The Process: Shellbook Localization

SPS founder Michael W. Trainum, as a linguist/translator in Papua New Guinea, developed a process for conveying important information on health, economic, educational, and other life-crucial issues to people who speak indigenous languages. This process is now known as Shellbook Localization.

Step One: A Global Perspective

Shellbook Localization begins when an agency has information that it wants to make accessible and understandable to communities in a particular region or across the globe. It might be information on avoiding waterborne diseases, on preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, or on how to start a micro-enterprise in a subsistence-based economy.

First, text and graphics that will convey the message are created and reviewed for completeness, accuracy, and clarity in a "resource" language such as English.  Next, training materials-text and/or audio and video-are developed to facilitate the understanding and expression of the key concepts in different cultural settings. These elements are then placed in a page-by-page software format, or "shell", that can be copied to CD-ROM or uploaded to the World Wide Web. When this multimedia resource is "published", it is called a Shellbook Resource Edition.

Step Two: A Regional Perspective

Next, the Resource Edition may be distributed anywhere in the world for "regionalization". In this intermediate process, the Resource Edition takes on the character of a national or regional culture in preparation for localization by communities within that area. This may be done by an agency's international staff or partner organizations, or the original Resource Edition may be made available to the general public through a global online library system.

The regional agency then reviews the Resource Edition and adapts it as needed to make the information more meaningful and appropriate in that part of the world. This may include translating the information into a regional language such as Swahili and adapting images and training materials to make them more culturally acceptable and relevant to a specific area. The resulting publication is called a Shellbook Regional Edition.

Step Three: A Local Perspective

When it is completed, the Regional Edition is made available to communities within that area. At this stage, exciting things begin to happen. An agency facilitator (Mentor) and local community members examine and discuss the information provided in the Regional Edition. Using the training materials and adaptation advice included in the Regional Edition, community members work together to produce their own Shellbook Local Language Edition. They create their own culturally appropriate, understandable, and useful version of the information, in their own language.  This Local Language Edition can be produced in print, audio, or video versions as appropriate.  The Shellbook format integrates and archives all of these media in a single "shell".

Community Involvement and Ownership:
Anywhere, in Any Language

Community members participate in every aspect of producing Local Language Editions, from developing the content to printing and/or recording, to distributing and using them. The Shellbook process creates a new realm of opportunity for micro-enterprise development in thousands of communities around the world.

Involving the community in the Shellbook process not only ensures the accuracy, understanding, ownership, and impact of vital information, but also lends credibility and authority to the information conveyed. The influence of a Shellbook Resource Edition can be limitless in scope. It can be localized by communities in sub-Saharan Africa, the innermost reaches of Amazonia, the remotest islands of Micronesia in any language or any culture anywhere.

The Result: Transformational Change >>