Author: Joanna Richardson

Cheryl Stephens and PLAIN are pleased to announce that as of July 1, 2016, PLAIN now owns and manages the Plain Language Supporters group on LinkedIn.

Largest forum on plain language

The newly named PLAIN group is the largest international forum dedicated to plain language, with over 18,000 members from more than 100 countries.

Angela Harms and Cheryl Stephens established the group in 2008 to promote clear communication on what was then an emerging social media channel. From 2010, Cheryl managed and built up the group from its original 250 members to more than 18,400 members today.

“After 8 successful years, the group has grown well beyond what we imagined, proving that the international interest in plain language is significant,” said Cheryl.

“As I explore semi-retirement, I want to pass the group on to someone I can trust to value its importance in building the plain language community.”

Natural home with PLAIN

PLAIN President, Dr. Neil James, noted that the organization is the perfect fit to take on responsibility for this important group.

“PLAIN is the major international network of plain language practitioners,” Neil says. “Our members come from across the globe and work in every professional sector: government, law, health, finance, and community services.”
The LinkedIn platform will complement PLAIN’s existing member-only forum.

“Our online forum was ground breaking when Cheryl first created it nearly two decades ago, and we will be keeping that as a members-only platform,” explained Neil. “But the LinkedIn group will enable us to share information with an even wider range of professionals.”

Business as usual on LinkedIn

Although the name has changed to the PLAIN group, it will operate as usual, which means existing members will notice little change.

Cheryl will continue her valuable posts. And PLAIN has appointed Deanna Lorianni of Zuula to the position of Group Manager.

“This will continue to be an open group, sharing the latest information about plain language while promoting lively discussion,” Deanna said. “I’m looking forward to connecting plain language practitioners from around the world.”

Tribute to Cheryl Stephens

“Cheryl has been one of the great innovators in our profession,” said Neil. “In 1993, she co-founded the network that became PLAIN and has adopted every emerging technology to promote plain language. PLAIN is honored to have this opportunity to continue her legacy.”

Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) is pleased to announce that its next biennial conference will be held in Graz, Austria in September 2017.

“PLAIN is particularly excited to be holding its next conference in Austria, as this will help raise the profile of plain language in the German-speaking world,” says PLAIN President Dr. Neil James.

Conference host

The host organization for PLAIN 2017 is Klarsprache, the Society for Readable Texts, which has been pioneering the use of plain language in Austria.

“For Klarsprache, the PLAIN conference represents an opportunity to show how plain language improves government services and the relationships businesses have with their customers,” says Klarsprache Professor Rudolf Muhr.

Venue and date

The conference will run from September 21 to 23, 2017, at the University of Graz.

“Graz is a university town, with a population of 300,000 and around 45,000 students in 6 universities,” explains Professor Muhr. “The university will be the ideal venue for international experts to share the latest research in clear communication with Austrian delegates and organizations.”

This will be PLAIN’s eleventh conference since 1996.

“Like the previous 10 conferences, it will bring together the best plain language practitioners to share the latest developments in clear communication,” says Dr. James.

“For government and business organizations in Austria, PLAIN 2017 presents an ideal opportunity to find out how the rest of the world is reforming communication and how plain language can improve both customer services and the bottom line.”

Jewish New Year

As the conference date is very close to the Jewish New Year, organizers are making arrangements with the Grand Synagogue in Graz so that international delegates can attend the temple during their visit.

Host city
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The city of Graz is an ideal location for the PLAIN 2017 conference.

The second largest city in Austria, Graz offers a wealth of historical and modern sites to explore. Situated in Southern Austria, it provides easy access from and to all major European destinations.

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More details coming soon

PLAIN 2017 will attract language experts from around the world.

Watch this space for more news about the conference and its upcoming website. And, on Twitter, look for and use our conference hashtag #PLAIN2017.

PLAIN is delighted to acknowledge Cheryl Stephens as its first life member. Her tireless 30-year contribution to plain language has been vital not just to our own organization, but to the development of plain language as a profession.

Co-founder

Cheryl Stephens was a lawyer who started working on a law firm’s forms bank in 1987. She quickly decided that legal language needed to change. She became Associate Director at the Plain Language Project of Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia in 1990.

This led to consulting work and co-founding the Plain Language Consultants Network in 1993 with Kate Harrison Whiteside, which later evolved into today’s Plain Language Association International (PLAIN).

Cheryl was co-chair of the first three PLAIN conferences in Winnipeg (1995), Calgary (1997), and Houston (2000), later returning to co-host the 20th anniversary event in Vancouver in 2013. PLAIN recognized these achievements with a one-off Founders Award for Cheryl and Kate at that conference.

Innovator

In the early years, Cheryl achieved a number of firsts, including the plain language newsletter Rapport (1991-1997), setting up PLAIN’s first website, and establishing the first email discussion group on plain language.

Cheryl constantly experimented with ways that technology and social media could promote plain language. In recent years, she established the Twitter newsletter Plain Language Twittery and the LinkedIn Group Plain Language Advocates that now has more than 18,000 members.

Publisher

Over the years, Cheryl has also written and published a wide range of books and articles on plain language.

Her latest book Plain Language in Plain English is a complete guide to clear communication. Plain Language Legal Writing was the first in her Plain Language Wizardry series and outlines how to spice up your legal practice using plain language.

Practitioner

As a plain language practitioner, Cheryl’s favourite projects include developing the online training course the Plain Train, a multilingual legal dictionary, and targeting crime through literacy.

She continues to be active in developing plain language as a profession by running International Plain Language Day on October 13 each year and teaching in the online Plain Language Certificate program at Simon Fraser University.

 

 

PLAIN’s sister organization, Clarity, announced its next conference venue: Wellington, New Zealand, November 3-5, 2016.

WriteLimited, the leading plain language consultancy in New Zealand, will host The Business of Clarity: A plain language conference for the law, business, and government.

Clarity2016 will be a great opportunity to catch up with everything that’s new in plain language and visit some of New Zealand’s stunning scenery.

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Recently, WriteMark New Zealand held its 2015 Plain English Awards and the winners were Castalia Strategic Advisors. The WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards are run by a not-for-profit trust with the aim of bringing plain English into the public eye in New Zealand.

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In other news from down under, courts in New South Wales, Australia are rewriting their apprehended domestic violence orders in plain English “so defendants are in no doubt of their obligations,” said Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton.

Meanwhile, back in the U.S., The Center for Plain Language issued its annual report cards to evaluate how well federal agencies comply with the Plain Writing Act of 2010. Find out which agency did best in compliance and writing & information design.

For up-to-date news on plain language events around the world follow us on Twitter: @PLAIN_Lang_Intl

PLAIN’s Board Executive for 2015-16 is President Neil James, interim Vice-President Deborah Bosley, Treasurer Ingrid Sapona, and Secretary Greg Moriarty.

We’re happy to welcome 2 new Board members: Jana Goldman from the United States and Sylviane Duval from Canada.

At the recent annual meeting in Dublin, PLAIN made a pledge to look for Board members who are not from English-speaking countries in the future. So let us know if you or someone you recommend might be interested in joining the PLAIN Board in 2016.

All PLAIN Board members are also on at least one committee:

• membership
• conference
• communications
• publications
• professional development
• governance and finance

Some committees, including Communications, are looking for help from PLAIN members who aren’t on the Board. For example, if you have social media experience and would like to volunteer, please contact socialmedia@plainlanguagenetwork.org.