9319: Haiti's Deschamps Publishing Group Partners with MIT2 (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MariLinc@aol.com

Friends of MIT2,

Timed to coincide with the annual celebration of International Creole 
Language Day (October 28), Haiti's Deschamps Publishing Group, InterMedia, 
and Mason Integrated Technologies (MIT2) are proud to make the announcement 
pasted in below (the online version, with logos and many internal links, can 
be accessed at: http://hometown.aol.com/mit2usa/Deschamps-MIT2.htm).

In these uncertain financial times, MIT2 is not only still in one piece; we 
are taking very solid steps forward to hasten the day when the goals of MIT2 
will become a living reality.

Rejoice with us!

Marilyn

-------------------------


24 October 2001
Boston, Massachusetts, USA & Port-au-Prince, Haiti


Mason Integrated Technologies, Ltd (MIT2) and Haiti's premier commercial 
publishing group (InterMedia, Maison Henri Deschamps, Editions Henri 
Deschamps, Imprimerie Henri Deschamps, and Hachette-Deschamps) announce the 
formation of a strategic alliance to enhance the further development and 
integration of Haitian Creole technology tools into commercial publishing 
contexts.

MIT2 has been developing the range of CreoleScan(tm) OCR and 
CreoleConvert(tm) orthography conversion software programs to produce written 
language stabilization solutions and productivity tools for processing texts 
in Haitian Creole and other Creoles and vernacular languages. Automated 
translation systems to pair Creole languages with English, French, Portuguese 
and other "major" languages have also been planned. MIT2 has been assembling 
a team of Creole language and technology development specialists.

InterMedia, founded by Henri Deschamps in 1998, is an Internet Communications 
Media Group in partnership with specialists in publishing, education, 
internet, intranet and extranet technologies. It is currently building an 
infrastructure in Haiti and recruiting and training "in context" the 
necessary human resources: programmers, network managers, researchers, 
writers, graphic designers, site designers, and marketing, sales and 
administrative specialists. Haiti Global Village, founded by Deschamps in 
1996 and launched in 1997, has developed and maintains over 250 internet 
sites and 8500 pages of content which are devoted to Haiti and to the Haitian 
People throughout the global village. This set of web sites provided 
information to over 350,000 unique Internet visitors during the month of June 
2001. Hachette-Deschamps, founded in 1995, is the Franco-Haitian 
joint-venture between the French publisher Hachette (established in 1848), of 
the Lagardere Media Group, and the Haitian publishing company Maison Henri 
Deschamps (established in 1898). The Deschamps Group will be the first 
commercial entity to use MIT2's software tools to improve its publishing 
workflow processes.

Marilyn Mason, President and Chief Operating Officer of MIT2, states: "I was 
a typesetter / office manager at a religious publishing house in 
Port-au-Prince, Haiti in the mid 1970s. I knew back then that whatever I 
might try to do in the future to help to automate workflow processes or 
create technologies for Haitian Creole would eventually require collaboration 
with Maison / Imprimerie / Editions Henri Deschamps.

The MIT2 / Deschamps partnership announcement coincides with this year's 
International Creole Day (October 28) which is the first of this series of 
annual celebrations during the new millennium.

It is now time that those who write, edit and publish in Haitian Creole 
receive the booster that they have long deserved of knowing that 
technology-based assistance will soon be made available."

Henri Deschamps, of the above-mentioned Deschamps Group and InterMedia 
Enterprises, has confirmed the interest of his group by the following 
statement: "Bravo ... we are very enthusiastic about the potential of this 
project and are looking forward to giving it a go when you are ready!"


For more information, please contact:


InterMedia
Suite 200 - Angle des Rues Grégoire et Chavannes
BP 16042 - Pétionville, Haiti

Telephone: (+1) 509 511-1314
Fax: (+1) 509 257-4925
E-mail: info@intermediahaiti.com
Web: www.intermediahaiti.com/ixp/index.html


Mason Integrated Technologies Ltd (MIT2)
P.O. Box 181015, Boston, Massachusetts 02118 USA
Tel: (+1) 617 247-8885, Fax: (+1) 617 262-8923
E-mail: mit2usa@aol.com
Web: http://hometown.aol.com/mit2usa/Index2.html


----------------- end of announcement


P.S. Please do be sure to revisit the MIT2 Web Site; many updates have been 
added.

Marilyn

*****************************************************
Marilyn Mason, President & COO
Mason Integrated Technologies Ltd (MIT2)
P.O. Box 181015
Boston, Massachusetts 02118 USA
Tel: (+1) 617-247-8885
Fax: (+1) 617-262-8923
Email: MariLinc@aol.com
Web: www.mit2usa.com

**** Developer of the Creole Tool Suite(tm) ****