Interview: Alberto Escudero, klnX: The Open Swahili Localization 事業／計画（する）
2004-10-25
Alberto Escudero leads kInX: Open Swahili Localization 事業／計画（する）, which is committed to localizing OpenOffice.org and other open 科学（工学）技術s to Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa. This interview was 行為／行うd 経由で e-mail over a couple of days earlier this week.
Your background is 利益／興味ing and by no means 従来の. You received your 博士号 in Sweden and now find yourself in Dar es Salaam. What explains the trajectory? And, how did you get 伴う／関わるd in the Open Swahili Localization 事業／計画（する）?
I have been always very 利益／興味d in the interaction of humans and 科学（工学）技術. I never saw the 科学（工学）技術 as a goal but rather as a 道具 for social change.
My 関与 with Internet and computers was a lucky "mistake": I was growing vegetables and I needed some （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） in how to get rid of some bugs so I ended up dialing to a 非，不，無-利益（をあげる） BBS in Spain. I got so attracted the idea of the freedom of （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） in Internet that I worked for some years making that small BBS the largest 非，不，無-利益（をあげる） ISP in Spain (Nodo50).
During the last ten years, my main 関心 was not to become a "geek" :-D There seemed to be lots of "解放する／自由な" and challenging work to do for people with technical and human 技術s so I ended up working in all 層s of the "OSI" model, from building wireless 組織／基盤／下部構造 in Laos or 直す／買収する，八百長をするing remotely 安全 穴を開けるs in a ISP in Senegal to localizing open-source ソフトウェア in Tanzania.
I got a Master of Science in renewable energies and a PhD in Internet 安全 and privacy. Localizing Open Source ソフトウェア to Swahili was 明白に a natural step, 権利?
Tell us about the 事業／計画（する）--its goals, its composition. Who is working on it?
The 事業／計画（する）'s main "technical" goal for this first year is to get both OpenOffice.org and Mozilla localized into the Swahili language. There are many milestones to be 遂行するd as creating the IT glossary, 供給する the training and 設立するing a 維持できる team. In the 核心 team we have twelve people, half of them working with the localization itself and the other half 取引，協定ing with the linguistic 面s. Most members are from the University of Dar es Salaam.
The Swedish International 開発 機関 (SIDA) is 基金ing most of the 事業／計画（する）. A big part of the 調整 is done by my company IT+46, which is 寄付するing a かなりの 量 of 資源s to make this happen.
What makes Swahili so important?
Swahili is the most 広範囲にわたって spoken Bantu language, it is the 公式の／役人 language of Tanzania and Kenya and 広範囲にわたって used as a lingua franca in East and Central Africa. We are talking about 55 million people here.
The 事業／計画（する） has had impressive successes. For instance, earlier this month you 解放（する）d "Jambo OpenOffice build 6," 同様に as the Swahili IT glossary! Both are かなりの 業績／成就s and both are open source, with the glossary 解放（する）d under one of the ますます popular Creative ありふれたs licenses. What sort of work went into creating the glossary?
Our methodology can be 要約するd in three 段階s:
- During the first 段階 a selected 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） of IT 条件 were sent to our パネル盤 of Kiswahili 専門家s. To encourage discussions, the members of the パネル盤 were requested to work with the 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） of 条件 分かれて.
- The second 段階 consisted in 収集するing all the different inputs from the パネル盤 into a database. With the help of the database and other auxiliary online 資源s, we have had a 始める，決める of 直面する-to-直面する 会合s where the 条件 where discussed in the presence of computer scientists. Our multidisciplinary group composed by an 普通の／平均（する） of ten people has spent a total of 30 hours in 直面する-to-直面する 会合s.
- The last 段階 before a 幅の広い 解放（する） of the IT Glossary to the public domain consisted in requesting a small group a "grading" of our 提案.
And, how do you work with the OpenOffice.org community and 事業／計画（する）?
That has a simple answer, the Open Swahili Localization 事業／計画（する） (klnX) would not 存在する without the community. I have never seen such a group of committed 'busy' people helping in all 面s of our 事業／計画（する）. We have received support and advice from all over the world. We 現実に try not to forget anyone and we have a section in our website to 認める all of them.
We have receive help from Sweden, 部隊d 明言する／公表するs, Norway, Czech 共和国, South Africa, Cambodia, Malawi and Tanzania. http://www.kilinux.org/kiblog/ack.html. Thanks again.
Your work with OpenOffice.org raises a corollary point. Would you want a Swahili 事業／計画（する） 設立するd in the OpenOffice.org manifold?
Yes, indeed. There is still an endless 量 of work to do, such as creating a 網状組織 of people around the 事業／計画（する）. Unfortunately here in Tanzania things are not as simple like in another parts of the world. Simple things need time, there are 力／強力にする 削減（する）s, 限られた／立憲的な bandwidth and and a 欠如（する） of 技術d human 資源s, etc.
The work you and your team has done is impressive, it is, however, but a start. Do your team 計画（する） on 扱うing more 相当な coding?
I do not think that the klnX team is ready to 与える／捧げる code to OpenOffice today. We are 焦点（を合わせる）ing in creating 道具s to help the localization, we need ソフトウェア in Swahili first and the 技術s needs to be communicated with Swahili ソフトウェア.
にもかかわらず, IT46 is 解放（する）ing 'KiPot' an online 道具 to 容易にする glossary 開発 to the community this week under GPL. Keep an 注目する，もくろむ on: http://www.it46.se/kipot/
We (OpenOffice.org) have begun work, as you may know, with さまざまな university groups. The idea is to get students to learn coding, localization, etc., with OOo--the source and 事業／計画（する）. They would get college credit for the work they do, while learning invaluable 技術s from the best developers in the world. Are you 利益／興味d?
I am definitely 利益／興味d, and I believe that through localization work the others 技術s can be developed 同様に.
支援する to Jambo OpenOffice... Can you tell us something about it? I 推定する it is OpenOffice.org 修正するd. is it? If so, in what way has it been 修正するd? Have the patches, changes, been 与える／捧げるd 支援する to OpenOffice.org? On what 壇・綱領・公約s does it run?
Jambo OpenOffice is just our 内部の build of OpenOffice 1.1.3 under Linux. The builds are done to support our localization work. We want to see the results of the localization into the ソフトウェア as soon as possible so we have our build system here in Dar. The build system is based on Pavel Jan?k's build system , Translate.org.za localization 道具s and IT46's own 切り開く／タクシー／不正アクセスs to 統合する Swahili.
Pavel Jan?k, Dwayne Bailey and David Fraser have been of 広大な／多数の／重要な help during this 段階. A description of our build system 環境 will be 与える／捧げるd to OpenOffice.org community soon.
Who do you 推定する／予想する to use a Swahili 見解／翻訳／版 of OpenOffice.org? That is, who are the 受益者s?, and How do you 想像する the final build 存在 分配するd?
All Swahili （衆議院の）議長s 世界的な of course.
At the end of December 2004 we should have a pre-解放（する） of OO.o 1.1.3, final 解放（する） is schedule for Q1 2005. 配当 will follow the 伝統的な channels: '逮捕する and CDs.
I 公式文書，認める you are receiving 援助（する） from a Swedish company, IT +46. Can you speak to its 推論する／理由s for 参加するing? Do you also receive 政府 help? If so, from only the Tanzania 政府, or others?
IT+46 is the company that I 設立するd to を取り引きする the Swedish 税金 当局. SIDA is 基金ing some of the '協議するing work' that we are doing here. Unfortunately, it is more to do that we get 基金d for. No other 政府s are 基金ing the 事業／計画（する）.
So, why IT+46 is doing this? We (my partner and myself) can cover our costs and do something that we believe in. No 広大な／多数の／重要な 商売／仕事 but definitely something that we can tell our grandchildren about. After 説 this, i can not 避ける 説 that 基金ing for our '解放する／自由な' work is still welcome so we can do other '解放する／自由な' work.
Okay, final question: How can we help you?
I will like to have the chance to get all the localization teams together to work 直面する-to-直面する in technical and social 問題／発行するs. They are welcome in Tanzania. We still need to get a build system for other 壇・綱領・公約s that are not Linux. 金物類／武器類? ソフトウェア?
But if you want something very 固める／コンクリート: send us lots of OpenOffice T-shirts to Dar es Salaam, so people start to see that Jambo Office is coming soon.
