1. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 1 Matching language and cultural requirements Specialist Task Force STF 287 User-oriented handling of multicultural issues in multimedia communications Funded by the EC/EFTA Mike Pluke, STF leader Francoise Petersen Derek Pollard Bianca Szalai

2. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 2 ETSI Develops: Wide range of standards Other technical documentation Contributes to world-wide standards in: Telecommunications Broadcasting Information Technology Independent but works in close co-operation with: EU ITU CEN/CENELEC Other world-wide bodies

3. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 3 eInclusion A key eEurope 2005 objective: to give everyone the opportunity to participate in the global information society Our work: Seeks to remove or reduce cultural/language barriers Is therefore fully in support of this objective

4. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 4 Issues Information and communication services should support cultural and language preferences of a) someone: communicating with other people or accessing services in other countries; visiting or residing in a country where the language is not their native language; who only speaks a minority language of a country; who only has a limited vocabulary in their own language; who lip-reads, uses sign language, or the Bliss symbols system. b) public and private sector organisations dealing with customers or organisations in other countries.

5. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 5 The one simple requirement In all of these different scenarios, the requirement is simple: Everyone wants to be able to communicate or access information in ways that are compatible with their language and cultural preferences.

6. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 6 Counterproductive cultural adaptation Organisations often think that they have solved the language and cultural issues with simple techniques These may work for a majority of users But for a significant minority they may cause big problems for the user e.g. Guessing language from an IP address Basing text prediction dictionaries on the user interface language chosen by the mobile phone user

7. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 7 Critical situations Some situations where language and cultural factors are not addressed may have fatal consequences e. g Calling emergency services …

8. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 8 Emergency situation

9. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 9 Emergency situation

10. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 10 Other scenarios Visiting a tourist attraction Network announcements Communication between a deaf sign language user and a call centre Text messaging from a mobile telephone Technical business communication …..

11. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 11 We propose to give guidance on Defining levels of language skill and how people might assess their own capabilities Storing information about cultural preferences and language skills How a service provider can access this information to deliver an appropriate version of a service to a user and …

12. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 12 and guidance on Delivery of content and the handling of user input taking account of a range of cultures and languages Optimising the match of service options to user preferences The use of existing standards and guidelines - identifying where new ones need to be developed The incorporation of country-specific legal requirements into business ICT provision

13. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 13 How we are going to do it Identifying existing standards and guidelines: including ETSI work on User Profile Management and a Universal Communications Identifier (UCI) Extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, e.g. Globalisation, internationalisation, localisation and translation companies Information service providers Other standards bodies e.g. CEN and ISO Research projects etc. Write guidelines Identify further work that needs to be done

14. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 14 Project Overview Work commenced: April 2005 Table of contents and scope: June 2005 Main consultations: June – December 2005 Draft for approval by ETSI HF: May 2006 Document publication: September 2006 Final reporting and closure: December 2006

15. STF 287 Multicultural Communication 15 Summary The ultimate aim is …. Removing or reducing cultural/language barriers to give everyone the opportunity to participate in the global information society Follow the story at: http://portal.etsi.org/STFs/HF/STF287.asp http://portal.etsi.org/STFs/HF/STF287.asp