Plain Language Association International (PLAIN)

WordRake Holdings, LLC, maker of WordRake professional editing software is sponsoring Plain Language Association International (PLAIN)’s Cheryl Stephens Innovation Award. Dedicated to simplicity and brevity in writing, WordRake is excited to partner with PLAIN to celebrate innovators in plain language.

WordRake Strengthens Its Plain Language Ties

“WordRake is delighted to join PLAIN in recognizing those who have contributed to the plain language movement around the world,” said WordRake’s Chief Strategy and Growth Officer Ivy B. Grey. “It’s key to serving the public effectively in law, medicine, education, finance, technology, and a host of other fields. We are pleased to celebrate those who have dedicated themselves to advancing these goals.”

With this partnership, WordRake deepens its connection to the plain language community. In October 2022, WordRake introduced Simplicity mode to help writers comply with plain language mandates and make their work more accessible to readers. WordRake Founder Gary Kinder had always believed in the importance of plain language and adding this functionality brought a long-term goal for the software to fruition.

WordRake and PLAIN: Partnering to Recognize Plain Language Innovators

Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) is a non-profit devoted to the promotion of plain language usage around the world. Co-founded by Cheryl Stephens in 1993, PLAIN’s membership includes professionals from more than 30 different countries, representing 15 languages.

PLAIN debuted the Cheryl Stephens Innovation Award in 2019 to recognize individuals and organizations in plain language. Honoring the Association’s founder, the award is given every second year for advancements in plain language in technology, advocacy, research, and professional development. Previous award winners include Professor Katherine McManus and Simon Fraser University for their development of a Plain Language Certificate program, and the Plain Language Academies for their creation of an online plain language education program.

The Cheryl Stephens Innovation Award is given at PLAIN’s biannual conference. This year, the conference takes place September 27-29 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Nominations for the award are requested by June 26, 2023.

Having collaborated with WordRake in the past as a guest expert on plain language, Cheryl recommended the partnership herself. “Language evolves and so must plain language,” she explained. “With this award, we honor those who have the wit and courage to try something new.”

PLAIN, in turn, is looking forward to highlighting a leading tech tool for plain language editing. “WordRake’s dedication to plain language is undeniable, and we are thrilled to have them as a partner,” shared PLAIN President Joanna Richardson. “Keeping ahead of advances in plain language technology has always been a prerogative of our co-founder Cheryl Stephens and this partnership will reinforce that heritage.”

Who is WordRake

WordRake is a software company based in Seattle, Washington, which creates editing add-ins for Microsoft Word and Outlook. Launched in 2012, WordRake offers over 35,000 editing suggestions to improve clarity, brevity, and simplicity. With the addition of Simplicity mode in 2022, WordRake is dedicated to clarity in written communication. In celebration of Plain Language Day on October 13, 2023, WordRake will once again share interviews featuring a diverse selection of plain language and writing professionals.

A free 7-day trial of WordRake’s editing software is available at www.wordrake.com.

The call for contributions closed on 9 June. Thank you for all the submissions.

The issue will be published September/October 2023.

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Have you ever heard the phrase “Teamwork makes the dream work”? To some of us, plain language is already a reality, but for others it’s still a dream. And in order to turn that dream into an everyday tool and civil right, we need to find and work with teammates to help us grow this global movement.

The next issue of PLAIN’s e-journal will focus on collaboration.

We are looking for contributions from colleagues around the world who have perspectives to share on working with others in the plain language field. Articles could cover any aspect of this, such as:

• essential collaborations in plain language work
• unlikely/surprising collaborations in plain language work
• opportunities for collaboration in plain language work
• how to nurture a collaborative working environment for plain language projects
• how to find collaborators
• case studies of projects that relied on collaboration.

We also welcome ideas for interviews with experts and book reviews that are relevant to this topic.

Articles should be short pieces of 800 to 1,000 words. They are all published in English, although we prefer to include a second version in the author’s own language where that is not English.

We aim to include a broad range of perspectives on this topic across different regions, industries, and practices. You do not have to be a member to contribute to the e-journal, but members’ submissions will be prioritized.

 

 

Who is your plain language hero?

We all have a plain language hero – think of the person who created a plain language program in your office, or an organization that helped guide plain language legislation in your country.

PLAIN offers you an opportunity to thank those heroes. 

There are two ways you can honor these efforts:

• The Christine Mowat Plain Language Achievement Award – an international award recognizing an outstanding contribution to advancing plain language at the local, regional, national, or international levels.
• The Cheryl Stephens Innovation Award – an international award recognizing innovation in plain language of a PLAIN member.

We look forward to hearing about your PLAIN Hero!

 

Please submit your nomination by June 26, 2023.

Download the forms

Christine Mowat Plain Language Achievement Award form

Cheryl Stephens Innovation Award form

 

Celebrating plain language in New Zealand

Kate Thompson, Tatiana Mes and Lynda Harris

April 19, 2023 BST / April 20, 2023 NZST

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Our first webinar this year

From the Netherlands and Argentina last year to Aotearoa New Zealand in April … let’s start our first webinar of the year on a high note on the eve that the Plain Language Act is introduced. We’ll hear from our dear friend Lynda Harris, visionary founder of Write Limited, the largest plain language consultancy in the world, and award-winners Kate Thompson and Tatiana Mes. 

Together, we’ll explore what the Plain Language Act means for New Zealand and take a look at award-winning sustainability communication and a financial wellness website.

See you on the 19th or 20th of April depending on where you live!

Joanna Richardson

PLAIN President

 

‘Celebrating plain language in New Zealand’ with guests Lynda Harris, Kate Thompson and Tatiana Mes

Hosted by Lodewijk van Noort, PLAIN board member in a live Zoom interview from Brisbane, Australia

Thursday April 20, 2023

09:00 – 09:45 New Zealand Standard Time

which means:

Wednesday April 19	Thursday April 20
14:00 – 14:45 Los Angeles, USA	07:00 –07:45 Sydney and Brisbane, Australia
17:00 –17:45 Washington DC, USA, Toronto, Canada	09:00 – 09:45 Wellington, New Zealand
18.00 – 18:45 Buenos Aires, Argentina, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
23:00 – 23:45 Oslo, Norway; Madrid, Spain; Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa We will record the webinar so that you can view it later on our website

 

[su_button url=”https://forms.office.com/r/vLda1kirJK” target=”blank” background=”#ee6724″ size=”6″ wide=”yes” center=”yes” radius=”round” icon=”icon: pencil-square-o” class=”join-plain-btn”]Register now[/su_button]

 

Meet our guests

 

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Lynda Harris

Founder and Chief Executive, Write Limited

Under Lynda’s visionary leadership, Write has become the largest plain language consultancy in the world. She founded Write in 1989.

Lynda has made it Write’s mission to improve clients’ bottom lines, committing to innovation and continual development. She inspires everyone at Write to deliver the benefits of plain language to clients — greater productivity, less risk, lower costs, and better relationships with customers.

Lynda has over 30 years of experience in writing, editing, and evaluating documents using plain language principles. She has worked with clients in the legal, health, financial, engineering, and government sectors. She has a unique ability to untangle difficult structure and logic problems in documents, drawing on elements-based assessment and user-testing.

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Kate Thompson

Head of Communications, thinkstep-anz

Kate is Head of Communications at trans-Tasman sustainability firm thinkstep-anz. She leads a team of plain English experts who ‘translate’ the company’s technical sustainability work into plain English executive summaries, case studies, and blogs that clients can understand and act on.

Kate’s background is in corporate communications, stakeholder engagement, and change management. She has worked in many industries including aviation, transport, energy, financial services, and education.

Kate was fortunate to stumble on the website of the Plain English Campaign (UK) early in her career. She says that ‘once you’ve seen these techniques you can’t unsee them!’

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Tatiana Mes

Principal Marketing and Communications Manager, Consumer Wealth, Mercer (N.Z.) Limited

Tatiana is a passionate leader of the Consumer Wealth Marketing team at Mercer. Together with her team, she delivers marketing and communications strategies to create better lives for her customers, clients and colleagues. 

She is responsible for overseeing all member communications, online experience, campaign development, social media, conference management, designing marketing collateral and other brand awareness and lead generation activities. 

Tatiana’s key focus and passion is about ensuring customers receive a great experience in our KiwiSaver, Mercer Super Trust and other superannuation offerings, while getting ‘financially lit’.

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We’re so excited to once again be Calling All Speakers!

PLAIN’s in-person conference is coming back and the international community is very excited to meet again.

We welcome all the new comers in our host country Argentina and thank Observatorio de Lenguaje Claro for their partnership in hosting our first conference in Latin America!

You can now submit your proposals through our conference partner’s website:

👉http://www.derecho.uba.ar/institucional/conferencia-internacional-plain-language/convocatoria-abierta.php

📅 Deadline: 20 April

We hope to see you in Buenos Aires! 

SUBMISSION DETAILS

• Use the submission form from Observatorio (follow link above)
• Submit by April 20, 2023.
• Accepted proposals will be notified by May 19, 2023.
• Your submission must include:
  • contact details,
  • title of the presentation,
  • language of the presentation,
  • a 400-word abstract (not including bibliographical references) in size 12 font and, simple-spaced format,
  • five descriptors or keywords, listed in lower case and separated by short hyphens.
• Topics welcome include:
  • research or experiences related to plain language in various fields;
  • the use of plain language having measurable impacts on areas such as consumer experience, legal design, legal language, youth, gender, bank contracts, environment, public administration, and health, among others; and
  • academic research on the uses, applications, and impacts of plain language on public administration or the private sector.
• If you have any questions please contact at plainlanguage2023@derecho.uba.ar

 

 

The PLAIN conference team are excited to announce that the PLAIN2023 conference theme is Connecting cultures: creating bridges with clear communication. Natalia Torro, Lodewijk van Noort and Irene Stotko have been collaborating with the Observatorio de Lenguaje Claro (OBS) to bring you a conference that celebrates the recent successes in plain language beyond the english-speaking world.

Take a look at the flyer, and please share it on your own channels.

Don’t forget to save the dates: 📆 27 – 29 September 2023

And start planning your visit to: 🇦🇷 Buenos Aires, Argentina