Publisher pledges $1.6 million for endangered languages (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Publisher pledges $1.6 million for endangered languages

Global effort needed to halt loss of priceless cultural knowledge
for immediate release -- Sept. 1, 2005
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35402.asp

(Victoria, Canada and Oxford, UK and Gaborone, Botswana)    Over 6,500
indigenous languages around the world are severely endangered. With the
last remaining native speakers of many dialects dying each year, one
publishing company is pledging over $1.6 million to help in the global
race to document and teach these languages to youth.

The donation by Trafford Publishing is being announced today to over 800
delegates from over 80 countries gathering at WITFOR 2005, a UNESCO- and
European Union-sponsored conference in Botswana, convened to discuss
ways to give access to technology to those in the developing world.

Have them write books, urges Trafford Publishing, an innovative company
which revolutionized the publishing industry when it created a process
known as 'on-demand publishing' ten years ago. Now over 3,000
independent authors publish their books each year with the company
whose main offices are in Victoria, Canada and Oxford, England. Books
are printed 'on-demand' one at a time to fill orders from bookstores
and individuals, with most orders placed on the Internet.

Trafford is pledging to underwrite approximately $1,600,000 in
publishing costs over the next ten years. The programme will make
available primers for school children, dictionaries and local stories
-- one book will be published in each of 650 endangered languages.

"When a native language dies out, we've lost forever our chance to learn
cultural truths," says Trafford CEO Bruce Batchelor. "Philosophy,
lifestyle, science, healing -- all the nuances are tied up in the
grammar, vocabulary and way of speaking. It is a tragedy if a language
that encapsulates tens of thousands of years of a group's culture is
lost forever. It's like standing by watching the destruction of the
ancient library at Alexandria, without trying to put out the fire."

Trafford has already published primers in 10 Canadian aboriginal
endangered languages, and is sponsoring urgent work to document an
endangered language in Namibia.

Batchelor hopes the magnitude of Trafford's pledge will bring attention
to the situation and encourage donations in equipment from hi-tech
manufacturers.

"Some communities really need a few key tools to document their language
and then plug into the best revival practices. An iBook, iPod,
microphone, digital camera, solar battery charger, a week's on-site
technical training -- those would be part of the most basic linguistic
rescue kit," says Batchelor, listing the sponsorship possibilities.

Trafford's gift was prompted by a request by Bothas Marinda of Namibia
to have a book published in his community's language. Peter Brand of
First Peoples' Cultural Foundation, a Canadian non-profit which will be
helping Marinda, passed along the idea to Batchelor who didn't want to
limit this to only a few first nations or tribes.

"It is ironic that most of these languages have been almost wiped out
because of 'modern' culture," notes Batchelor. "Now we can use
innovations in publishing and technology to enable and empower locals
to document and then teach their languages."

Brand and FPCF Executive Director Tracey Herbert are making the pledge
announcement on Trafford's behalf at the conference during a
presentation about FirstVoices.com, pioneering language revitalization
technology developed by the foundation. Aboriginal groups from 5
continents are using or preparing to use web-based dictionaries that
hyperlink to pictures and the sound of each word being pronounced.
Brand's team can convert standard PC keyboards for typing aboriginal
characters which can be printed on most laser or inkjet printers in the
international Unicode font standard.

Trafford Publishing (www.trafford.com) is a one of the world's most
prolific publishers, releasing over 3,000 new titles in 2005. It was
the first company in the world to offer 'on-demand publishing' services
for business, agencies and individuals. Trafford's services are now
being used by independent authors from over 105 countries. Its books
are sold through major distributors and retailers around the world,
with printing done in Canada, USA and UK. Trafford uses 'green' energy
from solar and wind to power its own print shop, which uses recycled
paper. Some titles are also available as eBooks.

FirstVoices.com is a set of web-based languages archiving and teaching
resources, developed by First Peoples' Cultural Foundation -- a
Canadian-based Indigenous non-profit society, based in British
Columbia. Recent exposure for FirstVoices.com at international
conferences in Canada, Japan and now Botswana are raising the profile
of the unique language tools, originally developed for the 198 First
Nations in BC. The invitation to showcase FirstVoices.com in Africa
acknowledges the successful development and implementation of a
made-in-Canada technology solution developed by Indigenous people, for
Indigenous people.

The Government of the Republic of Botswana, in collaboration with the
International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), will host
the second World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) in Gaborone,
Botswana from August 31 to September 2, 2005. The meeting will address
issues critical to developing countries, such as the application of
information/communications technology (ICT) in fighting HIV/Aids,
poverty, access to education, environment, as well as social, ethical
and legal consequences of IT. It will also showcase leading-edge ICT
solutions for economic development, as well as best practice projects
from around the world. The conference takes place at the Gaborone
International Conference Centre (GICC) in Botswana. www.witfor.org

Based on retail pricing applicable to the various currency zones,
Trafford's pledge is worth approximately $1,656,850 Canadian dollars or
$1,266,850 US or 1,202,500 euro or 876,850 UK pounds.

Indigenous language teams can access publishing services by contacting
Peter Brand at peter at fpcf.ca. The First People's Cultural Foundation is
developing criteria to determine which groups will benefit from
Trafford's donation of 65 publishing packages per year for 10 years.

To arrange interviews, contact:
Annette Humphries, Trafford Publishing, annette at trafford.com
Peter Brand, peter at fpcf.ca (Please note that Peter is working in Africa
until mid-September, so may not reply immediately to emails.)

Bothas Marinda of Namibia whose village of Caprivi received a basic
language rescue kit sponsored by Trafford Publishing, First Peoples'
Cultural Foundation and other donors.

Bruce Batchelor, CEO of Trafford Publishing and Peter Brand of
FirstVoices.com with some of the technology being donated to help save
an endangered aboriginal language in the Caprivi region of
North-eastern Namibia. "Everyone at Trafford is pleased to have the
opportunity to support the documentation of the Khwedam language in
Namibia, and monitor the successes," says Batchelor. "We encourage
other companies and groups to contact the First Peoples' Cultural
Foundation about sponsoring the revitalization of an endangered
language. Trafford will be contributing the publishing costs, while you
can help sponsor the equipment and training."

Content copyright © 2001-2005 by Deborah Adams. All rights reserved.
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