Grassroots.org

The LAMP (Learning About Multimedia Project) brings free multimedia education workshops directly to young people, parents and teachers throughout New York City. In other words, we teach kids to ask questions like, “If junk food is so bad for me, then why do people in the commercials always look so happy and healthy?” Or, “What does (name of celebrity) have to do with a car?” Parents and educators learn how to use the same online media their children and students are using, and we help them understand why the kids are so glued to the screen in the first place. Families explore media together by making a video family album, parents learn how to talk to their kids about what they’re doing online, and teachers are taught how to integrate new media into their classrooms. Media impacts so many facets of our daily lives—they can influence what we eat, what we wear, how we vote and even affect our personal relationships. All of us working at The LAMP believe that through media education, we can help New Yorkers make smarter choices by thinking critically about what they read, see and hear.

An organization’s website is one of its most important tools. It acts as an introduction to who you are and what you do, and ideally it entices visitors to get involved once they shut down the computer. The LAMP’s website is no different, and we are constantly working to update it and make it more interactive. None of that would be possible, however, without the WorldLingo Translation tool provided by the Grassroots.org Toolbox. Our students speak many languages, and not all of them are fluent in English, but with WorldLingo, it’s easy for them to explore our site in their native tongue. All they have to do is click on their country’s flag in a banner at the bottom of the screen, and just like that, the site shows up in Spanish, Italian, Greek, Japanese—whatever they choose.

Of course there are other web translating tools out there, but WorldLingo is one of the best, combining humans and machines to bring the most accurate translations possible. We can also choose which languages we want translated on our site, allowing us to streamline and stick to just what we need without cluttering the footer of our site. Good products cost money, and on our own, we wouldn’t be able to afford WorldLingo, which is valued at $2268 annually. With Grassroots.org, however, we’re able to employ one of the best web translation services out there. We can stay connected with our students and volunteers, and recruit new ones. Media education is all about communication, so it wouldn’t be right if users couldn’t instantly translate our website with one click of their mouse.

-- Emily Long

Communications Director,
The LAMP (Learning About Multimedia Project)