A bit of Malagasism

If you allow me, I will indulge in a bit of homerism in this post. No, not Homer Simpson, (although I would love to discuss ad vitam eternam the genius behind Homer-the yellow-mellow), this is about being homer as in "Malagasy" homer.
It's been a week since the We Media conference ended. It was a blast to listen to the forward thinkers and discover new cool tools ( more on that soon). The highlights had to be, by a mile, to finally meet up with a few of the people at Global Voices Online.
I did not stay at the GV house of fun with all the others, but I was there to drink the mojitos and sing along in the surprisingly chilly Miami weather.
A personally important moment for me was to listen to the session dedicated to what Global Voices Online is doing to promote conversations inside the global village.

Georgia and Solana led a very interactive session where everyone described a bit of their experience contributing to the conversation from their corner of the world.
And yes, Madagascar and GVO in Malagasy was discussed as well.

(Solana Larsen at We Media with a GVO in Malagasy screenshot)

This is where I get to the point of my post: GVO in Malagasy cannot be discussed at the conference if not for the immense work of the translators. For the most part, GVO in Malagasy only survived until now because of the relentless will of two admirable writers, Jentilisa and Tomavana. Mialy and I are just in awe of their skills combining rapidity and accuracy.
Thanks to the awesome support of the purple corner and fearless new volunteers, we now may be able to provide more help to our two bloggers soon.
The very concept of GVO in Malagasy is intriguing. Overall internet connectivity is still a big question mark in Madagascar. Yet, online participation in topic related to Madagascar is certainly on the rise not only in Madagascar but also where the diaspora resides. Furthermore, before the Malagasy translation arrived, the option to read GVO was available to many as most Malagasies on the web know either French or English. Yet the enthusiasm for reading (or writing for) GVO in Malagasy is undeniable. I could not begin to tell you why exactly that is.

Similarly, for international woman's day, a great new project driven by many Malagasy women (apologies if I forgot anyone) bloggers will be showcased tomorrow: The Vagina Monologues translated and read in Malagasy. This is a worthy fundraiser that promotes women's rights awareness in Madagascar. You can check it out here, and here.