About the Internationalization (I18N) Activity

You can also find resources using the Technique index and Topic index, which provide more fine-grained access to information.

Mission

The mission of the W3C Internationalization Activity is to ensure that W3C's formats and protocols are usable worldwide in all languages and in all writing systems.

Groups

The Internationalization Activity Statement explains concepts relating to internationalization, as well as the current situation and the role within the W3C of the Internationalization Activity.

The work of the Internationalization Activity is done by one Working Group and two Interest Groups:

1. The Internationalization Core Working Group enables universal access to the World Wide Web by reviewing specifications produced by other W3C Working Groups and producing its own specifications . It proposes and coordinates the adoption by the W3C of techniques, conventions, technologies, and designs that enable and enhance the use of W3C technology and the Web worldwide, with and between the various different languages, scripts, regions, and cultures. It also provides guidelines, education, and outreach to get the internationalization aspects of W3C technology better understood and more widely and consistently used. [Home page] [Charter]
   Join the group

2. There is also an Internationalization Interest Group. This is a public list supporting the activity of the Internationalization Working Groups. Anyone can participate in the Interest Group by simply joining the mailing list. There are no teleconferences. [Home page] [Charter] [Archive]
   To subscribe, send a mail to www-international-request@w3.org with subscribe as the subject.

3. The ITS (Internationalized Tag Set) Interest Group aims to foster a community of users of the Internationalization Tag Set (ITS), by promoting its adoption and gathering information for its further development. ITS provides a set of concepts that can be mapped to markup and that make it easier to internationalize and localize documents. There are also a set of Best Practices for XML Internationalization. The group works through a public list and wiki, and monthy teleconference calls. [Home page] [Charter] [Archive]
   To subscribe, send a mail to public-i18n-its-ig-request@w3.org with subscribe as the subject.

4. The Japanese Layout Task Force is creating a document about requirements for general Japanese layout realized with technologies like CSS, SVG and XSL-FO. The document will be mainly based on a standard for Japanese layout, JIS X 4051. However, it will address also areas which are not covered by JIS X 4051. [Home page]
   To participate, join one of the participating Working Groups. Contact the I18n Activity Lead for more information.

Useful links:

• Core WG participants (member only)
• Liaisons (search the page for 'i18n')

Participation

The Internationalization Activity welcomes the participation of individuals and organizations around the world to help improve the appropriateness of the Web for multiple cultures, scripts and languages.

Joining a Working Group, Interest Group or Task Force:

• See the list of groups listed in the previous section, for how to sign up.

Other ways to contribute:

• Join the discussions on the www-international mailing list.
• Follow the discussions on the public-i18n-core mailing list.
• Review articles prior to publication and send comments.
• Review W3C specifications for internationalization issues, and send comments to the Working Group.
• Provide information about language or script usage in response to our feedback requests.
• Write articles and plan and discuss content for forthcoming articles.
• Volunteer to help us maintain topic and techniques indexes to the information on the site.
• Review best practices for content authors, implementers, or specification developers.
• Get your web i18n blogs aggregated at Planet i18n
• Translate some of the Internationalization Activity's articles.

Benefits of participation:

Participation can benefit the participant and his or her organization in the following ways.

• Significantly develop your understanding of how W3C technologies are used in a global Web and bring that knowledge back to your organization.
• Review the state of the art in a range of Web technologies and develop understanding of key internationalization issues by reviewing specifications.
• Raise your profile and that of your organization by developing best practices, and education and outreach materials.
• Contribute your and your organization's ideas and needs for the development of new specifications.
• Discuss and explore ideas alongside other leaders in the field.
• Gain exposure to internationalization issues in a wide range of technologies.
• Lay claim to contributing directly to making the World Wide Web more worldwide.

The groups need people with a wide range of skills, from technical authoring to specialised knowledge of particular technologies.

Contacts

• Addison Phillips (addison @ amazon com), I18n Core Working Group Chair
• Richard Ishida (ishida @ w3. org), Activity Lead, Staff Contact for Core Working Group
• Yves Savourel (ysavourel @ translate. com), ITS Interest Group Chair
• Martin Dürst (duerst @ it.aoyama.ac.jp), Interest Group Chair
• Liaisons (member only)