DIGITAL SECURITY GUIDELINE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND JOURNALISTS IN ETHIOPIA

We are happy to announce that the Digital Security Guideline for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in Ethiopia developed by Atnafu Brhane is now available on the Localization Lab website in English, Amharic, and Afaan Oromo for human rights and media workers working throughout Ethiopia.

Human rights defenders and journalists have regularly been targeted by authorities in Ethiopia simply for expressing themselves freely and for standing for their beliefs. Many reports show that authoritarian governments hire international hacking companies to target human rights defenders. Ethiopia is one of those countries. This digital security guideline, developed in three languages - Afaan Oromo, Amharic and English - aims to empower human rights defenders and journalists with the skills to protect their presence online.

For access to these guides and more localized digital security and safety guides, visit the Resources page of the Localization Lab website.

Beyond Translation: Localization Sprints for Sustainable Tech Adoption

Thai Localization Sprint Participants.

By Erin McConnell

“I wish to see [human rights defenders who] are at risk, especially in rural areas, using these tools as efficiently as urban-based activists. Thanks Localization Sprint for making these apps more accessible!”

- Thai Localization Sprint Participant

In June 2019, Localization Lab facilitated a digital security workshop in Thailand with Internews and a number of amazing, local civil society groups. The main goal was to collaboratively localize and provide user feedback for four digital security tools that the Thai participants had identified: Mailvelope, Tor Browser, TunnelBear and KeePassXC.

With only 5 days, the Localization Sprint had lofty goals:

• Support freedom of speech online;

• Collect qualitative feedback on the tools from the community;

• Give Thai users ownership over digital security tools to ensure sustained use and engagement; and

• Strengthen the existing network of Thai localizers and users of digital security tools.

Participants joined from a diverse set of backgrounds and several had never heard of these tools before. A localization sprint is inherently collaborative. People with more technical experience helped those with less, and everyone put forth their best effort. It takes considerable work for a small group to translate and review four different applications in five days. And yet the feeling in the room was upbeat - people played their favorite music and felt empowered to use and contribute to these technologies. The process also challenged everyone in the room to think about how normal Thai people could use digital security tools to protect themselves online.

“I really liked this workshop, especially the tool training parts which helped me understand the tools more clearly and understand how - and in which situations - I should use these tools, which I never knew before.  These tools are very useful for Thai people and we should help spread their use.”

- Thai Localization Sprint Participant

Sprint participants collaboratively translating. Photo courtesy of Erin McConnell.

Localization and User Feedback: A match made in Pattaya

Incorporating user feedback into the localization process is the perfect opportunity to gain insight into the needs and preferences of users from a diversity of backgrounds.

The sprint participants came with varied technical backgrounds. Some attendees had trained others on several of the tools that were being localized, and others had  never used them before. This provided a valuable chance to better understand the user experiences of absolute beginners and more seasoned users of each tool.

To capture some of this  feedback, participants were asked to follow and fill out USABLE Tool Task Ranking forms, customized for both Mailvelope and KeePassXC. Participants rated the difficulty and commented on tasks as they walked through steps like creating a keypair and sending encrypted email with Mailvelope, or creating an encrypted password database in KeePassXC.

“Adaptation of marketing tools like these personas are really beneficial. We can use them in our sector [non-profit].”

- Thai Localization Sprint Participant

Snapshot of the Okthanks One Liners available for download on their website.

At the end of each day, after participants had gone through training and localization of the tools, they were given a One Liners form developed by Okthanks to capture concise feedback about the user experience. The One Liners forms glean meaningful information from users about their first impressions of an app and their understanding of its function:

Integrating both of these feedback activities into the localization process -  in addition to observations from throughout the day - the sprint documented valuable information about Thai user needs and preferences  for all of the projects localized.

Diving into Local Needs: User Stories and Persona Building

The Thai Localization Sprint challenged sprint attendees to imagine different Thai user profiles and their digital security needs and motivations through user story creation and persona building (for example, imagining a middle-aged farmer or a teenage student and their needs.) This helped the participants better understand Tor, its diverse use cases and the large breadth of individuals who could benefit from using it. Particularly with tools like Tor that come with a lot of misconceptions, it is important for users to imagine themselves and others in their networks using the application. It’s imperative that individuals be able to create narratives that resonate with their communities so that they better understand the tools and adopt them when appropriate.

The persona building and user story activities - done in small groups - resulted in very different outputs, drawing from experiences in the human rights sphere and outside of it. The personas and stories highlighted how Tor and other digital security tools are not limited to those in activist or human rights work. Digital security issues are relevant to all and tools like Tor can address the needs of a social media influencer, a land rights activist, or someone who wants to privately used a shared computer or mobile device.

Collaborative user persona activity resulted in two drastically different user profiles. N shares Group 2’s user profile, Gibza.

Imagining Thai User Personas

Persona Builder activity developed by Okthanks. Photo: https://okthanks.com/persona-builder

The Okthanks Persona Builder gamifies the creation of user personas to help organizations and developers explore the security concerns of individuals from different backgrounds and working in different contexts. The activity was used to introduce and explore Thai personas, using USABLE personas as a guide, so that participants could integrate them into their future work. 

Following an adapted version of the Persona Builder game, each group determined the name, age, education, location and job title or role of their persona and then picked four more user persona components at random from a shuffled stack of options. Examples of available persona components included: the individual’s unique priorities, the devices and applications they use, their technical strengths and frustrations, information about their connectivity, political dynamics in their region etc.

“We work on digital security in urban areas, and we often forget the limitations and difficulties that those in rural areas are facing. This was a good exercise to look back on these issues.”

- Thai Localization Sprint Participant

Nu Nui, the farmer and land rights activist from the Upper South of Thailand.

Git shares the user persona of community organizer, Nu Nui.

The end result was two drastically different personas. The first user persona, Nu Nui, reflected the experience of participants who worked with land rights issues in Thailand. Nu Nui was a farmer in the Upper South of Thailand who was involved in community organizing around land rights. She had little technical literacy and faced physical threats from corporate developers trying to acquire land. Through the activity, the group identified several digital security threats and needs for Nu Nui and her community, including: secure communications, a panic button application in case of physical threat, secure information storage for legal documents, secure backup, and the ability to delete sensitive content quickly on a mobile device.

The second group imagined a very different persona than Nu Nui. They profiled Gibza, an social media influencer and owner of an online business. Gibza, whose priorities revolve around her physical appearance and social status, would only use Apple devices, which participants noted is a status symbol in Thailand, limiting her to applications for iOS and macOS. One of her key concerns was keeping banking and financial information secure from government and family members to avoid paying import taxes on resale items and to avoid family requesting financial aid. While Gibza had security concerns, any solutions would have to fit seamlessly into her carefully curated image.

Gibza, the social media influencer.

Who is the Thai Tor Browser User?

While many individuals are familiar with the Tor Project, the project’s image remains fraught with myths and misconceptions. Particularly in certain regions, the browser is associated with illegal activity or dismissed as a tool only for those with “something to hide”. To challenge these perceptions and explore the myriad of uses for Tor the group was tasked with creating user stories based on an overview of Tor earlier in the day.

Participants were split into two groups and each received copies of the recently released Tor outreach fliers, which contain user stories focusing on key uses for Tor (anti-censorship, anonymity, privacy). Each group wrote a Tor user story in Thai for a local context which identified an individual, the goal they wanted to achieve and how Tor helped them reach that goal.

User Story 1:

แอ๋ม เป็นสาวพนักงานธนาคารแห่งหนึ่ง แอ๋มสนใจอยากซื้อ Sex Toy แต่จะเซิร์สดูก็กลัวว่าเพื่อนร่วมงานจะรู้ว่าแอ๋มเป็นคนเปิดดู เพราะในออฟฟิศมีฝ่าน ITคอยตรวจสอบการใช้งานอินเทอร์เน็ต บวกกับที่บ้านใช้คอมพิวเตอร์ร่วมกันจึงมองหาเครื่องมือที่ปลอดภัย โดยไม่สามารถระบุ IP Address หรือมีประวัติการใช้งาน แอ๋มบังเอิญได้ดูคลิปของเจ๊ตุ๊ก ซึ่งเป็นนักกิจกรรมผู้หญิงบน Facebook แนะนำให้ใช้ Tor Browser จึงหันมาใช้ Tor Browser ตอนนี้แอ๋มรู้สึกสบายใจค้นหาความรู้ด้าน sex toy อย่างสบายใจและมีความสุข

“Am” is a bank worker who wants to purchase a sex toy for herself online. Since selling sex toys in country A is illegal, there is no sex shop where Am can purchase the toy. However, she’s worried that if she searches or purchases the sex toy with her work’s laptop, the IT staff could trace the traffic and expose her activity. She also cannot use her personal laptop at home since there is only one shared laptop for the whole family. Am wants a tool that would allow her to be anonymous and keep her IP address and search history from being traced. Am saw a clip on Facebook of a woman activist mentioning Tor Browser. She therefore used Tor to search for and purchase a sex toy.

The user story was inspired by the recent doxing of a Thai woman who purchased a sex toy online. According to the group members, when the toy was being delivered, the box was damaged allowing the delivery person to see inside. The delivery person took photos of the contents and the woman’s full name and address and shared them on social media. Participants shared that sexuality is still very taboo in Thailand, and particularly for women. Being exposed purchasing a sex toy can have serious social and professional ramifications.

User Story #2. Building Tor User Stories for a Thai context.

The second user story was also born out of a real-life situation in which an activist was arrested after online political activity was traced back to him through his IP address. When sharing these user stories, it was important to remind participants that logging into accounts or making purchases using identifying information - even via Tor - affects security and anonymity significantly.

User Story 2: 

น้องยีราฟเป็นนักศึกษาและนักกิจกรรมที่อยากจะเริ่มรณรงค์เรื่องความโปร่งใสและเป็นธรรมของการเลือกตั้งบนโซเซียลมีเดีย แต่ก่อนหน้านี้ ยีราฟอ่านข่าวพบว่ามีคนเคยโดนแจ้งข้อหาจากการวิพากวิจารณ์ กกต. บนโลกออนไลน์ โดยใช้ IP Address เป็นหลักฐาน น้องยีราฟจึงมองหาเครื่องมือที่ปลอดภัยที่สามารถรณรงค์ได้โดยไม่ถูกตามจับจาก IP Address เพื่อนนักกิจกรรมหลายคนจึงแนะนำให้ยีราฟใช้ Tor Browser ยีราฟจึงหันมาใช้ Tor แทนเบราว์เซอร์ทั่วไป ยีราฟรู้สึกแสดงความคิดเห็นเสรีและปลอดภัยมากขึ้น

“Giraffe” is a student activist who wants to create an online campaign on transparency of country B’s national election. However, Giraffe read a news article about a case in which a person shared an online petition to dissolve country B’s Election Commission because the election was a fraud, and that person was then arrested. The police arrested that person by tracing their IP address. Giraffe is worried that she could be arrested if she does online campaigning. Therefore, she’s looking for a tool that would help her do an online campaign without sharing her IP address. Her activist friends recommended she use Tor Browser, instead of normal browser. Giraffe used Tor and felt more comfortable to express her opinion online and mobilize her campaign.

Localization as a Tool for Education, Feedback and Outreach

Localization Sprints are not only a way to efficiently localize technologies. They are an opportunity to introduce new technologies and technical concepts, provide culturally & regionally specific feedback for developers, create stronger regional networks, and devise outreach and localized marketing strategies for sharing localized tools with the community. Together these elements can lead to more informed and sustained adoption of technologies as sprint participants better understand the tools they are using, have them available in their preferred language, identify clearer lines of communication with developers, and have more ownership over the tools as contributors to them themselves.

“I have more understanding of the concepts behind the tools. I've also learned that these tools are important in daily life and we can use them in real life.”

- Thai Localization Sprint Participant

If  you are interested in learning more about Localization Sprints or would like to coordinate one, you can connect with Localization Lab via localizationlab.org or Twitter.

في تغييب النّساء من لُغة الخِطاب | On Absenting Women from Public Discourse

من تصميم: مادّة ١٩ | Designed by: Mada19

On the sidelines of the Internet Freedom Festival in early 2019, Localization Lab organized a session on 'Exploring Approaches to Gender Inclusive Language in Arabic.' The session brought together a diverse group of Arabic speakers including feminists, writers, and translators to discuss: the importance of addressing women in public discourse in Arabic, previous and experimental linguistic approaches to achieving better representation, and increasing public awareness of the issue. Layla Taha of Mada19 followed up with several participants after the Internet Freedom Festival and synthesized insights from the session discussion and one-on-one interviews.

بقلم: ليلى طه

"لم لا تجرّبوا"، "كل ما تحتاجونه للاتصال بالإنترنت المفتوح"، أو "افتحوا التطبيق واضغطوا ..." هذه عبارات أردّدُها كثيرًا في إطار حياتي العمليّة، أُخاطب فيها "متابعين" مادّة ١٩ و"المهتمّين" بأدوات الخصوصيّة الرّقميّة وتجاوز الحجب. هل هذا يعني أنّني، وأنا امرأة ونسويّة ولُغتها الأم هي العربيّة، لا أخاطب متابعات مادّة ١٩ والمهتمّات بالأدوات التي تُقدّمها؟ طرحتُ هذا السّؤال على رولا أسد، المديريّة التّنفيديّة لشبكة الصّحفيّات السّوريّات، فأجابت عن السؤال بآخر: "أليس جمع مذكّر سالم؟"

في محادثة طويلة (ولا أُخفي مُمتعة) مع رولا، قالت بأنّ الاستخدام المتكرّر لصيغة المذكّر في الخطاب العام بالعربيّة فيه إقصاء للمرأة. "عندما يكون هناك افتراضات بأنّ اللّغة العربيّة المُتداولة والمُستخدمة هي متضمّنة للنساء رغم كونها غير متضمّنة للنّساء، ليس بشكل مباشر... يبقى التّخيُّل هو مجموعة رجال وليس مجموعة نساء، أو مجموعة من النّاس متنوّعي الهويّات."

تؤمن رولا بأنّ اللّغة أداة ووسيلة تؤثّر على الرّأي العام وتُشكّل الخطاب تجاه فئة أو قضيّة ما، وتعكس نفسها أخيرًا في حياة النّاس اليوميّة وفي سلوكيّاتهم وردود أفعالهم.

عندما سألتُها عن كيفيّة تأثير استخدام جمع المُذكّر السّالم على استقبالها لنصّ ما، أجابت: "لا أشعُر بأنّي معنيّة في الموضوع المطروح، فلا أنخرط في المسألة. وهذه ليست مُبالغة، فهذا يؤثّر في مدى الفعاليّة أو المسؤوليّة التي تتكون لديّ اجتماعيًّا. لذا لديّ موقف من الإنتاج المعرفي الذي لا يُضمِّنُني في أدواته."

هي فعلاً ليست مبالغة. في كتابتها "النّساء اللاّمرئيّات"، تقدّم كارولين كريادو-بيريز العديد من الدّلائل على أنّ البيانات التي نستخدمها في رسم السّياسات الاقتصاديّة والصّحيّة والحياتيّة بشكل عام لا تأخُذ النّساء بعين الاعتبار، ممّا يتسبّب في دفعهن لأثمان باهظة من وقتهن ومالهن وحتّى أحيانًا بحياتهن.

تفسّر كارولين في كتابها مثلاً بأنّ النّوبات أو الجلطات القلبيّة لا تُشخّص بشكل صحيح لدى النّساء في كثير من الأحيان (٥٠٪ في بريطانيا بحسب صحيفة الجارديان) لأنّ أعراض الجلطة لديهن تختلف عنها لدى الرّجال الذين تكون غالب البحوث الطبيّة مبنيّة على جنسهم. فمثلاً، لدى الرّجال، يكون الألم في الصّدر هو أحد أهم أعراض النّوبة القلبيّة وأكثرها انتشارًا، بينما لا تُبديه سوى واحدة من بين ٨ نساء يُعانين من نوبة قلبيّة. لدى النّساء، تظهر أعراض الجلطة على شكل إرهاق أو شعور بسوء الهضم. وتجادل كارولين بأنّ هذه الظّاهرة مُنتشرة أيضًا في قطاع التّكنولوجيا من بنية الأجهزة (مثلاً حجم الهواتف المحمولة) إلى الخوارزميّات. مثلاً، برنامج جوجل للتعرّف على الكلام أكثر قدرة على فهم الرّجال بنسبة ٧٠٪. كما أنّ تطبيقات "مُتابعة اللّياقة البدنيّة" التي تُسجِّل مثلاً عدد الخطوات التي تمشيها يوميًّا، تبخس في تقدير عدد الخطوات عند القيام بالأعمال المنزليّة بنسبة خطأ تصل إلى ٧٤٪، رغم كون العمل المنزلي يستهلك الكثير من المجهود البدني.

بحسب كارولين، ذلك هو "سبب ونتيجة في آن واحد لنوع من اللاّ-تفكير الذي يتصوّر الإنسانيّة بالمذكّر حصرًا."

وإن عُدنا لتصوّرنا لإنسانيّتنا كما نسرُدها، ونوصّفها، ونُعبّر عنها بخطابنا العام بالعربيّة، وب"لا تفكيرنا" في النّساء في كل ما نكتب تقريبًا، فبتقدير رولا: "اللّغة العربيّة في شكلها الحالي المتداول غير مُنصفة، ليس فقط للنساء ولكن يمكن أن نوسّع ونقول للهويّات الجندريّة الأخرى. إذا رح نمشي خطوة خطوة فالخطاب لا يخاطب على الأقل ما هو مقبول للمجتمع … وهناك إشارات اللّغة أيضًا، أو ما لا يُقال. يجب أن تكون استخدامات اللّغة مُتضمّنة وعادلة، وأن يكون فيها احترام لخيارات الناس، وتكون خالية من إطلاق الأحكام أو خلق تنميط مُعيّن لفئات في المجتمع. هذا الخطاب الذي نحاول أن نصل إليه -ونحن في مرحلة تحليله ووضع يدنا على الوجع، ومن ثمّ إيجاد حلول محليّة."

نحو إيجاد حلول محليّة

على هامش مهرجان "انترنت فريدوم" في بداية ٢٠١٩، قامت أرين مكونل من منظّمة "لوكالايزاشن لاب" (مختبر التّوطين) بتنظيم جلسة للبحث في "الحياديّة تجاه الجندر واللّغة العربيّة". جمعت الجلسة عددًا من المهتمّين ب"وضع اليد على الوجع" بكلمات رولا، من بينهم أحمد غربية، المدير الفنّي في "مؤسّسة التّعبير الرّقمي العربي" المعروفة بِ"أضف". عندما سألتُ أحمد عن سبب مشاركته في الجلسة، أجاب: "لأنّي مُهتم بالمسألة وموضوع النّقاش، وبالظّواهر اللّغويّة العربيّة المعاصرة عمومًا. لهذه المسألة أبعاد عديدة: لغويّة، نحويّة-صرفيّة وكذلك أسلوبيّة-خطابيّة. والمُهم عمومًا في نظري من النّاحية المهنيّة هو إيجاد بيئة مواتية للتّشارك بين النّساء والرّجال في مجالات الاهتمامات والعمل العام المختلفة، والسّعي لإبراز تصوّرات النساء عن العالم بأكثر مما هو."

الكاتبة فرح برقاوي، وهي إحدى مؤسّسات مشروع "ويكي الجندر"، منصّة تشاركية تنتج معرفة نسوية مفتوحة في قضايا الجندر والنّساء باللّغة العربية، أدارت الحوار في الجلسة، التي ابتُدأ النّقاش فيها في ملتقى "خبز ونت" في بيروت العام الماضي والذي تنظّمه "سمكس".

في الجلسة قامت فرح بعرض تاريخ من المحاولات (المحليّة بامتياز) للتّعامل مع هذه المُعضلة.

هنا نستعرضها:

الشّرطة المائلة

لعلّ إضافة صيغة المؤنّث بعد علامة "/" (مثل المستخدم/ة) هي من أولى المحاولات التي جرّبتها بعض المؤسّسات الإعلاميّة العربيّة للتطرّق إلى حل لمعالجة هذه المشكلة. إلّا أنّ فرح تنصح بتفادي هذا الأسلوب قدر المستطاع لأنّ الشّرطة "تكسر تدفّق النّص بصريًّا ولغويًّا وغيره".

جمع المذكّر السّالم

عادةً ما يصاحب هذا الأسلوب محاولة للابتعاد عن تصريف الأفعال، فنقول "يرجى زيارة الموقع" بدلاً من "زوروا الموقع" حين أمكن.

في تعليقها على هذا الأسلوب تقول فرح: "نحن مُتصالحين مع الجمع لأنّه يكلّم مجموعة لكنّه أيضًا جمع تذكير. إذا كانت هناك مجموعة من ٩ نساء وفجأة جاء ذكر واحد لا يصلح التأنيث. حتى في الموروث الثّقافي يكون لهذا الذكر مكانة مرتفعة. هو ليس صارخ التمييز لكن هذا لا يعني بأنّه غير مُميِّز. إذا كانت هذه الحالة، لِنستخدم الجمعين."

 كما سلف الذّكر، أنا من مستخدمي جمع المذكّر السّالم في ما أكتُبه لمادّة ١٩، لأنّي أرى بأنّ هذا الأسلوب يُخاطِب النّساء والرّجال (وأعترف أنّي كتبت الرّجال والنّساء بديهيًّا ومن ثمّ صحّحت نفسي!)، وهو لا يلفِت الأنظار كثيرًا إلى مشكلة التّذكير والتّأنيث، كما الشّرطات، كما أنّنا نستخدمه في العاميّة عندما نكون مجموعة من النّساء فنقول "قوموا نمشي؟ تشربوا شي؟".

ويضيف أحمد على هذا أنّه بالعاميّة "العرب يستعملون صيغ المذكر والمؤنّث بغير التفات إلى دلالة الجنس الفعليّة، ويستخدمون محدِّدات أخرى عند الرّغبة الفعليّة في تعيين الجنس، وهي محدِّدات تُعدّ زائدة أو أخطاء إذا ما طبّقنا قواعد الصّرف والنّحو بحذافيرها، مثل "شفت اليوم اثنين مهندسات ستات"، وهذا موجود بأشكال متنوعة في العالم العربي. فمثلاً نجد أغلب المصريين قد وحّدوا على جمع المذكّر في أسماء الإشارة وكثير من الجموع، ولهجات شاميّة قد وحّدت على الجّمع المؤنّث في ضمائر الإشارة حتى عندما يكون المشار إليهم رجالا، وفي لهجات مغاربيّة نجد خليطًا في استعمال الأفعال في بعض الأزمنة. المقصود أن الحل ربمّا كان في تجاهل دلالة المذكّر والمؤنث، وعدم عدّ أيّها تخصيصًا لجنس... الأهم في رأيي هو الخطاب، الأفكار والمفاهيم، كيفيّة عرضها وتناولها وتحليلها."

الجمع بين الجنسين

كما يرد في القرآن "المُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ". (أمّا "ويكي الجندر" فهي تفضّل في سياسة تحريرها تقديم المؤنّث عن المُذكّر مثل المستخدمات والمستخدمين، أو الاقتصار على التّأنيث.

التنويع في النّص الواحد

ذكرت فرح بأنّ مُشكلة الخطاب هذه تأتي بالأصل من التّخيُّل بأننّا نخاطب "شخص" ما وهي كلمة مذكّرة. "الشّخص" كلمة تدّعي الحياديّة، وهي تدل على شخص مجهول (الجنس والجندر وغيره)، فيُمكن جمعها (الأشخاص والشّخوص) ولكن لا يجوز تأنيثها. من هنا جاءت فكرة التّنويع (الذي يبدأ في المُخيّلة)، والتّبديل بين الجنسين في النّص الواحد، وفي صيغ الجمع في المُخاطبة (مثال: الصّحفيات والباحثون والطّالبات والمهتمون).

جمع لواحق تمييز الجنس

تقول فرح، أنّ أعضاء ويكي الجندر فكّروا في تبادلات تجريبيّة ويوميّة أكثر من كونها تبادلات عصف ذهني، في كيفيّة التخلّص من الشّرطة المائلة بين لهم/ن أو لكم/ن، فوجدوا أنّه "طالما النّون حرف متّصل، يمكن أن يتّصل بالحرف الذي يسبقه، لما لا نربطهم ببعض ونجرّب وندمج الكلمتين؟ سنحصل على "لهمن"، و"لكمن". هل الكلمة لا تُقرأ بلى تُقرأ وبسهولة..."
"حلوة سماعيًّا،" أُقاطعها.
 تُتابع: "عندما تقرأها النّساء سيشعرن بنون النسوة، وكذلك الرّجال، هناك الميم وهي قوية وتظهر بوضوح أثناء النطق أو القراءة، فلا يشعرون أنّهم مُستثنون"

وفي حال الجمع، هناك دائمًا التّاء في جمع المؤنّث السالم (مثل الكاتبات والقارئات)، والنّون التي تأتي بعد الياء أو الواو في جمع المذكّر السّالم (الكاتبون والقارئين)، دمجوها أيضًا، وحصلوا على "المشاركوت والمشاركيت".
"وهكذا ينفع استخدامها وصرفها فتكون مقبولة نحويّاً،" تُضيف فرح.

يقول أحمد بأنّه أكتشف "وجود تجارب مُشابهة في المغرب العربي من قبيل الكاتبينات والمحرّرينات المهتمينات، [ولكّنه] لا يعرف مصدرها ولا من بدأها."

من ناحيتها ترى رولا بأنّ هذه الطّريقة خلاّقة فعلاً، وأنّها أضافت إلى اللُّغة من ذاتها. وهنا نقتبس من ردِّها على نقاشات مع مؤسّسات إعلاميّة سوريّة من باب أنّ تذكير وتأنيث المفردات والأفعال والأسماء سيجعل النّص طويلاً وبحاجة إلى تفكيك فترد: "إذا كان هناك كل هذا الصبر لكل هذا الوقت على كل هذا التنميط والإقصاء وللعلاك يلي بيجي أصلاً في كل الخطابات وكل الإنتاج المعرفي على مدار سنوات طويلة، لِم لا نصبر على هذه النّصوص التي هي في مرحلة تجريب، طالما ليست هناك حلول، النّاس ستتعوّد." وتضيف: "مفروض الوسائل الإعلاميّة البديلة المُناصرة لهذه القضايا أن تفهم البعد الاجتماعي والتحرّري للموضوع ليس فقط الاستهلاكي كتجارة للإعلام".

عندما سألت رولا لم على النّاس الاهتمام بهذا الموضوع، قالت: "إذا بدهم يهتمّوا فيه هنّ بدهم يفهموا ليش لازم يهتمّوا فيه، لازم معناها نحكي عن كل الهويات اللي لازم تتضمن بالخطاب، عن كل النّمطية التي كانت تقع على النّساء والرّجال ... إنّه في نمطيّة معيّنة وقت ما بنسحبها، بنكون عم بنحاول نحرّر بما معناه الخطاب العام وشو التّوقعات من الناس. طالما هذا الشّي غايب وعم بنحكي على آخر جزئية من موضوع التحرّر وهو عدم جندرة اللغة مثلاً، رح يضل أصعب، لإنّه البدائل يلي عم تنطرح عم بتكون جهود مجموعات صغيرة وفي أغلب الأحيان هي محاربة من محيطها ومن مجتمعها ومن حكومات الدّول التي تعمل فيها."

عن عدم الوقوع في فخّ الترجمة

"اللغة العربية فيها كلمات وفيها إرث مخيال شعبي كان غزير جنسيًّا وما عنده مشاكل سواء في تسمية الأفعال الجنسية أو مع التنوّع الجندري. كان في ناس مُخنّثة، في رجال مثليين، في نساء ثنائيّات الميل الجنسي، ما كنش الموضوع ظاهر على السّطح كقضيّة، لأنّه كانت المُمارسات تحدُث بشكل غير منظّم. لكن مع تنظيم الأديان، والدّول، والحروب، دخولاً على الرّأسمالية التي ابتلعت المنطقة كما ابتلعت باقي العالم، أصبح هناك تقديس للمُغايرة الجنسيّة وللأدوار الجندريّة النّمطيّة التي تكوّن الأُسرة المُنتجة لأطفال، وتكوّن الأب العامل والأُم التي تقوم بعمل منزلي غير مدفوع الأجر. فأن نتعامل مع الموضوع كأنّه شي جديد علينا، إنّه أصلاً في تنوّع جندري عشان في خطاب في أمريكا الشّمالية يحثّ على الموضوع؟ أو إنّه فجأة في كلمات علشان ظهرت بالإنجليزي وانتشرت، فنفترض إنّه عُمره ما كان إلها مقابل يجعلنا نقع في فخّ التّرجمة أوّلاً، وثانيًا في فخ استعارة أشياء رُبّما غير أساسيّة في سياقاتنا،" قالت لي فرح في مقابلة تحدّثنا فيها عن الجّلسة.

وتُضيف: "كما الهوس في إيجاد كلمة واحدة، واللّغة العربيّة ليست لغة الكلمات الواحدة. اللّغة العربيّة فيها حب وعشق ووجد وهيام وغرام، وليس لكل ذلك مرادفات سوى "love" بالإنجليزيّة؟ لم لا نحتفل بهذا التنوّع؟ لا أقول بأن لا نهتم وإنّما لا ننهوِس بسؤال مطروح في الخارج. يجب أن ننهوِس في طرح أسئلتنا التي هي قادمة من مآزقنا، في التنظيم، في الكتابة، في التّمييز ضد الكاتبات، وما معنى كل ذلك؟ مآزقنا في من هم المحرّرين وكيف يحرّرون ما يُكتب أو يُنشر بالعربية؟"

We Can’t Give Up: Localizing Digital Safety for Swahili Speakers

Zaituni Njovu of Zaina Foundation assists Localization Sprint participants working on the Safe Sisters digital safety guide.

By Erin McConnell

When discussing access to the internet, information, and technologies the role that language plays in encouraging or inhibiting that access cannot be ignored. Recognizing this and the fact that the majority of online content and tools are available in English and not in local languages, organizers have hosted a full day Localization Sprint prior to each Arusha Women’s School of Internet Governance (AruWSIG). This year, the focus of the Localization Sprint was adapting digital safety educational materials for Swahili speakers.

The 2nd edition of the AruWSIG brought about 30 participants from across Tanzania to the feet of Mt. Meru. Over the course of 4 days, they learned about local and international internet governance and the challenges facing Tanzanians as they navigate the digital sphere and try to gain access to it.

Adapting Digital Safety Guides for Swahili Speakers

The localization sprint focused on 3 digital safety guides that address real and pressing needs for Tanzanian and Swahili-speaking netizens.

The Safe Sisters digital safety guide.

The Safe Sisters digital safety guide was developed through The East African Women’s Digital Safety Fellowship, for and by East African women. The guide emphasizes digital safety practices addressing some of the most common issues faced by women online: using social networks securely, creating strong passwords, securely sharing devices, and being aware of how information shared online can be monitored and collected by others.

The two Surveillance Self-Defense guides, How to Use WhatsApp on Android and Protecting Yourself on Social Media Networks, supplement the Safe Sisters guide by taking deeper dives into how to understand and use social media networks and WhatsApp more securely. Both guides were fully translated by sprint participants and once the guides have been fully reviewed, they will be formatted and shared on the Localization Lab website and distributed by partners and sprint participants.

Why Localize for Swahili Speakers?

Despite having such a large number of speakers and an official presence in East Africa, the amount of localized technology and original content in Swahili online is relatively small and efforts to further develop and standardize technical terminology — like that of the Open Swahili Localization Project — lack resources.

This lack of information in Swahili (and other regional languages) can contribute to a litany of challenges faced by East African users as they enter into and interact in the digital sphere. Maybe of most concern is how it can affect already marginalized populations. The continued gender gap affecting womens’ access to technology and the internet was one issue highlighted by participants in an AruWSIG session on the feminist principles of the internet, hosted by Rebecca Ryakitimbo, Founder and Programs Manager of KSGen. Participants shared that the lack of content in Swahili and other local languages disproportionately kept women from obtaining technical literacy, access to the internet, and to information.

“Language is very key with the issue of connectivity,’’ said Ms. Ryakitimbo. She then asked the room how much information on family planning and medical issues was available in Swahili and local languages.

The issue of accessibility was echoed by other sprint participants, and was highlighted by Zaituni Njovu as she introduced the Localization Sprint:

“Some people cannot access content online because it is in English or in other languages. We are empowering Swahili speaking people to use the internet.”

When asked why they were personally motivated to participate in the Localization Sprint, another participant stated, “Our whole life is online and our 1st language is Swahili.” While many Tanzanians do speak English, the majority speak Swahili and access to English language education is largely determined by an individual’s financial resources.

“We need [content in Swahili] for user protection,” shared an attendee, emphasizing the need to break down language barriers for users, particularly around terms of service and privacy settings. “We are part and parcel of these technologies, including social networks,” added Diana Damson, an ICT Law student at Iringa University. “If something goes wrong, we are affected.”

For sprint participants, making technology and more online content available in Swahili was about more than basic access. It was also clear that expanding the presence of Swahili in the digital sphere had cultural and sentimental value. Zaituni Njovu shared:

“It is our culture. It is one of our cultures…People feel more comfortable when they use [content] online in their native language”

#AruWSIG19
We'd like to share some of the moments from the workshop so far.... pic.twitter.com/kgXqa3EwW9

— KsGEN (@KsGEN3) September 3, 2019

Technical Terminology and a Case Against Borrowed Words

Across the board, technical terminology in Swahili was shared as both a challenge and takeaway.

The majority of localization sprint participants shared that their biggest takeaway was becoming familiar with new terminology in Swahili and being able to talk about digital safety without relying as heavily on borrowed words from English. One participant added:

“It’s important to localize into Swahili and learn new terms in Swahili. At times we were using English terms to explain English to someone who speaks Swahili.”

Not all localization sprint attendees were ideologically aligned when it came to use of technical terminology in Swahili however. A few participants shared that using Swahili translations could make it more complicated for users who already have familiarity with English terms. They reported that some technical translations in Swahili, though following Swahili word formation norms, can be confusing or even appear nonsensical.

The overwhelming consensus of facilitators and participants was that using Swahili, and avoiding borrowed terms was the best approach. Translation should follow the standards set by projects like the University of Dar es Salaam’s Open Swahili Localization Project as well as the University of Zanzibar, one of the premier institutions for Swahili expertize according to event facilitator Bonface Witaba of the Centre for Youth Empowerment.

Diana Damson broke down her dedication and the responsibility of Swahili speakers to localize, despite the challenges:

“Changes need time. We need to be patient. We can’t give up. Going back to English will not help us. We need to put in more effort to make our language keep up with technical development.”

Special thanks to Bonface Witaba and Rebecca Ryakitimbo for organizing the 2nd edition of AruWSIG and inviting the Localization Lab to co-facilitate the Localization Sprint with the inspiring Zaituni Njovu.

Localization Sprint participants at the 2nd Edition of the Arusha Women’s School of Internet Governance

Localization Lab Summit at IFF: Design "World Cafe"

The 5th annual Localization Lab Summit was one of the largest and most professionally diverse, bringing volunteer contributors from around the globe along with developers, UX/UI designers and content creators working on Localization Lab supported projects and beyond.

With UX/UI designers from Okthanks, Simply Secure, Tor Project and Ura Design in attendance, we dedicated an entire session to the space where design, development and localization overlap and how co-design and better coordination can lead to more usable and culturally relevant tools.

With input from Eileen of Simply Secure, we decided on a “World Cafe” structure for the session which broke summit participants into small groups which would rotate every 15 minutes between 5 stations. Each station was facilitated by one of the designers and focused on a different question or topic related to design and localization.

Station 1: Elio (Ura Design, OONI Probe)

In our design session we discussed how we could address localization and design processes in an environment utilizing a building block approach. UX Design, User Research and Localization are 3 very interdependent elements and each of them can influence the other heavily in a development process. Having this in mind, our group came to the concept of functional sprints rather than handing off a feature to another team once it's "ready".

The potential advantages of this would be that team members from various disciplines would work closely together on the same feature, enabling short feedback cycles with the assumption that revisions can be handled faster than handing off deliverables from one team to the other. Releases would happen often with very small incremental changes.

The motivation behind this process is being able to spot issues right away as all team members still have control over the process. One downside to this could be the intense, yet slow development process, since all development is cut into small chunks. Of course this is all hypothetical based on our experience from other open source projects.

Last but not least, a big issue we identified is that current funding models are completely incompatible with more efficient ways of developing software, since a large number of grants are given out based on deliverables and a timeline which doesn't correspond with the actual development process.

Station 2: Tiffany (Okthanks)

At our station, the topic of discussion was feedback. We began by asking the question, "what motivates people to give feedback?" This led to some great conversations around gamification, recognition and thanking all those who contribute (in any capacity). We want to encourage feedback and help foster relationships, which may make individuals want to contribute in the future. It was clear people like to give feedback when something works really well or really poor. Which begs the question, how to make giving feedback easy? This led to conversations around the challenges of giving feedback. The process of giving feedback should be quick and easy and with a clear direction of what type of feedback is helpful or useful at that time. The goal of feedback should be to continue the cycle of engagement with end users and communities, therefore finding ways to get them invested in the process from the beginning, creating a long-term relationship and establishing that their feedback is valuable for the design of the solution, may help the overall goal of creating solutions better fit for communities. We also briefly made adjustments to a user story (I will include the photo here, in case you want to use it). Main takeaways, were:

• say "Thank you!" to everyone!

• If you can't get to the feedback or it's not in the current scope, communicate this when able.

• Speak to the impact, show impact, or communicate it someway....The feedback you give is valuable in making decisions for the design and development process. Shaping future products and goodness.

• Maybe giving feedback should be anonymous by default, uncheck a box if you want to be known.

Station 3: Eileen (Simply Secure)

This session looked at the other side of user research: how to incorporate user feedback into Internet freedom projects. We began by mapping types of feedback the projects receive, either reactively or proactively. Reactive feedback can be incoming messages, bug reports, social media comments or in-person complaints. Proactive feedback, on the other hand, describes information gathering as part of a user research process, such as survey data, tracking data, or user interviews, testing, and observations.

In a next step, the group looked at emerging issues with the current forms of feedback gathering. Beyond the usual complaints (feedback is often too little information, and too negative), three systematic issues stand out: with reactive feedback, it is difficult to understand underlying issues (asking ‘why’). It also is heavily biased toward superficial or minor changes, and leaves out important requests. Finally, users are good at expressing what they want, but not skilled in identifying what they need. This makes adapting the project to user feedback especially hard.

Lastly, the group looked at existing ways to incorporate incoming feedback, such as issue trackers, systems for prioritisation, team communication tools, and visualisations. People agreed that factors for triaging include: number of people requesting feature, funding attached to issue, difficulty of implementation, as well as how important the team deemed the request ("security and privacy matter more than colours and buttons”). For contributors, people brainstormed ways to include them. At the very least, they deserve a response; in the best case, they can be invited for testing, and attributed in some way. Gifts and other types of compensations are options, too.

Station 4: Antonela (Tor Project)

Station 5: Kaci (Okthanks)

I held the station of “Designer FAQ/AMA”. The first round of participants took a little bit to get started because it was such a broad topic to discuss. Especially for those who hadn’t worked closely with designers before. Once conversation got going, though I could tell that everyone was interested. Once the rounds kept going, I could tell the participants who have worked closely with designers and have had burning questions for ages ;) these almost always had an “oh yeah!” or " Good question” mumbled in the background.

As a designer who deals more intently with graphics and interface, and who has a bit of a different working environment (since we work so closely with our developers), I sometimes get thrown by questions or assumptions that others have about the design process so I was a bit nervous. But I think the session went very well! The two biggest takeaways that we had were (note: these answers are my opinion, and could very much be discussed among other designers):

Have designers in on the project as early as possible! And if you are having to choose between UX and UI designers in your budget, choose UX — it’s better to have something ugly that works than something pretty that doesn’t work. :)

This could help with the frustrations of them designing solutions that have already been tried or them not understanding the users. Designers are your friends! We want to help and we want to understand the project and make beautiful, seamless, helpful solutions. The more we know and the more we learn throughout the project the more productive the entire team’s time can be because less time is spent explaining all of the “known” info to the designers.

Push for Marketing Budgets.

Many frustrations of the participants dealt directly with adoption/putting things in front of users, and how to make tools look good. Overall, designers have to design within the means of the project scope. The more the project is set up for design and for visuals, the more time the designer can spend, the better it looks! As designers, we want our work to also help people and to work and to be used!

Localization Lab at RightsCon Tunis

We’re coming to RightsCon this week! Come say hello, as we’ll be participating and hosting a number of sessions this year:

June 12th

The Digital Language Divide: Why Prioritizing Underrepresented Languages Matters.

As policymakers continue to address the growing digital divide, special attention must be paid to underrepresented language users who are continually relegated to the peripheries of the Internet. What obstacles do underrepresented language communities face as a result of their online exclusion? And what role can policymakers, developers, and activists play to bring linguistic diversity to the forefront? Our panel discussion brings together key stakeholders to shed light on the challenges they face, both as Internet users and as individuals working to promote their languages online. The session will discuss issues from digital security risks and economic obstacles to technical challenges when incorporating languages with no script and creating keyboards with new font types. We will also discuss the ways that communities are successfully leveraging technology to preserve and promote language.

"Data Driven" Foreign Aid and "Digital Development" Strategies: Are we disrupting disenfranchisement - or scaling It?

Public and private donors and INGOs increasingly highlight the importance of "data-driven" programming, and the launch of GDPR in 2018 deepened internal discussions throughout Europe and North America on data management and acquisition standards. But where are the voices of the "beneficiaries" of foreign assistance in these strategies, and how are their perspectives and rights informing the decisions donors and INGOs make with regard to data collection, aggregation and use within foreign aid? With current legal and procurement structures, and the political drivers, inherent in foreign aid, can our current assistance structures truly "empower beneficiaries" in new or powerful ways by shifting to data-driven or digital strategies, or are these moves primarily designed to diminish costs and increase efficiency among large Western institutions?  

If you keep suggesting blockchain, I swear to God I will f—ing scream

When we make decisions in humanitarian and development projects based on solutions we want to use, instead of user needs, we could be exposing beneficiaries to bigger risks, by leaving them out of decision-making process. Our panel of experts will discuss the following points: *What is technosolutionism and how to avoid it in projects? *How organizations and individuals can deal with technosolutionist demands from funders and partners. *So, what is blockchain and when *should* it be used in projects? *In praise of low-tech or no-tech solutions: How to shift media focus from shiny new toys in tech, to the mundane, consentful, and trusted solutions--and the complexity of the development work, participation, and research necessary that leads to successful and sustainable projects.

June 13th

Digital Identity for Refugees: Special considerations for protection and privacy

How does Digital ID apply to refugee communities?

Data Protection and Refugees: Informed consent in asylum process and access to aid

Refugees must give biometric data, as well as very sensitive information about why it is that they left their country and why they are afraid to go back. This information might include details about war crimes, crimes against humanity, or sexual violence--information that is extremely sensitive and must be protected. In this panel session, we will discuss how this affects the asylum process.

Datafied Refuge: Navigating new digital borders for refugees in the city

This workshop convenes a critical session surrounding the development, use, and experience of emerging ICTs for ‘integration’ amongst refugees, asylum seekers, and vulnerable migrant populations at destinations. With smartphones to hand, many refugees today document their traversals and communicate with family scattered across the globe, creating and leaving data trails. Once they reach an intermediary or final destination, biometric data is recorded in order to process visas or asylum documents, even to grant access to benefits schemes.

June 14th

More Than Words Can Say: Localization as a human rights issue

This session will review different types of human rights manuals, digital security training manuals and immigration legal manuals that are available online, and what user needs they meet before discussing localizability and adoption challenges. We will work in small groups to identify challenges and opportunities in adopting the framework in the guide for a particular audience.

Internet Freedom Memes

Earlier this month, at our 5th annual Localization Summit in Valencia — a convening for our language contributors, tool developers, UX designers, and partner organizations— we ran our first meme-a-thon competition with attendees focusing on internet freedom themes, and we got some truly amazing results.

Scroll through some of our favorite ones here:

Psiphon AMA (Ask Me Anything)

Psiphon is an open-source Internet censorship circumvention tool, allowing access to blocked content and websites on Windows, iOS or Android.

• How can Psiphon help you and your community securely and freely access content online?

• How does Psiphon differ from other VPNs?

• How can you contribute to Psiphon localization?

Localization Lab is hosting an AMA with the Psiphon team this Thursday, April 5th at 13:00 UTC (09:00 EST)!

What is an AMA? This is an opportunity for people around the globe to ask Psiphon any and all questions about using Psiphon, and localizing it for their regions and communities. 

This is the perfect opportunity to speak directly to the Psiphon team!

In addition to answering all of your questions about using and localizing Psiphon, the team also wants to hear your feedback. What challenges have you faced using Psiphon? When and where has Psiphon successfully connected you to the Internet in the face of censorship? What features and functionality would make Psiphon easier to use for your community?

WHEN: Thursday, April 25th at 13.00 UTC (09:00 EST) (Google calendar invite)
WHERE: Localization Lab Mattermost Channel (Contact us to join the channel)

Not able to join the AMA? Send us your questions and feedback for the Psiphon team and we will share it on your behalf during the AMA.
For encrypted communications, contact erinm (PGP) directly.

Contributor Spotlight: Why Prioritizing Indonesian Users Should Be at the Top of the Internet Freedom Agenda

By Andrea Brás

Localization Lab knows that the work we do would be impossible without the help of incredible contributors who make up the community. The Contributor Spotlight is a way to highlight some of the community members who are unlocking access to digital security technology for users around the world.

This month we want to highlight the work of Indonesian language contributor, Ical. Since joining the Localization Lab community in 2017, he has been answering our calls for the translation and review of tools that his community needs the most. If you have used or shared the Indonesian versions of Tor Browser, Tor Browser Support Portal, Psiphon, Signal (and more), it is because Ical has been a driving force behind their availability.

Localization Lab spoke with Ical about his advocacy work around digital security issues, what motivates him to localize Internet Freedom tech, and why he feels Indonesian users need to be prioritized.

How long have you been interested in tech and digital rights?

I am a digital security trainer who works with activists. I started giving digital security trainings 4 years ago, but I’ve been interested in tech and digital rights for about 7-8 years.

Why are you concerned about digital security? Why do you think that other people should care about protecting themselves online?

Everything we put online is used by corporations and governments without our consent for profit and political purposes. People think targeted ads are helping them, but they don’t realize that corporations are just trying to sell us more products we don’t really need.

There’s no distinction between online and offline life anymore now. There are a lot of online threats which could lead to physical threats as well, and most people don’t realize that. That’s why I think digital security is important to keep our lives secure — both online and offline.

How did you get involved in digital security training? What motivates you to work as a trainer?

I started out because a colleague asked me to be her co-trainer — we have the same concerns about digital security. What motivates me is that digital literacy in Indonesia is so low despite internet penetration being one of the highest among the Southeast Asian countries, and Indonesians have really bad perceptions about privacy and security. I have also heard a lot of cases of outing, doxxing, etc. in the LGBTIQ+ community who are my friends.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face during trainings?

The level of tech-savviness is usually low among my [training] participants and also there is gap between tech and users. All of the tools that I teach were not built taking into account the kinds of the participants I have: The language, the logic, and the context are mostly global north/English-centric. The notion that “tech is difficult and not for everyone” or “I am just a user” is more exacerbated by the difficulty of the tools.

You have been such a big supporter of Localization Lab — How did you find out about the community? Why did you decide to join?

I found out about Localization Lab at a digital rights camp in 2017. I wasn’t aware of what it was about. But after I participated the 2-day sprint, I realized that this could be the answer to some of challenges that I faced during trainings. I think it is really important to make technology, especially digital security tools, speak my own language to make it easier for people to understand. But localization is not just about language translation, it is about translating the tools into a local logic and context so that the tech actually works for us.

Why is it important for your networks to have these tools in Indonesian?

Because most of my participants are not English speakers and they use Indonesian on their devices. Sometimes the tools are confusing for them. But in my experience doing localization, I found a big challenge because some technological terms that are already translated into Indonesian are more confusing because the new translated terms are not popular/ familiar to the general audience.

Why do you think funders, developers and contributors should prioritize Indonesian language and Indonesian users in general?

For me, the reason why Indonesian and Indonesian users in general should be one of the priorities is because Internet penetration here is one of the highest among the SEA countries. Also, the political situation, both historically and currently, are putting activists in danger. In the last few years, the rise of religious conservatism (which translates into state policies/laws) poses a threat to marginalized communities such as LGBTIQ+, religious minorities, and activists.

Burmese Font Issues Have Real World Consequences for At-Risk Users

“Myanmar3, the de jure standard Burmese keyboard layout” by Lionslayer, CC BY-SA 3.0

Have you ever received a message containing an empty box (“◻︎”) instead of the readable characters or emojis you were expecting? If you are an English speaker, this is a largely uncommon occurrence. English fonts and tools developed for English-speaking audiences follow the international Unicode Standard, which means not encountering encoding issues that result in those dreaded “◻︎”. In Myanmar, however, where the Unicode standard is not universally adopted and the favored font of users is not Unicode compliant, encoding issues are far from an issue of the past and the effect on the usability of tools is severe. In a country in which groups like journalists, human rights workers and minority ethnic groups face security risks, physical and digital security are in some cases inextricably linked. Without access to secure means of communication and access to information that are also usable in Burmese and correctly display and allow input of Burmese fonts, the physical well being of individuals may be put at risk.

Due in large part to nearly half a century of isolation from the international community and thus exclusion from international development of technical standards, the most popular and widely used font in Myanmar today, ZawgyiOne, is not Unicode compliant. Why is this an issue? As an international standard, Unicode encoding is used across websites, applications and platforms to correctly display the vast majority of written languages in the digital sphere. If a font is not Unicode compliant, it will not be displayed correctly in any tool or resource using Unicode encoding. Similarly, any tool using an encoding system other than Unicode, like the one developed in Myanmar for use with fonts like ZawgyiOne, will not display Unicode compliant fonts correctly.

Below is an example of how these encoding issues manifest:

How does this affect users?

Particularly now that Myanmar has joined the international digital sphere, encoding incompatibilities are a regular hurdle for Burmese users and the developers and content creators trying to reach a Burmese-speaking audience. Depending on the encoding used on a website for example, you may or may not be able to properly read Burmese text without first installing and changing your browser’s preferred font to one that is compliant with that encoding. Workarounds are even less accessible or impossible for users when it comes to other technologies. While it is possible to have individuals familiar with Unicode-compliant fonts localize technologies that use the Unicode standard, that does not address the fact that the majority of Burmese users not only prefer to input text using Zawgyi-encoded fonts, but may not even know how to use a Unicode-encoded font.

What is the solution?

Many individuals have been working on this issue over the years -- whether creating browser extensions to auto-detect website font encoding, creating font conversion tools or integrating both Zawgyi and Unicode encoding into their tools. Through conversations with Burmese end users, developers and researchers working on this issue, at Localization Lab we would like to put together a guide that is geared toward developers (primarily working in the open source, Internet freedom and humanitarian sectors who are interested in serving Burmese users) and introduce them to the challenges of working with Burmese languages as well as provide some solutions and workarounds. The guide would provide historical and current context for the issue and delve into what can be done in the earlier and potentially later stages of development to ensure that technologies, documentation and educational materials are usable for Burmese speakers. Depending on the available resources, an additional outcome could be further development of existing workarounds and solutions with local technologists.

Tools like Martus and platforms like Facebook and Google have attempted to tackle the issue of Zawgyi-encoding. How have they approached the challenge and what have they learned? How are local developers and technologists approaching encoding issues? What experiences do they have to share with developers who don't have a foundation in Burmese?

Localization Demos & Sprint at IFF 2019: Call for Project Participants

It’s that time of year again! Localization Lab is looking for Internet freedom projects that are interested in participating in our Localization Sprint & Demo Session!

The demo and sprint session will take place on Thursday April 4th from 14:45 - 18:45 in the "Sunny" space at Las Naves and will consist of rotating demos followed by collaborative localization, one-on-one time with localizers and end users, and translation tool support and tutorials.  

As a project owner the Demo & Sprint session is an opportunity for you to showcase your project, get feedback from a diverse group of Localization Lab and IFF contributors from around the globe, kick start and energize your localization efforts by providing valuable context and support for translators on the spot, and build relationships with individuals interested in long-term contribution to your project. 

What should you come prepared to present?

• 5 - 10 minute demo of your project

• Answers to the following questions:

  • Who your project is for?

  • Who is it not for?

  • What sets your project apart from any similar initiatives?

  • What are some example use cases for your project?

  • What are your regional or language localization priorities?

  • What are you short and long term project goals, particularly when related to localization?

Due to time and space constraints, the initial demos will be limited to 6 projects. In order to participate, your project should be:

• Currently supported by Localization Lab either in the Localization Lab Hub in Transifex or on Weblate; and

• Localizable, ready to accept translations with a localization workflow in place to publish translated and reviewed content.

If you are interested in participating in the Localization Lab Demo & Sprint session please contact Erin and let us know:

• What your current localization priorities are (the audiences you are trying to reach through localization -- this will help us do targeted outreach); and

• What you hope to accomplish at the Demo & Sprint session.

*If you are not able to make the Demo & Sprint session, but are interested in interfacing with Localization Lab contributors at IFF, let us know! We would love to host informal localization meetups at IFF for individuals who want to work on localization projects or collaborate with developers outside of sessions. We want to connect you with individuals interested in working on your project!

Join the Localization Lab Summit at IFF 2019!

Join us at the 5th annual Localization Lab Summit in Valencia, Spain!

Sunday, March 31st from 09:00 to 18:00

Are you attending the Internet Freedom Festival in Valencia, Spain this year? Join us at the 2019 Localization Lab Summit, taking place the day before IFF starts, on Sunday the 31st of March.

The Localization Summit is a chance to identify challenges and opportunities in tool adoption and localization. It's an event for anyone invested in making digital security and circumvention tools accessible for a global audience, promoting local content creation, and supporting more linguistic diversity in the digital sphere is welcome to apply. We are looking for folks working on Internet Freedom technologies or content for a diverse, global audience, like journalists, funders, human rights defenders, digital security trainers, community organizers, UX experts, and developers. We especially welcome communities that use or or are in need of digital security and circumvention resources that are translated, adapted, or created for their unique linguistic, cultural, and technical needs.

The Summit will take place in Valencia, Spain from 09.00 to approximately 18.00 the day before the official start of the Internet Freedom Festival, so please book your tickets accordingly. The Localization Lab Summit provides an opportunity for stakeholders in the internet freedom community to meet and collaborate with the Localization Lab staff, localization contributors, regional human rights and civil society organizations, activists working on Internet freedom and governance issues, and developers of the tools we make available for communities in need. 

If you are interested in joining the Localization Lab community at IFF 2019 by participating in the Localization Summit, please fill out and submit the following application and we will respond with logistical details:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4TB8E1AV715sPqrsAPsd-Uq8sdeR_e8mbqoAhobNwfiMmnA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Please let us know if you have any questions, and hope to see you in Valencia!

Highlights from our Southeast Asia Regional AMA with Tor Project

Onion Browser loading page which helps “demystify” Tor

To support the Tor Project’s Global South Initiative, Localization Lab helped coordinate an Ask Me Anything with developers and community members from all over Southeast Asia this month. Since 2016, Tor Project has been organizing meetups around the world, and this year they are making stops in SEA to gather feedback from users and lead workshops around Tor and how it can be used in the region. For our AMA, we were joined by users from around the region to discuss issues ranging from usability, localization, public perception and more.

Here are some highlights from the event:

What is the Global South Initiative (GSI) and how will Tor be supporting users in the region?

Tor Project: Since 2016, Tor Project has been putting a lot of effort into supporting and creating a more diverse community in Tor Project. That means organizing Tor Dev Meetings outside the US and Europe, more translations and localization work, Tor outreach in the Global South — with the big goal to make Tor usable everywhere, for everyone. This month, we're going to visit some countries in SEA: India and Indonesia. During these visits, we're organizing Tor workshops, user meetups and UX tests. We are documenting and discussing GSI activities here:

https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/org/teams/CommunityTeam/Projects/GlobalSouth & https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/global-south

What is the goal of the Tor workshops and what topics will you cover?

Tor Project: For many of us that use Tor everyday, we might think that the reasons why we should all use Tor are obvious. But for many users, especially human rights defenders, they don't know exactly the benefits are and why they should use Tor. So, the idea behind this workshop is to gather new users (journalists, human right defenders, activists, bloggers...) and explain why they should use Tor. We also want to learn what's holding their back to use Tor in their daily activities. We don't ask names, ID, passport number or any kind of personal information. Last year, we organized this workshop in many different countries: Brasil, Colombia, Mexico, Kenya, Uganda and soon in India.

Are there plans to increase the number of relays in SEA and South Asia? What kinds of barriers are there to getting users to set up relays if you know of any?

Tor Project: More relays are not necessarily needed inside SEA, they could be anywhere. There have also been some changes on the Tor protocol that make flaky connections not so easy to break. However, we have only 7000 relays on the network so we do want to have more. Last year, Mike Perry and Chelsea Kolmo wrote this nice article about Network Performance and the research that they're doing: https://blog.torproject.org/tors-open-research-topics-2018-edition. For example, from a network perspective, the servers "don't know" if they are overloaded, so when you try to connect in a overloaded circuit, your connection becomes very slow or times out. So, you need to manually change the circuit. This is a thing that we want to improve.

What is the process for releasing a new Tor Browser locale once all of the translation has been finished? What are some translation priorities?
Tor Project: Tor is based on Firefox, so for a new language to be added to the browser, we need to have Firefox translated to the same language. Then, we need to translate the different extensions that make Tor Browser on top of Firefox. Finally, Tor Project would like to have the documentation translated (although this hasn't stopped languages to be released) because if you start using our software because it is on your language, you are not likely to be able to read the documentation in English, so it makes sense to have the docs translated too. The sysadmins and developers of Tor are also working on ways to make a new language easier to add.

What are some obstacles that prevent users from accessing Tor in SEA?

Connectivity Issues

Users in Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and India reported that their community members felt slow connection while using Tor was a major obstacle to adoption. In low band-width areas where Internet speeds are already affected by the existing infrastructure, adding any additional impediment to speed will likely decrease the likelihood that people will use the tool.

Cambodia: “it usually takes too much bandwidth to load websites via Tor and it is not very user friendly so people who are not very keen to learn new stuff, they are likely to use a normal browser.”

Thailand: “Speed issues are quite a concern here that drives people to carelessly use the fastest browser as possible.”

India: “One problem I saw in general is the actual network speed available in the area. If that is already slow (still in most places in India), one may feel Tor is slow.”

Public Perception

India: “People often have a negative view of Tor because of the news articles. Some people think using Tor is illegal and against the law. There are more articles which tag Tor as "Deep Web" and even some vloggers do the same. And this creates negativity around it.”

Cambodia: “Normally people say TOR is for hackers and digital security savages. And when they say it is for hackers, it means they can have problems using this browser.”

How can Tor Project help demystify Tor for users in SEA?

SEA users: Tor Project can customize outreach materials with designs, animations and analogies that are localized and make sense for each region. The Onion Browser loading page is a good example of use cases that can help explain how Tor can be used by communities like journalists, human rights defenders and everyday users.

When is the next GSI online event taking place?

Tor Project: March 1 - https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/global-south/2019-February/000222.html you can connect to us in #tor-south in irc.oftc.net, it's open! So bring your updates and let's make more plans. Next week we're going to India and then travel to Indonesia. If you live in these countries, let's meet in 'real life'!

A Year in Review: Localization Lab in 2018

By Andrea Brás

As we look ahead and plan for the new year, we also want to take the time to reflect on everything our community has accomplished in 2018. To do this, we created a newsletter with highlights from Events, Projects and Blog Posts from 2018. 

Big thanks to all the contributors, organization partners, and developers who made 2018 our most productive year yet.

How Memes and a Transfer App Popularized VPNs in Zimbabwe

By Andrea Brás

According to Access Now’s Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project (STOP), the number of recorded Internet shutdowns has spiked from 75 in 2016 to 188 in 2018, with the majority of these affecting users in Asia and Africa.

Recently, Zimbabwean authorities shut down the internet after price hikes on fuel costs brought people to the streets — leading to a crackdown on protesters and the first observed complete internet shutdown in the nation’s history. Disruption to Internet services in the country ended on January 21st after Zimbabwe’s High Court ruled the shutdowns illegal; however, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services deputy minister Energy Mutodi recently stated that the government would not hesitate to implement these measures again.

After seeing VPN searches shoot up by 1500%, we spoke with our partners in Zimbabwe to learn more about how VPNs are being talked about and shared, and what role memes can play in popularizing their everyday use.

a Total Internet Shutdown: ‘We never saw it coming’

This is not the first time that Zimbabwe has experienced intentional disruptions to their Internet service. In 2016, while Robert Mugabe was still in power, protesters took to the streets en masse to voice their discontent over the country’s economic situation and were met with the shutdown of social media sites like WhatsApp. Because of this previous experience, many people expected a partial shutdown but were unprepared for the more drastic measures taken by the current government. According to Sean Ndlovu, co-founder of the Center for Innovation & Technology and one of Localization Lab’s contributors, when the government implemented a total Internet shutdown, he was caught off guard:

“When the call for shutdowns started, some of us in the digital security sector started telling people to prepare. But in our minds we were thinking it would be something like social media, not the total shutdown of the Internet. The population didn’t really expect that the Internet would shutdown, because I remember people were encouraging others to download Psiphon and other VPNs, and everyone said ‘No, nothing is going to happen. The president won’t mess up his reputation for this’  You know, the regular rhetoric that everything would go according to plan, but, alas, they did turn off the Internet.”

For Arthur Gwagwa, a Senior Research Fellow at Strathmore University, the sentiment of surprise was the same:

“The president has been giving a face to the international community, making them think that he wouldn’t do something like this -- so we never saw it coming. Even during the 2016 protests the internet wasn’t totally shut down like this.”

An Internet shutdown is defined as “an intentional disruption of internet or electronic communications, rendering them inaccessible or effectively unusable, for a specific population or within a location, often to exert control over the flow of information.” This can mean, Internet throttling (or intentionally slowing down Internet bandwidth so as to make it basically unusable), partial Internet shutdowns (like the blocking of specific social media sites), and total Internet shutdowns (also known as blackouts or kill switches). According to a report by OONI Probe, in the case of Zimbabwe, the government implemented all of these tactics -- starting with throttling, then moving on to blocking social media sites like Twitter and WhatsApp, until they finally shut the internet down completely.

Starting on January 15th until January 21st, Zimbabwe experienced some form of disruption to access, with the most drastic kill switch measures indicated as taking place during parts of the day on the 16th and the 18th. According to Gwagwa:

“The shutdown happened gradually. Social media and apps shut down then opened up. When it was open for a little while, this allowed people to communicate with other activists and Zimbabweans living abroad. By potentially trying to protect their international reputation, the government hesitated on a total shutdown and turned the Internet on and off. This window gave Zimbabweans the opportunity to talk to each other and find out what was really going on.”

However, despite Zimbabweans sharing information during windows of time when the Internet was open, misinformation about what was happening inside the country was being spread, most notably by Deputy Minister Energy Mutodi. For Ndlovu:

“The average user didn’t understand what was going on in the beginning. The Deputy Minister of Information came out on national TV saying that the internet was congested which is why it was slow. People started sharing that message… so now you see that there were two narratives. [The government] was peddling their own propaganda and then you have those that were saying, no but the internet is shut down because of A, B, C and D.”

Here, the Deputy Minister in the @InfoMinZW lies that the internet was down due to congestion yet @econetzimbabwe has told us they were ordered to shut down the internet, following a warrant issued by the Office of @edmnangagwa. #ZimbabweShutDown pic.twitter.com/Cd8FA58zGf

— Fadzayi Mahere 🇿🇼 (@advocatemahere) January 16, 2019

Digital security trainer and LocLab Shona language coordinator Chido Musodza felt that it was impossible for most people to believe the government rhetoric after one of the major Internet Service Providers sent out messages to its clients admitting that they were blocking the Internet:

“We received a text message from Econet telling us that they received a directive from the government to shut down the Internet. After we heard the message from the Minister of Information on national TV saying that it was congestion, we just thought “Who is going to believe that!”

Message from @econetzimbabwe Social Media is still being blocked. #KeepItOnZW pic.twitter.com/Dwweh5Ldup

— Open Parly ZW (@OpenParlyZw) January 18, 2019

Around midnight , #Zimbabwe plunged back into a total #InternetShutdown. Econet sent the message below stating the current blackout is happening despite a pending court action: @ZLHRLawyers @misazimbabwe. The High Court is yet to set a date for the hearing #KeepItOn #Davos pic.twitter.com/uBIfkATvo3

— MISAZimbabwe (@misazimbabwe) January 18, 2019

‘VPN Searches in Zimbabwe surge by 1,500%’

According to UK-based service BestVPN.com, VPN searches by Zimbabweans surged by 1,500% during the recent shutdown. This happened in tandem with civil society organizations advocating for VPN use from trusted sources on Twitter and other social media sites:

#Zimbabwe: VPNs can help you get through #InternetShutdowns or internet disruptions. Follow these steps and share your experience tagging #KeepItOnZW #SwitchBackOnZW. @koliwemajama @misazimbabwe #ShutdownZimbabwe pic.twitter.com/NvBTDjLvx3

— Access Now (@accessnow) January 15, 2019

We are receiving calls on our Hotline 0784437338 about what VPNs to use & how to get them.

1. Psiphon (@PsiphonInc) download: https://t.co/sB4ae851kM
2. TunnelBear (@theTunnelBear): https://t.co/QoKPwagd8l
3. TOR (@torproject): https://t.co/VcKKq5FSoc#ZimbabweShutDown

— MISAZimbabwe (@misazimbabwe) January 15, 2019

Both inside and outside of Zimbabwe, people began sending VPN suggestions to users via social media. The popularity of VPNs during the shutdown can be seen by the ubiquitous number of tweets, memes, and messages talking about VPNs in the country:

Translation from Shona:

Using WhatsApp and Facebook via a VPN is no different to attending class over the weekend.

There will be no one to chat with!

Although interest in VPNs was on the rise during the shutdown, accessing them posed a different problem because of existing limitations related to the country’s Internet infrastructure. Zimbabwe ranks 125 out of 200 countries for broadband speed and its users pay some of the highest prices for data packages in Africa — making downloads both costly and slow. In response, many users turned to popular file sharing app SHAREit, which works via Wi-Fi direct. When people were unable to download new apps during the shutdown, those who already had VPNs on their phone were able to use SHAREit to send their VPNs to other community members. Gwagwa was one user who took advantage of this:

“We are such a communal nation -- we are always communicating with each other. Here everyone is everyone’s son or daughter. When the shutdown happened, I went around my neighbourhood and shared a VPN I trusted with my community.”

However, despite people trying to push for vetted VPNs, it would seem that a general lack of understanding about how VPNs work and misinformation about the dangers associated with VPNs caused confusion during the most critical moments of the shutdown. According to Ndlovu:

“People were advocating for VPNs via social media. First via Twitter, then Facebook, then WhatsApp. But when it came to VPNs there was a problem -- most people were just jumping on any VPN that they found in the Playstore or the App Store. So that became a challenge because people in the digital security sphere were pushing for trusted VPNs like Psiphon or Tunnelbear, but then people were out there saying that they were using this and that. After the total Internet shutdown, people didn’t understand that even if you have a VPN you won’t go through because you have no access to the outside world. So again, people are totally confused because they thought that with a VPN you could access the Internet even if it was totally shut off, so there was a bit of misconception going on there.”

Unfortunately, these misconceptions can lead to real digital security issues -- especially when VPNs are being downloaded from untrustworthy sites. It is not unheard of for scams masquerading as digital security apps to lure unsuspecting users into giving up personal and private information. In a context like Zimbabwe’s, when people were urgently trying to get back online, the risk that people could download an unsecure VPN is much higher. This was the case for some of Musodza’s contacts:

“In some situations we realized that people had up to 21 VPNs on their phone. And none of them were the recommended ones. We kept trying to push for trusted and recommended VPNs like Psiphon and TunnelBear. But people were downloading all sorts of things”

Screenshot of phone with VPN downloads. Courtesy of Chido Musodza.

According to Ndlovu, the answer lies in making digital security education more readily available:

“We need literature. We need a campaign to tell people what VPNs are. When you are trying to explain a VPN, often times, no matter how many diagrams you draw, people won’t quite understand. But now, in this context, people are beginning to understand. But, we need to educate them more about the advantages of a VPN, what it is and how to use it. We also need people to know that it is not just about circumventing government restrictions, but it’s also for your own privacy. That’s the message that we need to spread to people.”

Ndlovu thinks that this message should include the importance of making VPNs a part of Zimbabweans everyday lives, and the first obstacle to overcome is making sure that people don’t delete their VPNs after the shutdown ends. Phone memory is often an issue for Zimbabweans, and due to limited space, people need to delete unused apps off of their phones. Gwagwa is pushing for digital security trainers and Internet researchers to take advantage of the current situation and raise greater awareness around VPN use:

“We need to take advantage of the current mood in the country. Now, it is not an option. VPNs should be the first thing people see on their screen. Some people are going to delete the VPN because of phone space. We need to preach the gospel more.”

For Gwagwa, part of the solution may rest on social media -- more specifically with jokes and memes.

“We need to make tools more accessible. Make them easier to understand. Memes have been raising awareness about VPNs because of jokes. They can help by simplifying it into better language. Zimbabweans have a great sense of humor. Even during moments of adversity, we love to laugh.”

VPN for dummies #InternetShutDown #Zimbabwe pic.twitter.com/3I2DmMQT5Z

— Ugwak OCrosky (@OUgwak) January 17, 2019

According to An Xiao Mina, technologist and author of Memes to Movements, harnessing the power of memes and jokes to spread information about VPN use is a viable strategy to get people interested in this technology:

“Memes are a critical vector for spreading information—for better or worse—through digital media. So it makes sense that information is being spread through memes, and the best way to do that is to create engaging and humorous content that will get people's attention and hopefully drive them to good VPN adoption.

The risk, of course, is that memes can also spread misinformation about VPNs. The most effective memetic methods, then, combine the humor and engagement of memes with other forms of education and engagement about proper VPN usage.”

If done the right way, humor may just be the key to getting more people to download and use secure and vetted VPN apps. But as we saw during the Zimbabwe shutdown, this still won’t help when governments decide to turn off the Internet. In these cases, Ndlovu says we may have to look to the Internet Freedom community for help:

“We need a safety guide with offline solutions for total Internet shutdowns that we can trust and use so that people don’t just jump on any tool that they hear about on the Internet. I think we are going to have more protests in our future, so that means the potential for more shutdowns [in Zimbabwe] is high and we need these solutions now.”

Briar App for Internet Shutdowns: Key Takeaways from the AMA

Sharing Data with Briar via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Internet

By Andrea Brás

After the Internet shutdown in Zimbabwe, user stories began pouring in about everyday people turning to tools like Psiphon and TunnelBear to circumvent the social media blockage. But what tools are available when the Internet is completely down? To answer this question, Localization Lab organized an Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) with Michael Rogers, one of the developers of Briar app.

Briar is a messaging app that syncs over Wifi or Bluetooth, keeping users connected during a shutdown who are in close, short range proximity with each other.

Here are some takeaways from the AMA with Briar:

How can you use Briar to communicate when the Internet is off?

• During a total internet shutdown, devices need to be in Wifi or Bluetooth range to exchange data. That’s a 10-20 meter range. Messages can be synced with other devices when you are in range of their devices. That means, if you wanted to communicate with a group on the other side of town, someone would have to travel across town to carry the data to them. For example:

Is Briar a mesh network?

• It is not exactly a mesh network. You can't set up a real time connection across the mesh. Instead, it’s more like each device is carrying the data and spreading it to its contacts.

How do you authenticate messages with Briar?

• To add a contact, you must scan a QR code from each other’s screens. Those QR codes will allow you to exchange your Briar identities which include cryptographic keys used to sign messages. For example, when someone leaves a message in a forum it will have an icon next to their name indicating if the messenger is someone you know.

How does Briar work in low band-width areas?

• Communication over Wifi it's usually very fast, Bluetooth is slower, and if you're connected to the internet it will depend on your connection speed.

Do you get to see all the devices that are within your range? Can you decide who to transmit a particular message to?

• You can only see your contacts’ devices if they are in range via Wifi or Bluetooth. Your device will only share things that you’ve chosen to share with them (like a forum you’ve invited them to and vice versa).  

How is Briar different from Firechat?

1. Briar only connects to your contacts whereas Firechat will connect to any other Firechat user who's in range.

2. With Briar, everything is encrypted and data is only shared with people you choose to share it with whereas Firechat is more like a public square where everything is in the open. Firechat gives anyone in the crowd the ability to join the conversation. Briar gives you a lot more control over who can be part of each conversation, which may be more suitable for an activist group type of scenario rather than a crowd in a public square type scenario

What are some features that you are planning (or thinking about) for the future?  

• Mailbox feature: We're adding something called a mailbox, which is a second device, like a spare phone or a raspberry pi, that sits in one place and collects data from anyone who comes within range and shares it with people who come in range later. So it's like an extra hop that extends the effective range of your network.

• Sharing information with people outside of your contact list: We are considering an option that would allow data to travel further across the network by hopping onto devices that don't belong to your contacts. The data is encrypted so they can't read it, they just carry it.

• File sharing: We are currently working on sharing image attachments. Other file types will be supported in future.

• iOS version: iOS is difficult because the platform is very strict about what apps can do while they're running in the background. But once we've implemented the mailbox (see comments above) it should be possible to get something working. It won't be possible to support push notifications though.

Where can you download Briar?

You can download Briar from google play or f-droid: https://briarproject.org/download.html. It is currently only available for Android, not iOS.

How can we contact you if we have more questions about Briar?

Feel free to drop by our Mattermost at chat.briarproject.org

Tor Project AMA (Ask Me Anything): Southeast Asia Style!

Tor Project's Global South Initiative is coming to Southeast Asia and they want to hear from Tor users from around the region!

Localization Lab and Tor Project will be hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) next Tuesday, February 5th to coincide with Tor's trip to Southeast Asia.

What is an AMA? This is an opportunity for users across Southeast Asia to ask the Tor Project team any and all questions they have about using Tor in their regions and with their communities. 

This is the perfect opportunity to interface with the Tor team and other users of Tor from around the region!

Come with questions about how to use Tor and specifically in different SEA contexts, how to localize Tor into languages needed in your community, what kinds of resources are available in your language. The Tor team is also interested in hearing your feedback. What challenges have you faced using and teaching others to use Tor? What features and functionality would make Tor easier to use for your community? 

How can the Tor Project support you and your community better?

WHEN: Tuesday, February 5th at 11 UTC (17:30 Yangon, 18:00 Bangkok/Jakarta, 19:00 Manila/Singapore/Taipei)
WHERE: Localization Lab Mattermost Channel (Not a member? Contact us to join)

Not able to join? Send us your questions and feedback for the Tor team and we will share it on your behalf during the AMA. For encrypted communications, contact erinm (PGP) directly.

Before, During & After: Localization Relies on Communication with Developers

By Erin McConnell

In an ideal world, a few dedicated multilingual volunteers would be all that is required to make open source technology available for communities in need. Individuals would translate and review the resource and then it would immediately be released. In reality, however, publishing new translations requires more than multilingual manpower. Translating technology resources is a complex process that involves a number of steps to ensure a tool can be localized as well as active communication with developers before, during, and after the translation has taken place.

There are many considerations that need to be taken into account before a tool can be published in a new language. The user needs to be able to access the translations in the app, either through an in-app language selector or through operating system support, languages like Arabic need right-to-left support, and developers need to have the resources and manpower to continually update multiple languages.

Maintaining open channels of communication with developers helps ensure that tools are ready for localization. This preparation is important for all of our work at Localization Lab, but even more so during Localization Sprints.

Prior to the Sprint

When preparing for a recent Localization Sprint, initial communication with the developers and content creators of the tools was key in determining which applications could be localized and how and when they would be published.

Sprint participants at FIFAfrica in September 2018.

The ultimate goal of the sprint was to finish updates to Signal iOS and Android, and fully localize Signal Desktop in Bahasa Indonesia, Khmer and Burmese. Through communication with the Signal team we solidified the following information:

• Signal Android and iOS could support all three languages.

• The languages would be included in the in-app language settings (This means that the language can be selected in the app even when the rest of the device doesn’t support the language.)

• Signal Desktop is limited by Electron framework so Burmese could not be supported.

• Signal Desktop does not have in-app language which meant that any users would need to use their entire desktop device in Khmer or Bahasa Indonesia in order to use the application.

• Signal Desktop, Signal Android, and iOS updated translations with new releases approximately every three weeks.

Our conversations with developers allowed us to better understand which applications could be localized, where to focus our translation efforts, and approximately when finished translations would be incorporated into the applications.

Participants at the Southeast Asia Sprint

During the Sprint

Localization provides users with an intimate look at a tool, its features and functionality, design and the source language used. Sprints are, thus, an excellent opportunity to gather user feedback from communities that might not otherwise have the opportunity to provide thoughts and suggestions to developers. At sprints we collect feedback throughout the localization process, but we also facilitate discussions and walkthroughs for groups and individuals in order to gather information about the user experience. This feedback is then aggregated and shared with developers after the sprint, and we follow up on any progress to implement feature requests and resolve bugs.

We focused discussions at this sprint on “Life after Localization” and the community outreach and marketing of localized Signal and other digital security tools. This left participants with a lot of useful information on the resources that are available to engage communities, what challenges they faced when trying to increase adoption of tools, and strategies for increasing uptake.

After the Sprint

Following Localization Sprints, there are two main areas where Localization Lab follows up with developers: Coordinating the release of finalized translations and communicating user feedback from events.

There have been situations in the past when content was not published as expected or a new language was not added to the in-app language list, and in those cases we followed up closely with developers to identify why content had not been published and to ensure it was made available as soon as possible. The feedback we are able to gather from the events are invaluable for developers who want to make their tools accessible and user-friendly for diverse language communities. Sprints allow participants to have an intimate view of the tool and its use, putting them in a unique position to say whether or not a tool’s interface and terminology choices are culturally relevant for their communities.

Key Takeways

• Communication with developers is key before, during and after a Sprint takes place.

• It is always preferable to have developers available at events to bridge the gap between the people creating technology and the people who are using it.

• End-user opinions matter! Diverse end-user feedback is essential when it comes to ensuring that a tool is adopted in a new community. When developers prioritize diverse end-users in the design of their products, communities are more likely to feel ownership of those tools.

Invitation to Apply: 2019 Localization Lab Summit & Sprint

Localization Lab is now accepting applications for Localization Lab contributors interested in attending this year's Localization Summit and Sprint! The Summit and Sprint will coincide with the 2019 Internet Freedom Festival which takes place from April 1st - 5th in Valencia, Spain. The Summit will take place on March 31st and is a full day event. The Localization Sprint date and time are still TBD, however it will take place during regular IFF 2019 programming.

The Localization Summit and Sprint provide an opportunity for you as a Localization Lab translator and contributor to meet and communicate face-to-face with the Localization Lab staff; fellow volunteer contributors; regional human rights and civil society organizations and activists working on Internet freedom and governance issues; and developers of the tools that you work tirelessly to make available for those in need.

If you are interested in joining the Localization Lab community at IFF 2019 by participating in the Localization Summit, Localization Sprint, and community social events, please fill out and submit the application.

(If you are a developer or content creator and would like to join the Summit or Sprint on behalf of your project, please contact info@localizationlab.og for more details.)

Before you apply, please note the following:

• You must have a confirmed IFF 2019 ticket in order to attend the Localization Lab Summit and Sprint. If your IFF ticket has not yet been confirmed, you are still welcome to apply, however we will have to prioritize those with tickets first. Let us know as soon as your ticket is confirmed or denied.

• We have very limited funding to support the travel and accommodations of Localization Lab Summit and Sprint participants. If you are in need of financial support, please provide clear details in the application. We will let individuals know if we can support them by the 1st of March.

• Accepted applicants are expected to attend both the Localization Summit (all day, March 31st) and the Localization Sprint (TBD*). Please make sure you are able attend both events before you apply. *Once we determine the Sprint date and time, please let us know if it conflicts with a session you are hosting.

The deadline for submissions is THURSDAY, JANUARY 31ST

Contact Erin with any and all questions!

Community Updates: Pluggable Transports & SAFETAG

Join the Pluggable Transports Team

Pluggable Transports Wiki Page

Join the SAFETAG Team  

SAFETAG wiki page