Hi "y'all" 👋 (had to stay "on brand" 😜)

This is Josh, Legesher’s Chief People Officer. Which, to me, means that I care about and take responsibility for the people and culture at Legesher.

In this issue, I'll share a little about me before getting to updates from the Explorer Program and upcoming Language Pack release!

I am so happy to be writing to you all today. It has been an amazing journey to come alongside Madi this year in building Legesher, together pursuing a digital future that doesn't require English to contribute.

While my background is not technical, I've spent most of my life building communities. From soccer as a kid to leading a faith community in Philly for ~10 years. I've always loved observing people bring their unique skills to create something stronger, together. (think Power Rangers → Megazord 🤖)

In Philly I also found my way into hospital-based chaplaincy (with a focus on trauma and pediatric care), training and working at UPenn Hospital and CHOP. Every day I met people from all walks of life facing immense challenges and had the privilege of journeying alongside them. My main goal was to help patients feel cared for by really listening… Man! could the world use more of that!

Over this same time period, I have been watching Madi's devotion to Legesher grow and develop. From being a sounding board for ideation, to being there when @takashiwickes sent over the first iteration of Peggy’s image assets, I can truly say Madi’s excitement has only blossomed as more and more pieces come together.

It is these different lenses that I bring with me in joining Legesher. Can’t wait to build together.

One of those pieces coming together: The Explorer program 🧗‍♂️

It has been a joy to meet many of the Explorers; individuals from all over the world who got a first look at the newest version of Legesher this past spring. Some of you have believed in the possibility of coding in your language (or at least believed in Madi) since the very start. We have one Explorer who even contributed to Legesher during Hacktoberfest in 2018!

51 language packs, opening for review 🗃️

I am also very excited for the upcoming public release of our first 51 language packs, where we will open them up for open source review.

We have already had some really insightful feedback from our Explorers. Not only have they shared improved translations for keywords, but also unique traits of their language and language-specific difficulties around things like word order or “infinitive suffixes.”

Important Note: Reviewing language packs will not require technical capability. Yet, those who have a rich understanding of both the target language and the tech context will be invaluable for capturing things like nuance while preserving functionality. We want these language packs to be logical to other native speakers, so that they can be a source-of-truth for the many who come next.

We will need reviewers 🤝

Please follow along for updates as we release our newest language packs to Legesher's GitHub. I am curious to know how you all will experience these new formats, especially each person from your specific culture & I truly look forward to collaborative efforts in the open source future.

🫶 all the best,
Josh

📲 Come say hi on Slack: legesher.io/go/slack

🔖 ICYMI: Our research with Cohere Labs was released this month! You can read the blog about it here.