The Localization Lab is a community of 7000+ volunteer collaborators working throughout the globe who support the translation and localization of internet freedom tools. They assist in the translation of technology products—generally small and open source—which ensure the privacy and anonymity of individuals who would otherwise not have open access to information online.

Theory of Change

Community activists in collaboration with expert volunteers can translate and localize human rights relevant technologies, rendering tools for the public good accessible to underrepresented communities.  

Activities

To achieve their mission, the Localization Lab partners with community initiatives and organizes events they call “Localization Sprints,” which bring together linguists, digital security trainers, technologists, professional translators, and activists. All of whom work collaboratively with involved communities to translate the user interface of various internet freedom technologies. Additionally, the organization provides glossaries, translated into more than 48 languages, of common digital security terms (2-factor authentication, air gapping, etc.) on their website free of charge. In collaboration with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, they have also translated and distributed the Surveillance Self Defense guide, which includes step-by-step information for using a variety of digital security tools.

Results

Since its founding in 2012, the Localization Lab has translated more than 70 tools into over 220 different languages and dialects. Among them: Khmer, Burmese, Azerbaijani, Basque, Shona, Chinese, Arabic, Thai, and Ndebele.