Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), in association with the Localization Research Centre, University of Limerick, Ireland, has commenced the "Voices of the World" Conference as part of the Action Week for Global Information Sharing (AGIS) 2010 at Delhi for two days (6th & 7th December). The AGIS 2010 is being organized under the patronage of the Technology Development in Indian Languages (TDIL) programme of the Department of Information Technology (DIT), Ministry of Communications and IT (MC&IT), Government of India.
This is for the first time that the AGIS event has been moved from Europe to Asia, with India as the official host for the event. The event aims at bringing information to people regardless of their material wealth, with the help of volunteers with language and localization skills. AGIS has been conducted since its inception in the early years of this century as a resolute crusade against Information Poverty.
Dr Vijay Bhatkar, Chairman, ETH Research Lab and DishnetDSL Ltd., was the Chief Guest on the occasion and delivered the inaugural address. In his inaugural address, he pointed out that localization "is an immediate necessity that transgresses economic and societal barriers. The human society can only evolve in its truest sense when we can eradicate the walls that separate us from one another. As information technology brings the concept of the global village to the fore, localization is the only way to ensure its success. Localization is a key priority for the Government of India to alleviate the problem of information poverty. The government, in association with the leading research institutions in the country, has already initiated several programmes in this direction and has also attained a fair level of success".
Also present on the occasion were Dr. Reinhard Schaler, University of Limerick, Ireland; Ms Swaran Lata, Director & HoD (TDIL Programme), DIT, MC&IT, Goverenment of India; Shri M. D. Kulkarni, Programme Coordinator & Head, GIST Group, C-DAC, Pune; Dr. Raimond Doctor, Technical Advisor, GIST Group, C-DAC, Pune; and Shri Jasjit Singh, Group Coordinator, GIST Group, C-DAC, Delhi.
The AGIS 2010 Conference hopes to bring the best minds in the localization and translation world to point out ways to make information and knowledge available to all, independent of their language or geographical location. The conference will feature presentations and debates, interspersed with localization showcases through posters and demonstrations. Dedicated meeting spaces will be available for thematic and regional focus groups to network.
