LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May e Content plus Preparing the field for an Open and Distributed Resource Infrastructure: the role of the FLaReNet Network Nicoletta Calzolari, Claudia Soria Fostering Language Resources Network

Introduction Substantial development of the field requires sharing a common vision, but…  fragmentation and dispersion, no substantial sharing of priorities, directions and timeframe The first step towards a solution:  To achieve the agenda ahead of us we need to act as a community that joins forces on a set of shared priorities LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May 20102

FLaReNet at a glance A Thematic Network funded under EU eContentPlus Programme, with two faces:  an international Forum To overcome the fragmentation and recreate a community To facilitate interaction among players To create a shared policy in the field of LR&T  an observatory To assess current status of the field of LR&T by coordinating a community-wide effort to analyse the sector To indicate strategic objectives and provide consensual recommendations To pave the way to infrastructural initiatives LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May 20103

A consistent message from the community One of the priorities identified by the FLaReNet community: SHARE LR&Ts Infrastructure building indicated by many a THE step to make the field move forward Many initiatives around, in Europe: META- NET But…a big enterprise that needs careful preparation, as acceptance is the key to success of infrastructure LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May 20104

FLaReNet activities for an infrastructure Build and actively involve a community Analyse the sector at large Enhance accessibility of/to information related to LR&Ts Information gathering Promote cooperation, also at an international level Define recommendations and priorities LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May 20105

Building a strong and committed community The FLaReNet community: more than 300 individuals, 81 institutions, 31 countries FLaReNet enlarges and maintains it by:  Organisation of Forum, meetings, workshops, panels, …  Recruiting campaigns  Relations with International initiatives  Endorsement of conferences, workshops, …  Promotion of community-wide initiatives, such as the LREC Map  Consultation of the community, e.g. by means of Questionnaires LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May 20106

Analysis of the sector at large Covering aspects such as: methods and models for production, use, validation, evaluation, distribution of LR&Ts different types and modalities of LR&Ts applications and products for LR&Ts the advantages and limitations of standardisation; the different needs and priorities of academy vs. industry and commerce, of data providers vs. users; the traditional and new areas of interest for LRs; the cultural, economic, societal, political issues, etc.  FLaReNet surveys LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May 20107

Enhance accessibility to LRs Increase awareness about existing LRs that will eventually join the infrastructure (e.g. through the “LREC Map”); Promote the creation of new language resources and the enhancement of existing ones; Create consensus around interoperability issues Promote standardisation activities Facilitate easy access to guidelines and documentation related to LRs LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May 20108

Information pushing and pulling Expert groups to give a preliminary assessment of the temporal, technical, organisational and legal constraints of an infrastructure  … Access, copyright, funding & revenue, governance, documentation, metadata, standards, interoperability, etc Spread awareness about these implications LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May 20109

Promote international cooperation Permanent connections have been established with major European and international players (such as AFNLP, ELRA, LDC, ISO, US sister project SILT) Special session at LREC2010 COCOSDA- WRITE-FLaReNet Workshop LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May

Define recommendations and priorities Two main instruments:  Forum Highlights  “Blueprints of Actions and Infrastructures” (first is D8.2a, see web site) Gather recommendations collected from meetings, panels, endorsed events, consultations and FLaReNet surveying activities We need to prioritize them: speak your voice through the questionnaire! LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May

LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May Highlight & analyse various dimensions & options of an infrastructure, towards main basic principles:  Metadata & documentation  Services and functionalities to be provided in the infrastructure  Sharing vs non sharing, legal issues, IPR, … Receive bottom-up feedback on governance, architecture, services, sustainability, … (to avoid mistake of top-down imposition from a small group)  Create consensus & acceptance From the Barcelona Forum

A “first” set of basic principles and characteristics for a Resource Infrastructure A community built and community maintained infrastructure Must become “THE” place to go to get both information and data Wide awareness: everybody must know about the ORI Acceptability: the ORI must not be felt as imposed from top but as a spontaneous outcome Broad coverage of LRs and LTs Simplicity: sale, licensing, clearance of IPR must be kept as simple as possible LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May

LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May A “first” set of basic principles and characteristics for the ORI Metadata must be harmonised, mappings created across various catalogues. Metadata of different granularity may be needed Auto-enrichment of the ORI: the results of using data or tools from the ORI must be made available afterwards on the ORI itself. Trustability: trust is at the basis of the well functioning of the ORI Very broad platform of resource Providers and Users: Providers and users (institutional or individual) must “belong” to and be recognised by the ORI

LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May Conclusions An open and distributed infrastructure for sharing language resources, tools and service is a complex enterprise  FLaReNet has a role in preparing the field by: Facilitating exchange of information and promoting discussions among experts Sensitizing the community about importance and benefits of an infrastructure, but also many steps involved Help the sector achieve deeper self-consciousness,e.g. through LREC Map

LREC 2010, Malta, 20 May Thank you!!