Brief report from your IR on the CCCCLM meeting in Geneva


The meeting on "Cooperation and Coordination on Cross-Cultural and
Linguistic Matters" (CCCCLM) took place on June 2-3, 2003, in Geneva,
Switzerland.  This is a brief, personal report for your information.  An
official report form the US Head of Delegation (Mike Ksar) will be
released.  The attached document is a draft summarizing the
recommendations of the meeting.

>From the perspective of V2, the following is of interest:

(1) The term "Cultural and Linguistic Adaptability" (CLA) is mostly used
in the JTC1 context to refer to the accommodation of
internationalization requirements.  Accessibility is usually understood
as included in CLA.  However, SC36 (Learning Technologies) uses the term
"Cultural, Language and Function Accommodation" (CLFA) to explicitly
include accessibility issues.

(2) There seem to be at least two layers (and therefore two factions in
JTC1) involved in CLA: 
(a) Lower layer on character sets and encoding issues - SC2 (Encoded
Character Sets) & SC22-WG20 (Internationalization in Programming
Languages); 
(b) Higher layer on content and presentation adaptation - SC32 (Data
Management and Interchange), SC35 (User Interfaces) & SC36 (Learning
Technology).  
This was sometimes a source of confusion because people drew conclusions
which were only based on one of the layers, but were claimed for the
whole CLA issue.

(3) On the lower layer, there is an ongoing dispute between SC2 and some
members of SC22-WG20 as to who should continue the work on ISO/IEC 14651
(International String Ordering).  This issue overshadowed the whole
meeting, and was the cause of inefficient conversations over hours.

(4) On the higher layer, SC36 (Learning Technology) seems to be ahead of
SC35 (User Interfaces) and other JTC1 groups, in terms of accommodation
of internationalization and accessibility requirements in their
standards work.  They are also aware of what other groups are doing.
This is reflected by the existence of the CLFA rapporteur group within
SC36.  

(5) The need for coordination was seen between SC36, SC35 and SC32.
This is reflected by recommendation #4 (see attached document).  SC36
will initiate a dialog between these groups.  V2's expertise on
accessibility issues will be needed for reviewing drafts from SC36, and
to make sure that the work of V2 and SC36 is harmonized sufficiently.

(6) I had the opportunity to talk to the SC35 chairman, Yves Neuville.
He is looking forward to working with V2 as the US National Body
representation in SC35 and its WG6.  The working style of SC35 seems to
be different from V2; the main work of SC35 is done at the plenary
meetings, with loose break-outs according to the working group
structure.
There are three main areas he wants SC35 (User Interfaces) to do
standardization in:
(a) Continue with the work on icons and symbols;
(b) Accessibility for people with disabilities;
(c) User Interfaces on the Web.

Gottfried
(V2 International Representative)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
 Gottfried Zimmermann, Ph.D.
 IT Accessibility Researcher
 http://trace.wisc.edu/staff/zimmermann/Zimmermann.shtml 
 Phone (608) 265-2720
 Trace Research & Development Center
 2107 Engineering Centers Bldg.
 1550 Engineering Drive
 Madison, WI 53706
 Visit our Web site at http://www.trace.wisc.edu/.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Draft recommendations - CCCCLM Geneva


_______________________________________________________________

Recommendation #1:

 

CCCCLM notes that:

·        it is desirable to achieve better coordination and harmonization of JTC1 projects with committees external to JTC1; and

·        it is desirable to share standardization efforts and reduce duplication of work.

 

CCCCLM recommends that the JTC1 Secretariat will:

 

            (1) Establish a program of sharing announcements of NP ballots, project subdivisions, PAS submissions, fast-track ballots, and IWAs with committees external to JTC1.

            (2) Establish reciprocal relationships with the following "starter" list of committees and organizations:

                        ISO: TC37, TC46, TC68, TC154, TC159, TC184, TC204, TC215

                        IEC: TC100

                        Other: IETF, W3C, Unicode Consortium, DCMI (Dublin Core Metadata Initiative), CEN/ISSS, IEEE CS SAB, TOG (The Open Group), OASIS.

            (3) Upon receipt of a JTC1 NP ballot, project subdivision, fast-track ballot, or IWA distribute the document to the list of external committees with the action ID "ACT" and the comment "Please return any comments to the JTC1 Secretariat by YYYY-MM-DD".

            (4) Upon receipt from an external committee of an NP ballot, project subdivision, PAS submission, fast-track ballot, IWA, or their equivalents, distribute the document to JTC1 subcommittees as a JTC1 N document with the action ID "ACT" and the comment "Please return any comments to the JTC1 Secretariat by YYYY-MM-DD".

 

Furthermore, once coordination, collaboration, and harmonization opportunities are recognized, subcommittees are encouraged to proactively communicate and liaise directly with the external committees.

 

Unanimous

 

_______________________________________________________________

Recommendation #2:

 

The Cooperation and Coordination of Cross Cultural and Linguistic Matters meeting encourages discussion, to occur before the JTC1 meeting, by the chairmen of SC22 and SC2, about the possible transfer of project 14651 (JTC1.22.30.02.02) from SC22 to SC2.

 

Approve (No: Canada, Norway; Abstain: France, SC36)

 

_______________________________________________________________

Recommendation #3:

 

SC35 is requested to identify and define users' printing requirements and forward this to SC28, before the next JTC1 plenary, seeking their input and advice on how to meet such requirements.

 

Unanimous

 

_______________________________________________________________

Recommendation #4:

 

CCCCLM recommends that SC32, SC35, SC36, and other subcommittees coordinate in the area of "accommodation information" (see JTC1/N7082, JTC1/Nxxxx), including infrastructure and user interfaces, and to complete their initial draft to be submitted in time for consideration at the 2003-11 JTC1 plenary.  The SC36 Chair will initiate this coordination activity.

 

Unanimous

 

_______________________________________________________________

Recommendation #5:

 

CCCCLM notes that SC35 has particular expertise in CLA (culture and linguistic adaptability) user interface requirements and that SC36 has particular expertise in CLF (culture, language, and function) accommodation information, and suggests that other SCs take advantage of that expertise when they have questions regarding cultural and linguistic adaptability issues in their work.

 

Unanimous

 

_______________________________________________________________

Recommendation #6:

 

CCCCLM endorses resolutions 11 and 12 of the 2003-03 SC36 Plenary.

 

Unanimous

 

_______________________________________________________________

Appreciation #1

 

The Cooperation and Coordination of Cross Cultural and Linguistic Matters meeting warmly thanks:

 

·        ISO Central Secretariat for the host facilities.

·        Mr. Cord Wischhöfer, Ms. Maho Takahashi, and Mr. Keith Brannon for arranging the meeting and for the support and coordination during an especially busy week in Geneva.

·        Mr. Paul Brandsma for the IT support services.

 

Acclaimed

 

_______________________________________________________________

Appreciation #2

 

The Cooperation and Coordination of Cross Cultural and Linguistic Matters meeting warmly thanks the JTC1 Chairman, Mr. Scott Jameson for his leadership during this meeting.

 

Acclaimed

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

 



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