The LIDER project is fostering the creation of a community around Linguistic Linked Data (LLD): linked data used to represent metadata about linguistic resources and the resources themselves, e.g. lexica, thesauri, corpora, multilingual semantic networks etc. In a dedicated LD4LT community group call on 2 April, 3 p.m. CEST, we will discuss how LLD can contribute to the creation of the digital single market. See for more details the slides that will be presented during the call.

See the program. The keynote speaker will be Page Williams, Director of Global Readiness, Trustworthy Computing, Microsoft. She is followed by a strong line up in sessions entitled Developers and Creators, Localizers, Machines, and Users, including speakers from Microsoft, the European Parliament, the UN FAO, Intel, Verisign, and many more. The workshop is made possible with the generous support of the LIDER project.

Participation in the event is free. Please register via the Riga Summit for the Multilingual Digital Single Market site.

The MultilingualWeb workshops, funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the W3C, look at best practices and standards related to all aspects of creating, localizing and deploying the multilingual Web. The workshops are successful because they attract a wide range of participants, from fields such as localization, language technology, browser development, content authoring and tool development, etc., to create a holistic view of the interoperability needs of the multilingual Web.

We look forward to seeing you in Riga!

The LIDER project is  developing LingHub, a repository of metadata about language resources and linguistic data. During a dedicated conference call on 19 March, 3 p.m. CET, LingHub will be discussed in the LD4LT community group to gather feedback from the public at large. The call is open to the public, no LD4LT group participation is required. Dial-in information is available. The call will be relevant for anybody interest specifically in language resources, or in public metadata repositories and the re-use of public sector information in general.

The Unicode® Consortium announced the start of the beta review for Unicode 8.0.0, which is scheduled for release in June, 2015. All beta feedback must be submitted by April 27, 2015.

Unicode 8.0.0 comprises several changes which require careful migration in implementations, including the conversion of Cherokee to a bicameral script, a different encoding model for New Tai Lue, and additional character repertoire. Implementers need to change code and check assumptions regarding case mappings, New Tai Lue syllables, Han character ranges, and confusables. Character additions in Unicode 8.0.0 include emoji symbol modifiers for implementing skin tone diversity, other emoji symbols, a large collection of CJK unified ideographs, a new currency sign for the Georgian lari, and six new scripts. For more information on emoji in Unicode 8.0.0, see the associated draft Unicode Emoji report.

Please review the documentation, adjust code, test the data files, and report errors and other issues to the Unicode Consortium by April 27, 2015. Feedback instructions are on the beta page.

See more information about testing the 8.0.0 beta. See the current draft summary of Unicode 8.0.0.

The LIDER project is developing a reference architecture for working with Linguistic Linked Data (LLD). LLD is linked data used to represent metadata about linguistic resources and the resources themselves, e.g. lexica, thesauri, corpora, multilingual semantic networks etc. The reference architecture defines various aspects of LLD processing, related e.g. to LLD publishing, linking, services or discovery. As part of this activity, the LD4LT community group is organizing a conference call on 5 March, 3 p.m. CET, to gather feedback from the public at large.

The call is open to the public, no LD4LT group participation is required. Dial-in information is available. No knowledge about LLD is required. We especially are interested in feedback from potential users of LLD in content analytics related application areas.

We would like to remind you that the deadline for speaker proposals for the 8th MultilingualWeb Workshop (April 29, 2015, Riga, Latvia) is on Sunday, March 8, at 23:59 UTC.

Featuring a keynote by Paige Williams (Director of Global Readiness, Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft) and sessions for various audiences (Web developers, content creators, localisers, users, and multilingual language processing), this workshop will focus on the advances and challenges faced in making the Web truly multilingual. It provides an outstanding and influential forum for thought leaders to share their ideas and gain critical feedback.

While the organizers have already received many excellent submissions, there is still time to make a proposal, and we encourage interested parties to do so by the deadline. With roughly 150 attendees anticipated for the Workshop from a wide variety of profiles, we are certain to have a large and diverse audience that can provide constructive and useful feedback, with stimulating discussion about all of the presentations.

The workshop is made possible by the generous support of the LIDER project and will be part of the Riga Summit 2015 on the Multilingual Digital Single Market. We are organizing the workshop as part of the Riga Summit to strengthen the European related community at large. Depending on the number of submissions to the MultilingualWeb workshop we may suggest to move some presentations to other days of the summit. For these reasons we highly recommend you to attend the whole Riga Summit! See the line-up of speakers already confirmed for the various events during the summit.

For more information and to register a presentation proposal, please visit the Riga Workshop Call for Participation. For registration as a regular participant of the MultilingualWeb workshop or other events at the Riga Summit, please register at the Riga Summit 2015 site.

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The LIDER project is co-organizing the 4th Workshop on the Multilingual Semantic Web, 1st June 2015, Portoroz, Slovenia, co-located with the 12th Extended Semantic Web Conference (ESWC 2015).

This workshop series is concerned with research questions on how current Semantic Web infrastructure can and should be extended to advance the Semantic Web and linked data use and development across language communities around the world.

The call for participation provides further information. Deadline for submissions is 15 March 2015.

The LIDER project is gathering feedback on a roadmap for the use of Linguistic Linked Data for content analytics. As part of this activity, the LD4LT community group is organizing a conference call on 19 February.
The call is open to the public, no LD4LT group participation is required. Dial-in information is available. No knowledge about linguistic linked data is required. We especially are interested in feedback from potential users of linguistic linked data in content analytics related application areas.

We are please to announce that Paige Williams, Director of Global Readiness, Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft, will deliver the keynote at the 8th Multilingual Web Workshop, “Data, content and services for the Multilingual Web,” in Riga, Latvia (29 April 2015).

Paige spent 10 years managing internationalization of Microsoft.com, before joining the Trustworthy Computing organization in 2005. In TwC, Paige oversees compliance of company policy for geographic, country-region and cultural requirements, establishing a new center of excellence for market and world readiness, globalization/localizability, and language programs, tools, resources and external community forums to reach markets across the world with the right local experience.

The Multilingual Web Workshop series brings together participants interested in the best practices, new technologies, and standards needed to help content creators, localizers, language tools developers, and others address the new opportunities and challenges of the multilingual Web. It will provide for networking across communities and building connections.

Registration for the Workshop is free, and early registration is recommended since space at the Workshop is limited.

The workshop will be part of the Riga Summit 2015 on the Multilingual Digital Single Market. We are organizing the workshop as part of the Riga Summit to strengthen the European related community at large. Depending on the number of submissions to the MultilingualWeb workshop we also may suggest to move presentations to other days of the summit. For these reasons we highly recommend you to attend the whole Riga Summit!

There is still opportunity for individuals to submit proposals to speak at the workshop. Ideal proposals will highlight emerging challenges or novel solutions for reaching out to a global, multilingual audience. The deadline for speaker proposals is March 8, but early submission is strongly encouraged. See the Call for Participation for more details.

This workshop is made possible by the generous support of the LIDER project.