Beyond translation: How a multilingual LocalGov Drupal can work for everyone

Annertech is delighted to be participating in LocalGov Drupal week with a session that goes deep on a vital topic: multilingual public sector websites.

Join us on Wednesday 19 November at 13:00 GMT for our talk Beyond Translation: Effective Multilingual LocalGov Drupal in Practice, presented by Tony Barker, lead developer for LocalGov Drupal.
 

What is LocalGov Drupal?

LocalGov Drupal is an open-source distribution of Drupal built by councils for councils. It’s a collaborative project that provides a shared codebase, user research and expertise, allowing local authorities to launch best-practice websites faster and cheaper. This community approach can help councils save up to 80% on website costs.

LocalGov Drupal Week is one of the highlights on our Drupal calendar. It’s an online conference, and this year it will run from 17 to 21 November. This event is packed with over 15 dynamic sessions led by the very people who are hands-on with the technology every single day. 

You'll hear practical, real-life examples straight from the trenches, showing you exactly how LocalGov Drupal is transforming services right now. Get ready to dive deep into the tech, get inspired, and see the tangible impact in local government!

Why ‘multilingual‘ is more than just words

For Annertech, bringing LocalGov Drupal to Ireland meant dealing with an immediate challenge: supporting the Irish language is a legal requirement for public sector websites here. 

Our first foray into multilingualism for LocalGov Drupal was our work with Tipperary County Council. When Tipperary County Council joined the LocalGov Drupal project, they added Irish language translations and the Irish Service Catalogue to the standard set of available features.

But our experience showed that truly successful multilingual websites involve much more than simply translating text strings.

“The challenge of multilingual websites doesn't stop at translation,” explains Tony Barker. 

“You have to think about how different legal requirements affect the content, how data sources need to be localised, and the cultural expectations of your users.”

Tony will highlight the growing global interest in LocalGov Drupal. As the project expands there will be other considerations that need to be taken into account. Things like: 

• Varying legal requirements across jurisdictions. Ireland, for example, legally obligates public sector websites to be bilingual, offering services in both Irish and English.
• Services needing to consume localised data sources. Irish councils subscribe to what is called the Irish Service Catalogue, and this needed to be integrated into LocalGov Drupal.
• Differing cultural expectations for content structure. This speaks to the demographics of the users the website caters for. What works in one area can easily fail in another because of subtle, yet critical, differences in how citizens expect their local government to communicate.

Future-proof your website

The future of digital government is inclusive, and that means going beyond simple translation. Our work on LocalGov Drupal's multilingual capabilities, driven by real-world needs in Ireland, proves that success hinges on addressing legal, data, and cultural complexities. 

Join Tony to learn practical, field-tested approaches for planning and implementing multilingual solutions, drawing on Annertech's extensive experience with internationalisation in Drupal.