 "Kerala State Launches Malayalam Computing Initiative")
The government of Kerala has launched a state wide campaign for Malayalam computing, which was inaugurated by chief minister V S Achuthanandan on 8th June 2008.
The campaign aims at strengthening the local language, Malayalam, using the possibilities provided by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and will also address the linguistic barrier, which prevents the people of Kerala from taking advantage of new technologies.
This campaign will help the common man to get more benefits out of various Internet services like e-Mail, Chat and Blog. It will liberate him or her from the need of thinking in his or her mother tongue and then communicating in a foreign language.
“In this International Year of Languages, the Kerala government is joining hands with the international community through the Malayalam computing initiative,” the chief minister said. Dr Ajaykumar, current secretary to the government, announced that it was the first time that a campaign had been launched for the promotion of local language computing in India.
The minister for Vigilance and Tourism, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, inaugurated the Malayalam computing Web portal ( http://malayalam.kerala.gov.in ) while the minister for Health, P K Srimati Teacher, launched the community portal ( http://entegramam.gov.in ).
Strategy for Campaign
The Malayalam Computing initiative of Kerala government will start with a state wide campaign. The campaign will create public awareness on the use of Malayalam in computers. It is a fact that even skilled computer users thinks that English is the only language for communicating with computers. Though various technologies are available, 90 percent of computers in Kerala are currently running with Malayalam support disabled.
The campaign will be carried out through a network of 3,000 Akshaya centres around the state. Each Akshaya centre is expected to reach approximately 1,200-1,500 families. The campaign targets to address about 40-50 lakh households in Kerala over the next three years. The campaign will be carried out in participation with local self-governance bodies and other social organisations like village libraries.
Capacity Development
Akshaya will offer training programmes to the public on how to enable and use Malayalam in computers. The Kerala State IT Mission will develop and provide materials required for this training.
Training for local hardware vendors is also an important aspect of this campaign. The training will focus on how to enable Malayalam in various popular operating systems. Software modules and information for this will be made available through a Web portal set up as part of this project. The government’s objective is to make sure that all the computers sold in Kerala have Malayalam support enabled. Capacity development of support staff in local hardware vendors is an essential step in this regard.
Support Materials
The Malayalam computing Web portal will act as the repository of various types of information and software tools required to enable Malayalam in a computer. For example, the site will provide fonts for Malyalam, it also contains video tutorials and articles on enabling Malayalam. These materials can be freely distributed. Technical support will thus, be provided through the portal.
Future
The campaign shall be followed by several activities to increase Malayalam content on the web. The state government aims to create one Malayalam Web portal for every panchayat in Kerala, which would include details of local natural and human resources, local economy, local industry, agriculture and services, discussion forum and such other details as may be relevant. As an incentive, suitable awards shall be granted to the best panchayat portals. An example of this is a portal developed in Azhikode Panchayat with the active participation of the local Panchayat, Akshaya centres in the Panchayat and the local community ( http://azhikode.web4all.in/ ). The government will facilitate development of these portals by providing server space and technical support.
The year 2008 is being celebrated globally as the Mother Language Year by the United Nations. The government of Kerala is joining the international community with a campaign to promote the linguistic diversity of cyberspace and would be an example for other linguistically diverse societies to have similar campaigns. It would sensitise the global community towards recognising the imperative of the digital world in protecting the distinct cultural richness and heritage as transmitted through centuries, in respective local languages.