Ideas Beyond Borders ‘House of Wisdom 2.0’ Project Expands Support for People of Afghanistan
Having translated over 21,000 articles & books in the Middle East, Ideas Beyond Borders expands to include Pashto and Dari, Afghanistan’s two widest-spoken languages.
New York: Ideas Beyond Borders are expanding its House Of Wisdom 2.0 project to include the underrepresented languages of Pashto and Dari, the largest of Afghanistan’s two official languages. As the Taliban has previously restricted and controlled media under their regimes, IBB’s move to include Pashto and Dari in the project will be integral in educating and empowering those in Afghanistan with information that encourages pluralism, critical thinking, and science with the hope that this will pave the way for a better future in Afghanistan.
The expansion comes after the recent concerning events in Afghanistan where little can be physically done and when access to accurate, useful information in Afghanistan is paramount. This builds on Ideas Beyond Borders’ substantial translation network, the largest of its kind in the world.
By expanding their translation efforts to include Pashto and Dari, IBB hopes that the move to include Pashto and Dari in their House of Wisdom 2.0 project will empower those in Afghanistan with critical information and keep them connected to the outside world. An additional goal of the program is to foster a greater appreciation for pluralistic, critical thinking among the general public.
IBB’s House of Wisdom 2.0 project has translated over 50 million words of content and literature into Arabic, reaching 45 million people in the Arab-speaking world. The project works to foster diversity and pluralistic thinking in the MENA region, working to make previously inaccessible ideas accessible to Arabic speakers worldwide. IBB’s team of over 120 translators has translated a variety of works that explore diverse ideas and historically banned information, with topics ranging from women’s rights, mental & reproductive health, and more.
As IBB expands to include Pashto & Dari in this project, they hope to empower those in Afghanistan with information to encourage diverse thinking and discussion, especially among the country’s youth, to create a better future for the country.
“This is a pivotal moment in Afghanistan’s history and the importance of accurate, useful information for the country’s people can’t be understated,” says Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, President at Ideas Beyond Borders. “We want to keep Afghans connected to the World.”
By expanding of House Of Wisdom 2.0, Ideas Beyond Borders wants to:
• Give Afghanistan’s people access to information previously inaccessible
• Give educational resources where traditional curricula have been curtailed
• Combat extremism of all kinds in the country through education and frictionless access to information
Further information on the Ideas Beyond Borders House of Wisdom 2.0 project can be found online at ideasbeyondborders.org/house-of-wisdom-2-0. For those interested in assisting IBB in translating work into Pashto to enlighten and empower those in Afghanistan, donations can be made online at ideasbeyondborders.org/donate
About Ideas Beyond Borders:
Ideas Beyond Borders translates and promotes ideas that foster critical thinking, civil rights, science, pluralism, and more to ultimately bring to life a modern, pluralistic Middle East, led by the people of the region.
