User support
/User support
Helping participants use a platform can require a significant time commitment. Consider hosting public trainings as part of your outreach plan. The Codeando México team found that a chat group on a platform like WhatsApp was a helpful way to support people struggling to use the digital platform.
Multilingual engagement
People speak thousands of languages, and it isn't uncommon to hear hundreds of different dialects spoken within a single city. Expecting people to meaningfully contribute to an open participation process in a language they don't speak is unreasonable, and will empower speakers of the dominant language at the expense of other linguistic communities.
Developers of digital participation platforms responded to this need by integrating translation features into their products. Sometimes this means they hire translators; other times, volunteers are recruited. Still another option is translation produced by artificial intelligence, via services like Google Translate or DeepL. However, while machine translation is rapidly improving, it isn't perfect.
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