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FYI<br>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Subject: </th>
<td>[Wmfcc-l] [press] Google 'Health Speaks' for online medical
info in Hindi</td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Date: </th>
<td>Wed, 8 Sep 2010 15:01:51 -0700</td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">From: </th>
<td>Jacquelynne Ocana <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:jacquiocana@gmail.com"><jacquiocana@gmail.com></a></td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">Reply-To: </th>
<td>Communications Committee <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:wmfcc-l@lists.wikimedia.org"><wmfcc-l@lists.wikimedia.org></a></td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT">To: </th>
<td>Communications Committee <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:wmfcc-l@lists.wikimedia.org"><wmfcc-l@lists.wikimedia.org></a></td>
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<br>
Google 'Health Speaks' for online medical info in Hindi<br>
Press Trust of India<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/Google-Health-Speaks-for-online-medical-info-in-Hindi/Article1-597041.aspx?sms_ss=email"
target="_blank">http://www.hindustantimes.com/Google-Health-Speaks-for-online-medical-info-in-Hindi/Article1-597041.aspx?sms_ss=email</a><br>
<br>
Internet search giant Google is encouraging volunteers to translate
health-related articles in Hindi <br>
under its initiative to boost the amount of online medical information
in local languages. Google.org <br>
has introduced pilots for its initiative 'Health Speaks' that aims to
increase the online health information <br>
in Hindi, Arabic and Swahili.<br>
<br>
The search giant said it has chosen hundreds of health articles,
written in English, from Wikipedia <br>
for their translation. Volunteers who are bilingual in English and
anyone of the vernaculars are being <br>
encouraged to translate the literature with assistance from the Google
Translator Toolkit. Translators <br>
are also supposed to review the articles and make it locally relevant
before publishing it on the <br>
corresponding local language Wikipedia site.<br>
<br>
Pilot programmes are supported with a donation incentive, awarding
local charities with funds based <br>
on the number of words volunteers translate, Google said in a
statement. For the first 60 days, Google <br>
will donate 3 US cents (about 45 paise) to the Public Health Foundation
of India, New Delhi, for each <br>
English word translated in Hindi. The maximum donation would $ 50,000.
The Children's Cancer Hospital <br>
Egypt 57357 and the African Medical and Research Foundation would get
the same amount for the pilots <br>
in Arabic and Swahili, respectively.<br>
<br>
"Language should not be the barrier that denies millions of people
worldwide the opportunity to improve <br>
their health with valuable health information," Jennifer Haroon,
Manager of Health Initiatives at Google.org, said.<br>
<br>
In most parts of the world, quality information that would help people
to improve their health is not available <br>
online in local languages. In 2004, Lancet - a medical journal -
described the lack of access to health information <br>
as a "major barrier to knowledge-based healthcare in developing
countries." The authors then noted "among <br>
currently available technologies, only the Internet has the potential
to deliver universal access to up-to-date <br>
healthcare information."<br>
<br>
Currently, professional translation of high quality health content is
expensive and there are difficulties in finding<br>
translators for some non-western languages.<br>
<br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
--Roland<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Barry Newstead
Chief Global Development Officer
Wikimedia Foundation
Tel: +1-415-839-6885 x. 634
Skype: barry.wikimedia
Twitter: @bazanews
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