Connecting cultures: creating bridges with clear communication
This edition of the PLAIN eJournal reflects on four themes that emerged during our 2023 Conference in Buenos Aires: developments in Argentina, artificial intelligence, legal design, and organisational change.
1. A pioneering plain language program in the Argentine Justice System — Hipolito Nosiglia tells us about the “Plain Language Workshops” program, an innovative initiative the Argentine Justice System launched to improve clarity and accessibility in legal documents.
2. A Plain Language Law with clear objectives — Manuela Thourte discusses Argentina’s Plain Language Law, implemented in Buenos Aires in December 2020, which requires all public sector communications to be clear and easy to understand.
3. Assisted writing in plain language using natural language processing techniques — Iria da Cunha describes the development of the arText claro system in Spain, a natural language processing tool designed to assist public employees in writing plain language administrative texts.
4. Creative visualization of data: The right to understand in five acts — Sidan Orafa emphasizes the importance of making complex information comprehensible through creative data visualization and clear communication.
5. Innovation in Action: CLAPPI and the implementation of plain language in Buenos Aires — Vanina Azzaro tells us about the creation of the CLAPPI platform, which uses AI and machine learning to enhance the clarity of administrative texts.
6. Human-First with AI-Assisted Legal Design — Helena Haapio and Nina Toivonen make the case for writers using new tools to make better text rather than leaving that work to the reader.
7. Innovation and the Law: Legal Design’s Role in Shaping the Future of Law — Tessa Manuello explores the transformative impact of legal design on communication strategies within the legal discipline.
8. Plain Language Projects spearheading innovation in Public Administration — Estrella Montolío Durán presents Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation project “The right to understand tax communication.”
9. Step by Step Towards a Design Process for Plain Language — Charlotte Swart, Mischa Corsius, and Keun Young Sliedrecht update us on the Dutch government’s work to improve the clarity and accessibility of its communications.
10. Change doesn’t have to be chaos — Nadja Green and Chani Slabbert share how they implement plain language strategically in a large financial services organisation.
