[A12n-Collab] Online African dictionaries planning meeting (2 April 2008)

["Don Osborn" <dzo@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

[forwarding this message from Martin Benjamin]

The Kamusi Project (http://www.kamusiproject.org) is pleased to announce
that we are about to begin work on PALDO: the .Pan-African Living Dictionary
Online.  PALDO will build on the Kamusi architecture to create an
interlinked multilingual dictionary for African languages, creating a
powerful communications tool that will be useful throughout the African
continent.

The first step for PALDO will be to program the database, multilingual
tools, and enhanced user interface.  This work will begin on April 2 with
our partners at Kasahorow (http://www.kasahorow.org), at a meeting in Accra,
Ghana.  This meeting will be simulcast .LIVE ONLINE, and the transcript will
also be posted on a special blog at www.kamusiproject.org/paldo

WE INVITE YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING by logging into the live chat
session or commenting on the blog, beginning at 9 a.m. Ghana time on April
2.  The timezone for Accra is GMT.

We are particularly hoping for participation from:
1) computer programmers and database specialists
2) linguists, lexicographers, and people with an interest in languages
3) users of the Kamusi Project, kasahorow, or other online dictionaries
4) people interested in helping shape the next generation of tools for
African languages

If you would like to participate in this meeting online, please visit
http://www.kamusiproject.org/paldo for more information.

If you are in Accra and would like to attend in person, the meeting will be
held at the Kofi Annan Centre, beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, April 2.

NOTE: THE DATE OF THE MEETING MAY BE MOVED BACKWARDS ONE DAY IF A 45 MINUTE
FLIGHT CONNECTION IS MISSED IN ROME.  If the meeting is rescheduled for
April 3, we will place a notice on http://www.kamusiproject.org/paldo