At The Open Sanctuary Project, we strive to bring responsible, actionable advice to anyone looking to start their own animal sanctuary or provide non-exploitative individualized lifelong care to animals in any appropriate environment. We recognize that, although our resources are regularly accessed and implemented around the world, we face a key limitation in that our resource development is currently limited to the English language.
Why We Need Your Help
While we recognize that there exist automated tools and plugins to translate web pages on demand, we have determined that, due to the sensitivity of the resources being created and the careful use of language throughout our resources, we need the assistance of compassionate human translators who both understand the nuance of our resources and have the necessary proficiency in a non-English language to help accurately convey our information and tone to non-English-speaking audiences. We also believe that translators will be much more aware of the appropriate terminology to convey sanctuary concepts than a machine translation, which will lead to individuals searching for sanctuary-specific resources in other languages to find us.
How The Volunteer Translator Initiative Works
Getting involved as a volunteer translator is easy! Simply get in touch with us and let us know what language you’d like to help provide translations for, and if you have any preferences for what resources you’d like to translate (if you have one), and we’ll send you everything you need to get started!
When your translation is complete, we’ll publish it along with a short bio about you and any sanctuaries or organizations you may be involved with if you wish.
How Proficient Do I Need To Be?
If you believe that you could carry on a nuanced written conversation about sanctuaries or animal care in the same way that we provide information at The Open Sanctuary Project, we would say you have enough proficiency to translate a resource! We trust that interested volunteers can self-evaluate prior to getting in touch with us.
Can I Be An Anonymous Translator?
Of course! We will simply list that “A volunteer who does not wish to give their name” has translated the resource.
Concerns About An Existing Translation?
If you are reading a translated resource and believe that there are errors or there might be a better way of conveying a word or concept in the language, get in touch with us! We want to use the most accurate, compassionate language possible, and we need the global sanctuary community’s help in maintaining those standards! We also recognize that language is constantly evolving, and different regions of the world that speak the same language may have separate terms or dialects that may require an alternate description in certain parts of the resource. Ultimately, we want to work with you to get things right!
