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Clarity's 3rd international conference
Mexico City: 20-23 November 2008
All sessions simultaneously translated between each of English,
French, and Spanish |
Last updated (in green) with registration details 13 August 2008
and sessions list (15 August)
More details will be posted as they become available |
| Theme |
Legal language: transparent and efficient
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Transparent is part of Mexico's anti-corruption activities, the point being that unintelligible documents leave room for officials to exploit the vagueness, ambiguity, uncertainty, lack of clarity to request a bribe, etc.
- Efficient is about reducing costs both for the organisations that produce, issue, and administer documents and for the people who have to read, use, apply, and comply with those documents.
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| Hosts |
We are co-hosting the conference with:
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Mexico's Underministry of Public Administration, which is responsible for the government's extensive ongoing plain language activities; and
- a prestigious private university, ITAM (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México).
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| Deadlines |
- For submission of abstracts : 11 July 2008
- For conference registration for presenters: 29 August 2008
- For conference registration for non-presenters: 17 October 2008
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| Topics |
1: Transparency and legal language
- Transparency, accountability and legal language
- Drafting skills for lawyers in the corporate world
2: The relevance of plain language and democracy
- Judicial language: Courts and sentences
- Legislative language: Rewriting constitutions and regulations in plain language
- Administrative language: The relationship between government and citizens
- Government writing and efficiency
3: Language, accessibility & usability
- Gender and language
- Indigenous languages and legal jargon
- Testing documents with real people
4: Causing clear communication change
- Abolishing the myths
- Promoting the benefits of plain language
- Developing organizational cultures that value and deliver plain language
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| Programme |
The programme is being prepared and this (still incomplete) list of speakers and topics will be updated when the organisers remember to give more information to the webmaster.
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| Presentations |
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The standard length for presentations will be 50 minutes (40 mins presentation and 10 mins for discussion). While the assumption is that presentations will be largely speaker-centered, presenters are strongly encouraged to include and involve their audience, presenting in such a way as to stimulate the interest of the audience.
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| Panels |
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Leaders will guide a structured discussion between 3 and 4 presenters. Each presenter will provide a brief presentation (10 mins) expressing its views about a specific topic. The presentations will be followed by discussion (20 mins) and by questions by participants (20 mins).
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| Workshops |
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These should be participant oriented and should offer practical activities that lead to discussion specifically about drafting skills for lawyers or testing documents.
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| Languages |
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There will be translation available (for presenters and audiences) between English, French, and Spanish.
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| Proposals |
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If you wish to offer a presentation, workshop or round table, please download and complete the
presentation proposal form.
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| Abstracts |
Please keep in mind that abstracts for all proposals should contain 250 words maximum and describe:
- Topic to be addressed
- Issues and approaches to be raised or explored
- Likely recommendations or conclusions
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| Registration |
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Registration is now open. This registration form (in Microsoft Word) includes instructions for registration, hotel information, information about social events, prices, and payment details.
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| Our contact details |
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Please send completed forms, abstracts, and any queries to:
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Salomé Flores Sierra Franzoni
Insurgentes Sur 1971, Torre III, Piso 5
Col. Guadalupe Inn, C.P. 01020
México, D.F.
México
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