Search engines, voice assistants, translation services – Language Technology is everywhere. That is, if used in English. Many other languages, especially those with few speakers, lack the technological support that could help preserving them in the digital world and promoting their use, which instead increases their risk for abandonment and digital extinction. The European Language Grid (ELG) aims to prevent exactly this by becoming the primary Language Technology platform for all European languages, big and small. However, supporting digital language equality is only one of the ELG’s goals.
At META-FORUM 2021, taking place virtually from 15-17 November, participants can learn about all the different aspects of the European Language Grid in its function as a marketplace for the European LT industry, as a cloud platform for research data and tools and as a point of contact and exchange for the Language Technology community in the EU. Titled “Using the European Language Grid”, this year’s META-FORUM features many news and updates from the ELG project and initiative, the outcome of the ELG pilot projects, first results and findings of the European Language Equality project and much more.
As one of the highlights, META-FORUM 2021 will present an overview and first demo of the upcoming Release 3 of the European Language Grid, which will launch in early 2022. Further ones include the project expo, opening on day 1, as well as reports from the industry, information on current EU-funded projects in Language Technology and discussions on building bridges to Artificial Intelligence.
Georg Rehm, coordinator of the ELG project: “META-FORUM 2021 will be a special edition of our conference series, summing up all the work achieved in the past three years of the ELG project and giving an outlook on the upcoming months. I especially look forward to the presentation of ELG Release 3, the results of the pilot projects at the virtual expo and the session on the European Language Equality project, which guides one of the main ideas of ELG towards a realistic future – digital language equality in Europe by 2030.”
The registration for META-FORUM 2021 is, as usual, free of charge. For further information, the full programme and timetable and the option to sign up, please visit our website at www.european-language-equality.eu/meta-forum-2021. Current updates about META-FORUM, the ELG and ELE projects as well as the European Language Technology landscape are shared through the European Language Technology social media channels on Twitter and LinkedIn and featured in the ELT Newsletter.
Overview
META-FORUM 2021
Using the European Language Grid
Online conference
15-17 November
Free of charge
Programme, info and registration:
www.european-language-grid.eu/meta-forum-2021