Speaking in Their Voice – World Bank Group Finances Goes Multilingual

October 31 2013 by Editorial - admin

Credit: World Bank

Open data now available in Chinese, French, Hindi, Russian and Spanish

WASHINGTON, October 24, 2013 – World Bank Group Finances today unveiled its open data website in five additional languages: Chinese, French, Hindi, Russian, and Spanish. The multilingual launch of the site broadens the reach to the Bank Group’s open financial data, visualizations, and news to many more users around the world who may now access, analyze, share, and compare open datasets in their own language. ”I’m pleased with the progress that we’ve made on making our financial data available to the public,” said Bertrand Badré, Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Financial Officer. “Open and transparent financial reporting is an essential component of good governance and we at the Bank Group want to meet, if not exceed, best practice in this area.”

The decision to publish open financial data in multiple languages, which until now had only been available in English, makes the Bank Group’s work more open and accountable. It also aligns with the broader goals that promote greater transparency, innovation and a commitment to open data, in keeping with the Open Data, Open Knowledge and Open Development agendas.

“We want to talk to people in their language. Often the social, political, and economic value of open data remains locked away not because the data doesn’t exist, but because it doesn’t reach the right people,” said Prasanna Lal Das, Lead Program Officer, World Bank Group Finances. “With the addition of five new languages we hope to bring many more people into the world of open financial data and we can’t wait to see what they will do.”

World Bank Group Finances is the online access point for IBRD, IDA, and IFC financial data. The website features datasets that cover loans, contracts, trust funds, investments, and financial statements.The localization capabilities on the Bank Group’s open financial data platform increase the possibility of adding more languages as more feedback is gathered. World Bank Blog Original Source