African language locales: Call for Volunteers
I received this message from Don Osborn via the AFRIK-IT list. If you are interested in making computers work in your own African language and have a few hours of time to spare, then get involved in the 100 African Languages Locales initiative! (Wondering what a locale is? Click here for wikipedia description.)
This type of volunteer opportunity might be an interesting use of the United Nations Volunteer website as well, which helps to connect virtual volunteers with projects.
ANLoc, the African Network for Localization, has started an initiative to
build locales for over 100 African languages. The project is now ready to line
up volunteers.
You can view a presentation about the initiative at:
http://kamusiproject.org/en/100locales
We are NOT quite ready to begin the technical work for the specific languages,
but we ARE in the process of finding volunteers to help out for each language. The
main requirements for a volunteer are:
1) literate in the target language
2) comfortable using computers
3) can volunteer about 1 or 2 hours
4) finishes what they start
If you are willing and able to help, please look through these lists of languages,
and contact me if you can work on one that does not yet have a volunteer:
* West Africa: http://is.gd/3nJZ
* Nigeria: http://is.gd/3nKk
* Central Africa: http://is.gd/3nHO
* Tanzania and Indian Ocean: http://is.gd/3nJ7
* Great Lakes and Kenya: http://is.gd/3nGQ
* Horn of Africa: http://is.gd/3nJd
* Southern Africa: http://is.gd/3nJj
(Note that we do NOT need volunteers for South Africa, because those languages
already have good locales.)
You can also help by letting your colleagues from other African language communities
know about the project.
We want to build all of these locales in a few months, so please let me know
quickly if you can help out!
Thanks,
Martin Benjamin