Translation
Help translate ADP
ADP is a global standards body — and the standards belong to the field, in every language. Volunteer translators are how we add languages without compromising quality.
Why translation matters
The Practice Guide is the body of knowledge behind SIPC certification. It is published under CC BY 4.0 so the field can use it, teach from it, and translate it freely. But “free to translate” is not the same as “translated.” Volunteer translators are how the standards reach practitioners who do not work in English, Arabic, or French.
ADP follows the OMIMO model for community translation: open, attributed, reviewed by other speakers of the language, and merged into the main site through a transparent process. We are happy to receive contributions ranging from a single page of UI text to a full translation of the Practice Guide.
What can be translated
Three layers, in order of strategic priority:
- The Practice Guide PDF. The single highest-value artefact to translate. The guide is structured around canvases and worked examples that translate cleanly, with a glossary at the back to standardise terminology. A full translation typically takes 60–100 hours.
- The website content. The 22 page bodies that describe ADP, SIPC, trainer accreditation, and the rest. Each page is a Markdown file, structured so translators work on prose rather than markup.
- The UI strings. Short labels, buttons, form fields, error messages — about 130 strings collected in a single YAML file (
i18n/<lang>.yaml) for each language.
You can volunteer for any combination — the Practice Guide alone, the website alone, or all three.
Current translation status
| Language | Practice Guide | Website content | UI strings | Coordinator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic (العربية) | ✅ Edition 1.0 — Mar 2026 | Stub pages | UI strings drafted | Sought |
| English | Translation in progress | ✅ Launch | ✅ Launch | ADP editorial |
| French | Volunteer sought | Stub pages | UI strings drafted | Sought |
If you want to start a translation in a language not listed above — Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Swahili, Bahasa Indonesia, anything — write to translations@adp-international.org.
How to volunteer
The process is light by design.
- Email us. Send a note to translations@adp-international.org with: the language you want to translate into, your level (native, fluent, working), whether you want to translate the Practice Guide, the website, the UI strings, or all three — and any relevant background (translation experience, sector experience, etc.).
- Coordinator confirms scope. A coordinator replies within about a week, confirms the scope of work, and assigns you to an existing translation team for that language (or starts one with you).
- You translate. You work in your own time, in whatever tool suits you — Markdown editor, document editor, or CAT tool. For the Practice Guide we provide a structured template; for the website you translate Markdown files one section at a time. The coordinator is available for terminology questions.
- ADP reviews and merges. Translations are reviewed by another speaker of the language before being merged into the live site. Reviews focus on accuracy, naturalness, and consistent terminology with the glossary.
- You are credited. Translator credit appears on the translated page (with a link to your profile if you want one), in the Practice Guide’s contributors list (for guide translation), and in the annual report.
The process
The technical workflow is git-based but git knowledge is optional. Translators can:
- Edit Markdown files directly via GitHub if comfortable — pull requests are the cleanest path and let the coordinator review through the same tooling as the rest of the site.
- Send translated text by email to the coordinator, who applies the changes for you. The coordinator credits you in the commit.
- Use a CAT tool of your choice. Most modern CAT tools export Markdown cleanly. Send the exported files to the coordinator.
Either way, the coordinator handles the technical merge and you focus on translation.
Credit and attribution
Every translator is credited:
- On each translated page as the contributor for that page (with an optional link to a profile or website you provide).
- In the Practice Guide’s published contributors list for guide translation, by language and edition.
- In ADP’s annual report with a thank-you list of all active volunteer translators that year.
Translators retain copyright over their translations. Translated content is published under the same CC BY 4.0 licence as the original, so the field can build on translations too.
Conflicts and revisions
If two translators want to work on the same language, the coordinator pairs them — one drafts, the other reviews. If a later translator wants to revise an existing translation, they submit revisions through the coordinator; if the revision is substantive, the previous translator is invited to review. Disputes about terminology are resolved by reference to the glossary or, when the glossary is silent, by the working group for that language.
We aim for translations that live as documents the community owns and improves — not as fixed artefacts handed down by a single contributor.
Get in touch
translations@adp-international.org — we read everything that comes through.