

The post LocWorld 51: 4 key takeaways to strive for a fairer future appeared first on CLEAR Global.

Language inclusion is key to helping women and girls shape a better future for themselves. This International Women’s Day, CLEAR Global looks at how we can listen, inspire opportunities, and promote women’s rights with inclusion. It all starts with language. 

Investing in women is a human rights issue. Exclusion from vital information and services is detrimental to women’s health, well-being, and opportunities. Time and again, women, children, older people, minorities, and people with disabilities are disproportionately affected by vulnerability and language exclusion. Read on to see how the evidence stacks up. Learn how language awareness can support everyone’s right to health, promote gender equality, and help reach those most in need around the world. 

Ensure women are not left behind

 

When we talk about real-life examples of language exclusion, the inequality is stark. This week, our colleague Victoire shared insights into some of the struggles he’s witnessed women around him face in DRC. 

 

Beyond bullets – dangerous language barriers in DRC 

 

People have been displaced in their thousands by violence in eastern DRC. The situation is particularly dangerous for women and girls, who face a protection crisis. Thousands of displaced people are struggling to access basic needs like safety, shelter, food, and health care. While humanitarian organizations are working to address challenges, language barriers can create obstacles to effective assistance. Language-based exclusion can hinder the humanitarian response and prevent displaced people from accessing vital information. We’ve changed the name in the story below to protect the person’s identity. 

Francine, a 24-year-old mother displaced from Rutshuru with her two children, tells of her struggle for survival. We’ve changed her name in this story to protect her identity. When fighting broke out, her husband disappeared. She fled with her children, walking 60 kilometers on foot from Rutshuru to the Kanyaruchinya camps in the suburbs of Goma.

Unable to read and unfamiliar with phones, Francine speaks only Kinyarwanda and limited Swahili. She struggles to access information about food distribution and relies heavily on rumors. She recounted how community aid distributors approached her with documents to sign, withholding their content. Fearful but desperate for help, she signed them – but received no assistance. Her limited language skills make her hesitate to speak up or ask questions, further isolating her.

After enduring two days without food, Francine approached a humanitarian worker, hoping to register as a displaced person and access aid. The worker, seemingly unable to understand her, simply gestured for her to wait. 

“I think if my husband was here, or if I knew French or Swahili, I could be treated differently and report the abuse we face in this camp,” Francine concludes.

The situation is dire. Displaced individuals like Francine say they receive inconsistent aid, sometimes nothing at all, and are forced to sign documents they do not understand. Feeling powerless due to language barriers, they are left vulnerable.

Francine, like many others, fled the fighting to seek safety within the camps. Yet, she’s found language barriers create new obstacles. Ensuring humanitarian communication happens in the languages of displaced people can contribute to more equitable and effective aid distribution. Solutions must listen to displaced people to ensure their needs are met.

 

"Here, I feel like a stranger, unheard and misunderstood. My only dream is to return home, where I can speak my Kinyarwanda and a little Swahili freely, without shame. That's all I pray for."

– Francine

– Interview by Victoire Rwicha, CLEAR Global in Kanyaruchinya camps, North-Kivu, Goma, DRC.

Every day, we see how language can make the difference between being heard or not. To take one critical example, good communication can mean women get the health care they need; while language gaps can mean they go without. 

At CLEAR Global, we partner with women’s rights and health organizations to make sexual and reproductive health information accessible in the languages and formats women in each context understand. With innovative communication solutions, women can access resources, healthcare services and support, share their concerns and get reliable answers, whatever language they speak.

Why language inclusion matters for women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights

 

Everyone deserves to know their rights and be free from the threat of sexual violence. But in crisis settings, survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarians rarely have access to reporting channels in their language. Effective action on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) can support the right to health, promote gender equality, and reduce vulnerability that disproportionately affects women and children. Yet without language awareness, these services never reach some of those most in need.

In highly diverse language communities, we see too many women become vulnerable to exclusion because of language barriers. Lack of accessible, actionable information worsens health outcomes, spreads distrust and disinformation, and increases the burden on health systems. 

 

If we don’t understand language needs, women and girls risk being unable to access critical information and healthcare in the languages they speak: 

• Residents of the 10 countries facing the highest maternal mortality rate speak more than 850 languages.
• Every week, 4,000 adolescent girls and young women become infected with HIV. Over 75% live in sub-Saharan Africa - a region with up to 2,000 languages.
• Despite a global decline, child marriage is increasing among girls from the poorest backgrounds - who are also among the most likely to face exclusion due to language.
• Millions of girls are forced to drop out of school every year due to issues related to menstruation and teenage pregnancy.

Poor access to sexual and reproductive health services reinforces language exclusion. If those millions of girls were not forced to drop out of school, they could gain the opportunity to learn a national language or key communication skills like digital literacy. Inclusive access to information, education, and support can bring the hope and opportunities that women and girls deserve.

Language to include women’s rights

 

The benefits of language inclusion are clear. By making vital information accessible in the languages people use, we can ensure that sexual and reproductive health and rights messages and services reach the women and girls they’re targeting. At CLEAR Global, we assist partner organizations to listen and communicate with women and girls, so they can claim their rights and access appropriate support.

When we use language to include women in the conversation, we can:

Now at the forefront of language technology for social good, CLEAR Global aims to transform communication and shift power structures with our inclusive solutions. Our nonprofit organization bridges the communication gap and empowers marginalized language communities to access vital information,  services,  and opportunities,  and   make their voices heard. Read on to learn how CLEAR Global creates channels for communication in the mother languages people use – including more marginalized language speakers in critical conversations.

• Help people be empowered to make informed choices about their health care;
• Help women and girls understand and decide about contraceptive use, recognize symptoms of infections or disease, and participate in their maternity care;
• Support vulnerable individuals to better understand their right to a healthy life free from violence.

Understanding women – which languages work? 

When a crisis strikes, more information needs to be available on the languages people use and understand. Without reliable data, humanitarians find themselves developing communication strategies on the basis of often unreliable assumptions. The result too often is that affected communities struggle to communicate with responders in a language they understand, just as we saw in the case of Francine in DRC. One reason that women, children, older people, and people with disabilities are often at the greatest disadvantage is their lower access to education. This means that they are less likely to understand national and international languages. 

We support organizations to develop language-informed programs and communication strategies through language data research and analysis. Learn more about CLEAR Insights language data and maps on our website. 

– We’ve developed the first language use data sets and maps for 30+ countries to help humanitarian and development workers know which languages are spoken where.

– Our Global Language Data Review identifies 88 countries for which language data is most critical to ensuring no one is left behind. Find out what language data you need to support people who are at risk of being marginalized because of their language. 

– Five easy steps to integrate language data into humanitarian and development programs. This is a quick reference guide for planning and delivering aid programs.

– We’ve successfully worked with partners like IOM DTM, REACH, and UNICEF to integrate standard language and communication questions and key language considerations into multi-sector needs assessments and ongoing surveys.

Practical ways we can make change

 

Once we know what languages women and girls speak, it’s time to implement solutions that work for them. CLEAR Global assists nonprofit partners to build language awareness and inclusive solutions. Together we can support women’s right to health, promote gender equality, and help reach those most in need. Here are the practical ways we can make change: 

– Use digital resources like apps, chatbots, and telemedicine to improve accessibility in users’ languages. 

– Address digital exclusion – consider tools that work for people with low literacy, who don’t have access to or aren’t familiar with technology.

– Understand the words people use – to provide services that meet people’s needs, communicators must consider social norms, potential euphemisms, shame or embarrassment when talking about their bodies, sensitive concerns, or violation. 

– Build systemic language support – to understand and address issues, help health workers manage language barriers, and reduce mistakes and miscommunication that threaten people’s health and well-being.

 

Global resources – multilingual glossaries 

 

We create digital resources like language glossaries to support women and girls to claim their rights. CLEAR Global’s Glossary App is an invaluable multilingual resource for Safeguarding and protection against sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA).

With 208 safeguarding terms in 40+ languages, this glossary equips people working with those at risk of sexual exploitation, abuse, or harm to communicate about PSEA more effectively. Program staff, volunteers, translators, and interpreters can use it to understand vital safeguarding terms. There’s the option to hear audio pronunciation and watch sign language videos, on- and offline. It helps responders use consistent, standard translations, avoid confusion and stigma, communicate more effectively with communities and their staff, and prepare for challenging conversations. With the right words, organizations can better listen to women and girls and ensure they can access the right support.

We developed this glossary in collaboration with partner agencies including the International Organization for Migration, Safeguarding Resource and Support Hub, Social Development Direct, CDAC Network, H2H Network, CHS Alliance, UNICEF, and other members of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee. 

Including women – projects around the world

 

These are just some of the ways we collaborate with our nonprofit partners to help them listen to and communicate more effectively with communities. Promoting women’s rights around the world has long been part of CLEAR Global’s language inclusion work around the world: 

– During the Zika virus response, we worked with the World Health Organization to deliver essential videos with advice for pregnant women subtitled and voiced in Haitian Creole and Brazilian Portuguese.

– In Kenya, our translations of educational materials and health care posters for community clinics enabled rural communities to get information about neonatal breastfeeding tips in local languages for the first time.

– To better understand how Rohingya women in Bangladesh speak about their health and trauma, we held focus group discussions in their language and created language resources including audio files and glossaries for aid workers to better address women’s needs.

– Our research found that language, communication style, and channel influence how satisfied Rohingya patients feel about sexual and reproductive health services.

The TWB Community – investing in women

The TWB Community, at the core of CLEAR Global, helps promote inclusion daily to help create a more inclusive world for everyone. Over 120,000 language volunteers come together to offer language services, supporting humanitarian and development work globally. 

Community members take on language-related projects including translation, revision, subtitling, and voice-overs, and they help build language data to support CLEAR Global’s work. These language services help bridge communication gaps between responders and people living through a crisis. Beyond that, they help make access to opportunities and progress more equal. Learn more about our community member’s experiences on the TWB Blog.

Recently, community members have worked with NGO partners including: 

– WHO, IASC, and GADRRRES (World Health Organization, Inter-Agency Standing Committee and the Global Alliance for Disaster, Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector): We translated materials to support children’s safety, health, mental health, and psycho–social well–being; 

– e-Cancer: We helped ensure vital medical information reaches more people, to advance inclusion and progress for all – “Knowledge, practice, and communication barriers for oncology doctors in Chile when addressing the sexuality of their patients”

– Room to Read: We made the nonprofit animated film project ‘She Creates Change’ accessible in Japanese, promoting gender equality through the stories of girls across the globe. Check out the launch trailer here.

Commit to supporting women and girls’ rights

 

Want to join us? Together we can support women and girls to claim their rights and access essential services like health care. If you’re a nonprofit humanitarian or development organization, work with CLEAR Global to ensure women and girls are included and empowered to access the services and opportunities they deserve. 

Partner with us

We are calling for supporters to invest in women with CLEAR Global. If you share our vision for equality, sponsor CLEAR Global to help us build inclusive solutions that ensure women’s and girls’ voices are heard. 

Sponsor CLEAR Global today

 

Want to learn more? 

 

– Read community member experiences on the TWB blog

– Learn about our movement to start four billion conversations to support women and girls 

 

Show your support 

 

Together we can transform challenges into opportunities and shape a better future for women, whatever language they speak. 

Share our blog to spread the message: if we want to promote inclusion and equal opportunities, we must invest in women. 

 #InspireInclusion

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Written by Danielle Moore, Communications Officer, CLEAR Global

The post Listen, inspire, include women’s rights ​ appeared first on CLEAR Global.

International Mother Language Day has its origins in Bangladesh, where years ago the Bengali (or Bangla) Language Movement called to recognize and respect the community’s linguistic and cultural rights. Today the mother language initiative has evolved into UNESCO’s global celebration of ‘cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies.’

In Bangladesh now, over 900,000 Rohingya people find refuge in Cox’s Bazar’s camps. Having fled Myanmar, they face a multitude of challenges to their health, wellbeing, and education. Massive humanitarian efforts aim to protect the Rohingya community’s human rights and provide aid with respect and dignity. But detrimentally, our evidence shows that the Rohingya language has long been overlooked.

This blog explains why speaking someone’s mother language does more than make you feel at home. Including mother languages lets us unlock the full potential of sustainable humanitarian and development projects globally. Four billion people speak a marginalized language, and their voices deserve to be heard.

International Mother Language Day has its origins in Bangladesh, where years ago the Bengali (or Bangla) Language Movement called to recognize and respect the community’s linguistic and cultural rights. Today the mother language initiative has evolved into UNESCO’s global celebration of ‘cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies.’

In Bangladesh now, over 900,000 Rohingya people find refuge in Cox’s Bazar’s camps. Having fled Myanmar, they face a multitude of challenges to their health, wellbeing, and education. Massive humanitarian efforts aim to protect the Rohingya community’s human rights and provide aid with respect and dignity. But detrimentally, our evidence shows that the Rohingya language has long been overlooked.

This blog explains why speaking someone’s mother language does more than make you feel at home. Including mother languages lets us unlock the full potential of sustainable humanitarian and development projects globally. Four billion people speak a marginalized language, and their voices deserve to be heard.

Language inclusion is the key to sustainable change

 

We’ve found that for Rohingya people who face exclusion, language and communication barriers exacerbate existing challenges to essential healthcare, safety, shelter and more. The impacts of exclusion are widespread and disproportionately affect vulnerable and already-excluded groups, older people, women, children, people with disabilities, and those with low literacy levels.

This exclusion echoes all around the world – every day, people cannot access life-changing information and opportunities because of the language they speak.

Awareness is growing

 

Language plays a vital role in sustainable development. And there’s evidence that it’s working. Six years ago, evidence from TWB first highlighted language challenges, miscommunication and false assumptions about the Rohingya community’s comprehension of local languages. We’ve distributed guidance on communicating in the Rohingya language on key topics such as health, gender, and disability to strengthen responders’ capacity to translate in an effective and culturally acceptable way. Since 2020, our Bangladesh country program has trained 1,400 humanitarians to understand and support the language needs of the Rohingya community. Now, in Cox’s Bazar’s refugee camps, research shows that communication practices to reach excluded groups have become more widespread, and they’re more in line with people’s needs and preferences. That said, we can’t stop there. There is still progress to be made to ensure sustainable, inclusive communication practices, especially for marginalized groups. 

In a 2022 study, 74% of respondents said their organization still uses Chittagonian-speaking staff for day-to-day communication with Rohingya. Not using the community’s mother language for important and sensitive conversations presents challenges, particularly for the most marginalized: 

“Most NGO staff use Chittagonian, which is spoken in the Cox’s Bazar area and is close to the Rohingya language. But it is not close enough to avoid misunderstandings. Many camp residents, especially older people and children do not fully understand Chittagonian. That can be particularly damaging when it comes to topics like SRH (sexual and reproductive health) and GBV (gender-based violence).”

– NGO volunteer and former sexual and reproductive health practitioner, 2022

“As I have a disability and hearing problems, it is especially hard for me to explain my health conditions properly. There is no one in the consulting room to explain to me. The doctor just pretends to listen to my problem seriously.”

– 60-year-old Rohingya man, 2022

Why embracing language diversity is the key to inclusion

 

Our language data and maps, including community-informed analysis of language use, are among our most in-demand services. They’re being used around the globe. This means humanitarian and international development organizations are increasingly planning their program communications around concrete data, rather than assumptions about who speaks national or regionally dominant languages. When we speak someone’s language, we can facilitate more effective communication and dialogue across cultures. 

Now at the forefront of language technology for social good, CLEAR Global aims to transform communication and shift power structures with our inclusive solutions. Our nonprofit organization bridges the communication gap and empowers marginalized language communities to access vital information,  services,  and opportunities,  and   make their voices heard. Read on to learn how CLEAR Global creates channels for communication in the mother languages people use – including more marginalized language speakers in critical conversations.

Why is mother language inclusion vital? 

As much as 90% of the population in some parts of the world still do not have access to education in a language they speak or understand. Increasing numbers of children face migration and displacement, making language inclusion critical for their futures. What’s more, inequality is growing for more than 70% of the global population. Too many people face exclusion which is detrimental to their education, health, and livelihood opportunities, because of the language they speak. 

 

Sustainable development – meeting global goals

 

In our decades working at the intersection of language and humanitarian aid, we’ve seen evidence that language exclusion is a barrier to effective humanitarian action. People displaced by conflict in Nigeria are affected, as are those rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, and millions more around the world. Good communication is not just an ideal. It has practical and emotional implications, as language barriers affect people’s sense of trust, safety and social cohesion. Recognizing language diversity is critical to making urgent humanitarian programs and services accessible and reducing risks to vulnerable groups.

Language inclusion means recognizing linguistic diversity, respecting it, and promoting multilingualism to ensure no one is left behind. At CLEAR Global, it’s our mission’s core: ensuring people can get vital information and be heard, whatever language they speak. And it’s essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 Agenda. This call to action by all UN Member States aims to “end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.” By promoting language inclusion, we’re taking steps toward a more inclusive and equitable world where people who face challenges can get the information and support they need, whatever language they speak.

The world’s largest community of humanitarian translators 

 

Translators without Borders (TWB) brings together a global community of over 100,000 language volunteers who provide language services to humanitarian and development organizations worldwide. Together we’re helping people get vital information and be heard, whatever language they speak. Community members make a real-world impact by contributing to the development of glossaries, chatbots, voice recordings, and subtitled videos to support their language communities. 

Our language services include written and audio translation, terminology support, pictorial messaging, plain language review, sign languages, and a host of associated language services. Our community translates over twenty million words each year to increase access to information and include more marginalized language speakers in conversations that matter to them.  

 To highlight some projects:

– Kinyarwanda community members translated and recorded 120,000 sentences for the MT Rwanda project, and our experts developed a tool to capture text data that can be used for building future machine translation models; 

– Working with community-based organizations in Venezuela, we developed a glossary in three Indigenous languages to improve two-way communication with marginalized Indigenous communities on recognizing and reporting sexual abuse;

– In northeast Nigeria, our community translated over 84,000 words and 130 visuals to distribute clearer messaging and improve accountability to affected people. We also conducted research and a user-centered design process to build a chatbot for community leaders to ask questions and answer community concerns quickly.

These diverse language services are making humanitarian responses more effective, with localized information in languages and formats that affected people use and understand. 

While the TWB Community keeps growing, we’re focused on growing our reach and improving mother language access for marginalized groups. We’re building capacity for language communities and nonprofit partners to make innovative technology, information, and resources available to people’s mother languages. Our practical tools and guides, translated for different contexts, help linguists and humanitarian and development professionals work together more effectively so we can unlock the potential for everyone to get and share vital knowledge. To support our volunteers, we’ve created the TWB Learning Center. This free online platform has already welcomed over 30,000 users to learn about humanitarian translation and gain essential language industry skills. You can learn more about how TWB Community works and read insights from community members on the TWB Blog.

The internet – a tool for everyone?

 

There are an estimated 7,000 living languages globally, but only 5% are online. For people forced to build lives away from home, education – and the opportunities it brings – are often out of reach. UNESCO found that “not being able to speak the host country language is one of the main barriers which prevent forcibly displaced people from participating in host countries’ formal education systems.” With the growing prevalence of AI tools and machine translation, you might be wondering, what’s stopping us from making the internet truly multilingual?

According to recent research, “Technology increases access mostly to those who already have it.” So what about everyone without access, especially those on the move, people in remote places or devastating circumstances? To compound the issue, “Technology can reinforce gender, language and cultural inequality in content production” since privileged groups dominate creation. “A study of higher education repositories with open educational resource collections found that nearly 90% were created in Europe or North America, and 92% of the material in the Open Educational Resources Commons global library is in English, which influences who can use such content.” To make the internet a tool for everyone, need to make online educational resources available in diverse languages, localize them to meet people’s needs in different contexts, and ensure they’re accessible to all. 

 

It’s time the internet speaks everyone’s language. 

 

– Multilingual conversational chatbots, glossaries and online resources that scale access to information and combat disinformation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, northeast Nigeria, Ukraine, Türkiye and Syria, and more. 

– Voice-enabled interactive information tools in low-literacy and low-connectivity contexts, and a Language AI Playbook to help technology reach more people. A pilot project in India supported farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices by enabling users to ask questions and receive audio and visual responses in their language.

– Kompas, a multilingual AI gateway, curates and verifies up-to-date information from reliable sources for people impacted by the war in Ukraine.

– Machine translation in low-resource languages, including in Kinyarwanda, to improve the use of machine translation in public sector education in Rwanda, to support Tigrinya-speaking refugees in Europe, and Levantine Arabic to improve information collection for Syrian refugees.

User experience matters

 

As humanitarian and development organizations turn to technology to reach more people, digital tools like apps must be designed with users’ needs in mind. For refugees and migrants resettling in Canada, for example, there’s an app to help people make informed decisions about support services, travel and housing, and integrate successfully. IOM’s O-Canada Mobile app provides relevant, accurate and timely information in eight languages. The challenge: making sure it works for marginalized groups, with different languages, cultures and backgrounds to consider. So we partnered with IOM, and CLEAR Global’s experts and tested the app’s usability with Arabic, Dari, Kiswahili, Somali, and Tigrinya speakers, to produce a report and recommendations on how to make a good user experience more inclusive.  

Insights into language use are critical 

 

Multilingual technology can help us reach more people, especially when we have data on people’s language use and preferences to inform inclusive solutions.

– Our language mapping provides interactive, operational language data to help organizations develop more inclusive communication strategies and analyze vulnerability factors.

– Our Global Language Data Review – the only resource of its kind – assesses language data quality for 88 priority countries for humanitarian and development assistance. 

– We strengthen the sector’s capacity to understand, collect and use this language data through a mix of pre-translated questions and data tools to improve needs assessments.

When it comes to multilingual app design, translation is important, but good localization is crucial as well. We must consider languages that are aligned right-to-left, question our assumptions about users’ language use and preferences, and test apps with marginalized groups, so their valuable insights can be incorporated. Explore the full report for insights on user-centered multilingual app design. 

How we can multiply our impact

 

CLEAR Global calls on the humanitarian, development and technology worlds to embrace language diversity – and leave no language speaker behind. With the transformative power of language technology, we can create a more inclusive and informed global community. When programs, services and resources are accessible in the languages people use, it helps ensure no one is left behind. Learn more about our movement to start Four Billion Conversations, address the digital divide and change the way the world communicates (hint: more fairly!) We envision a world where every voice is heard, and every language matters; where equal access to education, health and climate change information are a reality for all. 

 

– Learn more about CLEAR Global’s initiatives and partnerships on the blog.

– Promote language inclusion in your community.

 

 

Get Involved:

 

 

– Join our subscribers list for exclusive updates and opportunities to get involved.

– Become a partner or sponsor CLEAR Global and help us amplify our impact worldwide.

– Follow us on social media to stay updated and share your stories

 #MyMotherLanguage #LanguageInclusion

 

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Written by Danielle Moore, Communications Officer, CLEAR Global

The post What you need to know about language inclusion appeared first on CLEAR Global.

Understanding social impact organizations’ needs and challenges

 

First, we sought to learn about the needs of potential partners and users of language technology in the humanitarian and development sectors. We know from experience we must engage with local communities to understand their needs. So the team conducted structured interviews with social impact organizations and technology developers based across East Africa and South Asia. This would help us understand the existing landscape of language technology in low-resource contexts.

What we found:

– Social impact organizations say language technology has potential: language barriers hinder their programs. Only some of those we spoke to already use limited technology to communicate with service users.

– Adopting language technology requires understanding and support: organizations need funding for development and infrastructure, building staff capacity and addressing privacy concerns. 

– Organizations that use technology to interact with users and to address language issues enhance their programs’ reach. 

– Technology developers need support to build communities and networks to improve datasets and financial resources to support those initiatives in low-resource languages.

As part of this project, we collaborated with partners who focus on climate change resilience and sexual and reproductive health, including Data Science Nigeria, Digital Umuganda, Families Fit for Children, Gram Vaani, Kali, Karya, Lesan, Malaica, Masakhane, Reach a Hand Uganda and Urukundo.

Mobilizing communities to engage with language data collection 

 

In this exploratory project, we developed a design mockup of a data collection and validation tool that would allow community members to contribute, collect and validate language data easily on the TWB Platform. This software would enable new community members to contribute to datasets that power language technology solutions. One of our aims is to create better platforms for mobilizing language communities to contribute to inclusive, low-bias data creation and validation. So, we collaborated with TWB community members and linguists globally to test out the user journey of our prototype. Additionally, experts at the GLG Social Impact Program’s network shared experience and insights to help inform our strategic considerations around open-sourcing the data collection solution. 

We expect to leverage the insights gathered during the mockup testing phase to enhance the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) tool, evaluate the development efforts and ascertain the resources needed for creating the final tool. As for the next steps, we will refine the infrastructure and the tool development plan based on the feedback collected, before initiating the implementation phase.

 

One of the most important considerations is usability. 

 

If we want to make vital language data collection more inclusive, we need to consider diverse user needs and experiences. During the process, researching and mapping initiatives across Africa offered useful benchmarks and insights into user-friendly data collection tools to improve community engagement. Notably, we observed that the majority of existing solutions tended to prioritize data collection, often neglecting the crucial aspect of user experience. While the tools we researched, such as Tatoeba, Sentence Society, Mozilla Common Voice and Pontoon, were technical and less intuitive, we delved into contemplating the user journey across various scenarios. Our approach focuses on human-centered design principles to create a more inclusive data collection tool, designed with users’ perspectives in mind. 

Deploying TILES, an AI-powered information device, in collaboration with Gram Vaani.

 

Unlocking the power of language technology for climate resilience

 

CLEAR Global set out to test a solution that addresses a critical lack of access to information about climate change resilience in low-connectivity and low-literacy contexts. In close collaboration with India-based social impact tech company Gram Vaani, we deployed and evaluated an AI-powered information device to enable farmers to get critical answers to their questions about climate change and adaptation. We are introducing TILES – the Touch Interface for Language Enabled Services. This language technology solution responds to voice commands and gives spoken answers to questions in the target language, specifically the Hindi dialect as spoken in Bihar, India.

Growing real-world impact

 

Farmers in Bihar, India, need information on agriculture seasons, weather predictions, expected rainfall with timeline, agri-inputs and practices to combat the dangerous effects of climate change. The community is concerned about their livelihood and wants to know how to become resilient. 

“The machine should tell us agriculture-related information such as weather-based information, seed to use and protect crops from pests. This information will help improve our agriculture and help us combat climate change.”

– TILES user, Gidhaur Tweet

Considering the local community’s concerns, we first had to develop targeted, localized content that could answer some of their most pressing questions. Using a Hindi automatic speech recognition (ASR) model, we trained it on relevant topics. We developed question/answer capability with speech-to-text (STT) and text-to-speech (TTS) functions to create a multilingual, two-way communication tool that works offline. Our team fine-tuned the model to adapt to local dialects and specific climate terminology used in the Bihar region to ensure the messages could be understood and delivered effectively. Importantly, this innovative tool would help inform and serve people who have little or no access to reliable, accurate and on-demand information on vital topics such as climate change resilience, adaptation and farming practices.

“I like the fact that the information could be received by speaking with the machine.”

– TILES user, Jamui district

With the help of GIZ, we were able to test the device out with communities of farmers affected by climate change. The team deployed TILES in a local seeds and pesticides shop. The goal was to discover how useful users found the tool for exchanging critical climate resilience messages. Could it support farmers to adapt and cope with the impacts of climate change in Bihar? TILES successfully captured 467 user interactions. The initiative gave us valuable insights and evidence on the potential impact of language AI to transform information sharing with, and listening to, marginalized communities. 

We put humans at the center of solutions designed to support them 

 

So we asked the local farmers what they thought:

• 95% said they’d use the system again
• 87% said TILES answered their questions correctly
• 70% said they’d spread the word
• 61% found the information relevant

(Results from Gram Vaani’s survey of people using our TILES device)

 

Language technology solutions such as TILES can provide opportunities for marginalized communities. Accessible and inclusive tools in the languages people speak can help users access valuable information and organizations listen to their needs in low internet connectivity and low literacy contexts. To learn more about the TILES project, read the CLEAR Global blog on using AI to support farmers in adapting to climate change. We’re excited to expand and scale this work to help reach more people in more contexts.

The Language AI Playbook: how to use technology to engage communities 

 

CLEAR Global developed the Language AI Playbook to help social good partners integrate language AI technology into their programs. It’s a comprehensive guide for both program and technology partners. It attempts to make language AI comprehensible, and information about using language technologies accessible to those without a technical background.

 

How the playbook helps navigate language AI

 

The Language AI Playbook aims to empower organizations to leverage language technology effectively to scale their impact. By understanding how to identify impactful use cases and deploy language technology, NGO partners can drive more effective communication between service users and program providers. The playbook helps people with various backgrounds in programming understand how and when to use language technology to amplify communication and listen to people’s needs in low-resource multilingual contexts.

 

What’s inside the Language AI Playbook?

 

Packed with actionable insights and support for implementing language technology, the Language AI Playbook helps users understand relevant terms, identify impactful use cases, improve communication and collaboration, manage data effectively, implement language tech, and deploy machine translation solutions. It emphasizes real-world examples and encourages collaborative learning among partners. 

 

• – Introduction to language technology: learn how language technology works, with examples of projects that leverage its impact.
•  
• – Overview of language technology: understand the basic ideas, concepts and tools used in the field including various language AI technologies such as machine translation (MT), ASR, and chatbots/NLP. 
•  
• – Opportunities for partners: discover real-life examples that give a sense of how language technology can solve practical problems, especially in reaching marginalized communities in languages that don’t have a lot of resources.
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• – Identifying impactful use cases: a guide to finding and understanding situations where language technology can make an impact. We’ll help you determine if an idea is realistic and what results you can expect. 
•  
• – Communication and collaboration: deals with understanding local community issues, collaborating with partners or local communities to solve problems, and sharing the impact of these initiatives among these communities. 
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• – Language technology implementation: guidelines, best practices and steps for using, integrating, designing and deploying language AI systems effectively, with practical examples.
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• – Development and deployment guidelines: provides practical knowledge in deploying solutions with a focus on chatbots and machine translation. This chapter dives into building data, training models, deploying, monitoring and measuring progress and the impact of language AI projects.
•  

Addressing an information gap 

 

As part of the process, Uganda-based organization, Reach a Hand Uganda reviewed our playbook. Their feedback confirmed that the Language AI Playbook addresses an information gap; it provides valuable insights, understanding and guidance for organizations in multilingual contexts to support critical conversations. At the same time, it promotes capacity building around language AI to amplify marginalized voices.

 

“One of the significant strengths of the Language Technology Playbook is its emphasis on fostering collaborations. The playbook recognizes the importance of partnerships and cooperation among various stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of language technology.” – Key informant interview

“For some organizations, even if they want to design tools, they may not have the full scope of what they want to achieve. The playbook gives you full scope so that even if you want to deploy in phases, you know what you will require to reach the end goal.” – Key informant interview

“The system is really good because as a developer, I see it can benefit very many people. Like when I was on campus I developed a system that was all about AI […] the system was recognizing the person according to his or her voice whether that person speaks in a Luganda, whether he speaks in a Runyoro, it could recognize him. So then I saw this documentation. It was kind of related because it’s going to help people on how to develop and use any language.” – Focus group discussion report

 

In the rapidly evolving domain of language technology, our Language AI Playbook has to be a living document, with the potential to continuously adapt: to identify, share and build new, relevant resources, solutions and approaches.

Learning and future potential for language technology 

 

The 4BC journey so far reflects CLEAR Global and GIZ’s joint commitment to leveraging collaborative language technology for inclusive social impact. The challenges we encountered along the way have fueled ideas for future adaptations, improvements, expansion and scaling to support more people. Our Language AI Playbook is a valuable resource for organizations who find themselves navigating the complexities of language AI in low-resource contexts. And our use cases show great potential for more inclusive initiatives in the future. 

Since we launched the Four Billion Conversations initiative, the generative AI revolution has energized the AI research community and the wider public. Powered by large language models (LLMs), it has opened up new possibilities. With it, the divide in available technology between dominant and marginalized language speakers increases. The Four Billion Conversations movement’s goal to make information available to more language speakers has never been more relevant. 

The CLEAR Global team hopes to continue building the 4BC movement, explore further use cases, develop data tools, update the Language AI Playbook, and expand our reach.

Discover how we can collaborate to better listen to communities and scale our impact. 

 

Become a partner.
 
Help spread the word about our important work.

 

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About CLEAR Global

CLEAR Global helps people get vital information and be heard, whatever language they speak. We help our partner organizations to listen to and communicate effectively with the communities they support. CLEAR Tech helps organizations identify potential use cases where language technology can drive user engagement and scale communication efforts. We develop language AI solutions such as chatbots, machine translation and speech recognition technology solutions for low-resource languages. CLEAR Global’s UX team can support user research, UX design and advise on human-centered design approaches to technology interventions. 

Our Language services team can translate messages and documents into local languages, support audio translations and pictorial information, train staff and volunteers, and advise on two-way communication. We work with partners to field test and revise materials to improve comprehension and impact. This work is informed by CLEAR Insights research, language mapping and assessments of target populations’ communication needs.

For more information visit clearglobal.org 

 

About GIZ Fair Forward: 

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (“GIZ”) implements the project “FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for All” which strives to create a more open, inclusive and sustainable approach to AI on the international level, and more specifically, to develop artificial intelligence ecosystems locally across its seven partner countries (Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, India and Indonesia).

FAIR Forward pursues three main goals: 

1. Remove entry barriers to AI – Access to training data and AI technologies for local innovation: FAIR Forward facilitates the provision of open, non-discriminatory and inclusive training data and open-source AI applications. Open access to African and Asian language data is a key priority to enable the development of AI-based voice interaction in local languages to empower marginalized groups.

2. Strengthen local technical know-how on AI – Capacity development in Africa and Asia: FAIR Forward supports digital learning and training for the development and use of AI and fosters cooperation with German and European research institutions and businesses.

3. Develop policy frameworks ready for AI – Ethical AI, data protection and privacy: FAIR Forward advocates for value-based AI that is rooted in human rights, international norms such as accountability, transparency of decision-making and privacy, and draws on European experiences such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Therefore, the project supports the development of effective political and regulatory frameworks in Africa and Asia.

For more information, visit FAIR Forward – Open data for AI (bmz-digital.global)

–  Written by Danielle Moore, Communications and Engagement Officer, CLEAR Global

The post Starting 4 Billion Conversations with inclusive language technology appeared first on CLEAR Global.

Globally, there are more than 35 million refugees. And 110 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide.  

It’s alarming. 

This year’s World Refugee Day, under the banner “Hope away from home. A world where refugees are always included” focused on the power and importance of inclusion for those forced to flee to a new country. Now more than ever, refugees need solutions to find safety, flee conflict and start again. The right information in their language can make this possible. 

To truly ensure all refugees are included, humanitarian responders must listen and be empathetic to refugees’ needs. Language inclusion is critical to this.

CLEAR Global’s work aims to shift the power balance in communication. This is essential for ensuring that refugees can make informed decisions and engage in meaningful two-way communication with humanitarian service providers.

In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, more than 900,000 Rohingya are looking for safety. Aid agencies predict that cuts caused by a massive shortfall in funding could raise malnutrition and child deaths in the world’s largest refugee settlement. Over 7,000 cases of dengue fever have also been reported (WHO). As the risk of dengue infections climbs in densely populated areas, Rohingya need accessible public health information in their language to stay safe. Effective communication and language solutions are now more crucial than ever for humanitarian efforts. 

Yet, language inclusion is not a priority in humanitarian action. Recent research from CLEAR Global shines a spotlight on the critical impact of language awareness, and the work still left to do, to ensure effective communication between humanitarians and Rohingya refugees.

Rohingya, Chittagonian, or Bangla? Humanitarian communication still does not prioritize the Rohingya language

Rohingya remains the most effective language to communicate with Rohingya refugees. Yet humanitarian responders still overestimate the number of Rohingya refugees able to communicate effectively in Chittagonian, the local language of Cox’s Bazar, or Bangla. Using Rohingya is especially vital when talking about sensitive issues like sexual health, which require cultural nuance and linguistic precision. Rohingya refugees stress that failing to respect their language preferences limits access to critical information services, perpetuating the vulnerability of an already marginalized community.

“We are only fluent in Rohingya. Although we understand the importance of learning the local language and have been living here for six years, our circumstances have made it difficult for us to learn the local language. Additionally, we are not motivated to learn other languages as our ultimate goal is to return to our home country as soon as possible.”

“Critical terminologies cannot be explained well by the Chittagonian dialect. Sometimes the community responds as if they understand what is said by a staff though they didn’t understand the matter well.”

– Male FGD participant, Camp 3

“Critical terminologies cannot be explained well by the Chittagonian dialect. Sometimes the community responds as if they understand what is said by a staff though they didn’t understand the matter well.”

– Survey Respondent, Site Management and Site Development

Inadequate language provision threatens the effectiveness of the response

Lack of information in the right language compounds existing challenges, such as a lack of accessible channels or spaces to find information or communicate with aid workers.

“When we share about our problems with newly joined medical practitioners, they say they don’t understand things such as: fet horani (stomachache), gaalamani (diarrhoea), boiyar (acidity), besuit (paralysed), tecchul (conjunctivitis), utani (scabies). We have an easy time with communication when there are Rohingya volunteers in the health sector. Because it’s difficult for an ill person to take a lot of time and talk to non-Rohingya speakers.”

– Female FGD participant, Camp 11

Rohingya refugees with disabilities struggle to communicate with humanitarians in a range of sectors, including WASH, nutrition and health. Refugees with disabilities currently have to rely on support from family or neighbors to get resources and communicate their concerns. Specialized training on disability-aware communication and support to use the right terminology in Rohingya would go a long way to facilitate information exchange.

“Accessing information is even more challenging for people with disabilities. For example, as someone who is physically impaired and unable to walk, I often struggle to obtain the information I need.”

– Male FGD participant, Camp 3

Humanitarian feedback mechanisms are not aligned with community preferences in providing feedback. Low literacy rates, low access to mobile phones, and lack of availability in the Rohingya language mean that conventional humanitarian mechanisms such as hotlines and suggestion boxes are underutilized. Rohingya participants in the research stressed that they prefer to channel feedback through local community leaders. Refugees also expressed that raising a complaint is perceived as rude in the Rohingya culture. Understanding and addressing these language and cultural barriers is essential for humanitarians to implement feedback mechanisms that work.

“We do not provide any feedback or complain anywhere. If we have any issues, we inform our Majhis and they deal with issues. Majhi has informed us that they do not provide any feedback or complain anymore because those are not responded to. Before we could ask questions or provide feedback.”

– Male FGD participant, Camp 24

Previous negative experiences and perceptions of shrinking space to provide feedback raises serious concerns. Some participants shared that they had previously been able to give feedback, but now they felt staff did not reply to their comments. Concerningly, male participants in Camp 24 perceived that the lack of action on their feedback had lasting implications for families in the camp. They said that a new condition imposed a year ago meant that women had to receive a contraceptive implant to be able to register newborns. Clear communication between community members and camp management staff is needed to understand and address these perceptions.

“Before we could ask questions or provide feedback. Now it is not possible at all and staff do not respond even if we give [feedback]. For example, we used to register our newborn babies without any legal complications. But it has been more than one year since the current CIC imposed a condition on it. To register newborn babies, every woman has to get a contraceptive implant that lasts up to five years. If they do not take it, the newborn babies will not be registered on the family card. Now there are lots of unregistered new babies whose parents expressed unwillingness to get implanted. After the imposition of this condition, there are so many cases of abortions. Parents are willingly committing random abortion after knowing that they have conceived babies or when the fetus is 4/6/7 months old.”

– Male FGD participant, Camp 24

These perceptions amongst community members warrant further exploration to understand the context of the issue, which seems to include a wider disagreement between the Camp in Charge (CiC) and community members. This is concerning as it’s perceived as ‘truth’ because of poor information relay, compounded by language barriers. 

Good practices in communication pave the way forward

Data collection for monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning (MEAL) sets a good example of how to manage language challenges. Key informants working in the nutrition sector shared that they had translated data collection tools into Rohingya, piloted them, and addressed confusion with the data collection team before rollout helped mitigate some of the most fundamental language challenges. They also shared that they had selected enumerators based on language skills and knowledge of the local context. WASH sector staff held face-to-face meetings with community members about the construction of new drainage systems and washrooms. These good practices offer a blueprint that should be implemented response-wide.

“One of the most successful things we did was working intensely and very closely with a small group of data collectors (four) on the purpose, meaning, translation, and implementation of a qualitative assessment which included a kind of PRA approach. This was time-consuming, and it was only for a very small sample but we thought the quality of the information was good.”

– Survey Respondent, Data Analysis

Aid workers acknowledge that local staff, Rohingya volunteers and audiovisual material are crucial to facilitating communication. They also emphasize that providing language and communication training and prioritizing in-person engagement for critical discussion is essential. To reach a wider audience, especially the elderly and those with limited literacy, loudspeakers are considered valuable for disseminating basic information. Community members also recommend creating information hubs with Rohingya-speaking staff available 24/7 to provide comprehensive support.

“Their good practice is they appoint Rohingya volunteers which helps us to communicate at service centers. If it takes a lot of time to make them understand our problems, it becomes a burden to us to sit patiently because we can’t stay there for so long in weaker physical condition.”

– Older female FGD participant, Camp 11

Cultural sensitivity and respect drive effective communication

Failure to localize communication material risks disengagement. Comprehension testing workshops revealed key issues with some materials. In one poster, from the nutrition sector, women were not wearing any kind of scarf or hijab. In a WASH sector video, a grandmother character was wearing a sari and blouse with short sleeves, whereas full sleeves would have been more culturally appropriate.
Tone and attitude are as important as language choice. Rohingya community members shared experiences where humanitarians had used a  rude tone or language. When asked what good communication would look like, they said they wanted to leave the conversation feeling respected. The Health Sector Strategic Plan recognizes the cultural importance of respectful communication by emphasizing that healthcare workers should use “friendly language and tone”. But, in the context of strained resources and low language awareness, aid workers need training and practical support to embed these recommendations in their day-to-day communication practices.

“Some staff are really very good and help us to understand the language. For example, one staff member asked if we were okay. One time we were waiting and our kids were crying. The staff helped us to be more comfortable and even gave us space for breastfeeding.” 

– Female FGD participant, Camp 1E

To achieve language inclusion, investment in language and communication training for humanitarian responders becomes imperative

Equipping responders with the linguistic skills and cultural awareness needed to engage effectively with the Rohingya community will not only enhance the delivery of aid but also build trust and foster a sense of shared humanity. By valuing and incorporating Rohingya language and communication practices into the response framework, we can harness their strengths to create a more inclusive and empowering environment for Rohingya refugees.

Let us strive to close the language gap, champion the Rohingya language as a vital tool for effective communication, and ensure that empathy and respect underpin all interactions within the humanitarian response.

The post Listen to include: Improving language awareness to support Rohingya Refugees appeared first on CLEAR Global.