PAN Localization - Phase II

Since its inception, the Internet has been dominated by the English language and North American culture. But, only about 5% of Asia's population understands English. The first phase of the project (102042) saw the establishment of the PAN Localization network (PAN L10n). The aim of the network was to build capacity in areas such as input/output standards (rendering and encoding character systems), localized applications (office suites) and issues related to lexicon and text processing (algorithms associated with grammar, spell-checking and sorting). The languages covered were Pashto (Afghanistan), Bangla (Bangladesh), Dzongkha (Bhutan), Khmer (Cambodia), Lao (Laos), Nepali (Nepal), and Sinhala and Tamil (Sri Lanka). Phase II will expand the project to include more national partner institutions and three additional countries: Mongolia, Pakistan and Tibet. Researchers will explore the obstacles (both policy and technical) to the production and consumption of local content, test strategies for training large groups of users, and analyze behavioral changes in the communities involved. The National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (Pakistan) will continue to coordinate, mentor and lead the network in the area of technology and training. BRAC University (Bangladesh) will handle content.