Amara, formerly known as Universal Subtitles, is a web-based non-profit project created by the Participatory Culture Foundation that hosts and allows user-subtitled video to be accessed and created. Users upload video through many major video hosting websites such as YouTube, Vimeo,[1] and Ustream to subtitle.
It uses crowdsourcing techniques to subtitle video as well as having a paid service for professionally created subtitles. Users of the project and service include Mozilla, PBS, Khan Academy, Netflix, Twitter, Coursera, Udacity,[2] and Google.[3] Most companies listed have "teams" organized by Amara on the website that focus on translation and caption of videos. Amara claims that it lowers the cost of captioning and translation by at least 95 percent because of their volunteer-based system.[4]
The software for the Amara platform was previously open source software under the GNU Affero General Public License. In January 2020, Amara announced that the platform would become proprietary and closed source, citing that it wanted to have more control over how it is deployed and used, and protect its work from being used by for-profit companies in means that are "inconsistent with its values".[5]
The MacArthur Foundation issued a grant of $100,000 to the Participatory Culture Foundation in December 2010 specifically to support Amara, referencing looking to assist producers of online documentaries and other video creators in both translating and subtitling their productions.[6][7] Mozilla and the Knight Foundation invested a total of 1 million dollars into the project in 2011, citing support of global translations and the open web.[8][9] Mozilla awarded a grant of $100,000 in 2011,[9] while the Knight Foundation provided $250,000 in 2012.[10] Amara first hosted a "Translation Party" with PBS NewsHour in order to attempt to translate an interview into as many languages as possible on December 23, 2010,[11][12] then gained a partnership with PBS NewsHour in 2012 with a focus on translating videos to languages other than English.[13] Amara has been utilized by educational web start-ups Khan Academy and Coursera in order to allow for subtitles on public educational videos, with Coursera CEO stating that it was important to making accessible content to learners who did not have English as a first language.[4] In 2013, Amara released a feature that allowed users to connect their YouTube accounts to Amara and create subtitles for free that would show on both platforms. The website released an improved subtitling platform with this feature.[3]
Name changeEdit
Amara announced an official name transition from Universal Subtitles on April 5, 2012. The announcement cited the growth of the platform and increased potential to branch out of subtitling by using a less specific name. The name was chosen for several unspecified associations, but the announcement mentions the Spanish verb amar (to love) and that the word in Sanskrit means eternal.[14]
PartnershipEdit
Taghreedat and Amara announced a partnership on August 30, 2013, in order to expand Arabic outreach through collaboration and increasing accessibility. The Amara interface was translated and integrated completely in Arabic as a result.[15] On December 14, 2013, Amazon Smile listed Amara as one of its options for donation.[16]
Educational platformEdit
Ensemble Video, a multi-focused video company, partnered and integrated their service with Amara's subtitling editor on October 27, 2015, being the first higher-education educational platform to do so.[17] On October 17, 2014, Amara launched a new homepage design,[18] and on April 7, 2015, Amara switched its platform to a new API.[19]
AwardsEdit
Amara received a Tech Award in 2011 in the Equality category.[20][21] The FCC presented the Advancement in Accessibility Award to Amara on October 28, 2011.[22] It received the ninth Intercultural Innovation Award, a combined effort from the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the BMW Group, in 2011 for "bridging the gap" between languages.[23]
^Hopping, Clare (2014-11-03). "Vimeo upgrades captions and subtitles in bid for accessibility". Recombu. from the original on 2015-12-13. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^Dekena, Gundega (2012-11-08). "Join the Udacity Translation Project!". Udacity blog. from the original on 2016-03-20. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^ abSummers, Nick (2013-02-06). "Amara launches a free version of its crowdsourced subtitling platform for YouTube users". The Next Web. Amsterdam. from the original on 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
^ abCrotty, James Marshall (2012-08-31). "Amara's Wiki-Style Translation Platform Enables Global Growth Of Education Startups". Forbes. from the original on 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
^"Why We are Closing Amara's Source Code -". Amara Blog. 2020-01-13. from the original on 2020-01-14. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
^"Participatory Culture Foundation". MacArthur Foundation. from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^"Supporting Translation and Subtitling of Online Videos". MacArthur Foundation. from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^Heim, Anna (2012-05-10). "Knight Foundation and Mozilla invest $1m in crowdsourced video translation project Amara". The Next Web. Amsterdam. from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
^ ab"Universal Subtitles Grant". Mozilla. 2011. from the original on 2016-12-23. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
^amarasubs (2010-12-23). "Translation Party: PBS NewsHour". Amara - Blog. from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^"Geeking Out on Words Just Got Easier". PBS NewsHour. 2010-12-23. from the original on 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^Sreenavasan, Hari (2012-04-03). "Translate This: A Campaign in Every Language". PBS NewsHour. from the original on 2016-04-27. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
^amarasubs (2012-04-05). "Universal Subtitles is now 'Amara'". Amara - Blog. from the original on 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^nprpculture (2013-08-27). "Our new Arabic Language Partnership with Taghreedat". Amara - Blog. from the original on 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^amarasubs (2014-12-03). "Amazon shoppers: Here's an easy way to help Amara". Amara - Blog. from the original on 2016-09-10. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^"NEWS: Making Video Accessibility Simpler Than Ever". Notes from Ensemble Video. 2015-10-27. from the original on 2016-09-10. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^"Amara". Facebook. from the original on 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^pcfben (2015-04-07). "The New API is Here". Amara - Blog. from the original on 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^"Past Laureates". The Tech Museum of Innovation. 2015-09-01. from the original on 2016-07-02. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^The Tech Museum of Innovation (2011-11-02), The Tech Awards laureate 2011: Universal Subtitles, from the original on 2022-07-28, retrieved 2016-06-30
^"FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Joins Commissioner Michael Copps to Honor Innovators in Accessibility Communications Technologies". FCC (Press release). 2011-10-28. from the original on 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
^. The Intercultural Innovation Award. Archived from the original on 2014-01-15. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
External linksEdit
Official website
October 20, 2023
amara, organization, amara, formerly, known, universal, subtitles, based, profit, project, created, participatory, culture, foundation, that, hosts, allows, user, subtitled, video, accessed, created, users, upload, video, through, many, major, video, hosting, . Amara formerly known as Universal Subtitles is a web based non profit project created by the Participatory Culture Foundation that hosts and allows user subtitled video to be accessed and created Users upload video through many major video hosting websites such as YouTube Vimeo 1 and Ustream to subtitle AmaraType of siteLocalization management and crowdsourcingAvailable inEnglishOwnernonprofit 501 c 3 organizationURLamara wbr org wbr en wbr Current statusactiveIt uses crowdsourcing techniques to subtitle video as well as having a paid service for professionally created subtitles Users of the project and service include Mozilla PBS Khan Academy Netflix Twitter Coursera Udacity 2 and Google 3 Most companies listed have teams organized by Amara on the website that focus on translation and caption of videos Amara claims that it lowers the cost of captioning and translation by at least 95 percent because of their volunteer based system 4 The software for the Amara platform was previously open source software under the GNU Affero General Public License In January 2020 Amara announced that the platform would become proprietary and closed source citing that it wanted to have more control over how it is deployed and used and protect its work from being used by for profit companies in means that are inconsistent with its values 5 Contents 1 Grant 2 Name change 3 Partnership 4 Educational platform 5 Awards 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksGrant EditThe MacArthur Foundation issued a grant of 100 000 to the Participatory Culture Foundation in December 2010 specifically to support Amara referencing looking to assist producers of online documentaries and other video creators in both translating and subtitling their productions 6 7 Mozilla and the Knight Foundation invested a total of 1 million dollars into the project in 2011 citing support of global translations and the open web 8 9 Mozilla awarded a grant of 100 000 in 2011 9 while the Knight Foundation provided 250 000 in 2012 10 Amara first hosted a Translation Party with PBS NewsHour in order to attempt to translate an interview into as many languages as possible on December 23 2010 11 12 then gained a partnership with PBS NewsHour in 2012 with a focus on translating videos to languages other than English 13 Amara has been utilized by educational web start ups Khan Academy and Coursera in order to allow for subtitles on public educational videos with Coursera CEO stating that it was important to making accessible content to learners who did not have English as a first language 4 In 2013 Amara released a feature that allowed users to connect their YouTube accounts to Amara and create subtitles for free that would show on both platforms The website released an improved subtitling platform with this feature 3 Name change EditAmara announced an official name transition from Universal Subtitles on April 5 2012 The announcement cited the growth of the platform and increased potential to branch out of subtitling by using a less specific name The name was chosen for several unspecified associations but the announcement mentions the Spanish verb amar to love and that the word in Sanskrit means eternal 14 Partnership EditTaghreedat and Amara announced a partnership on August 30 2013 in order to expand Arabic outreach through collaboration and increasing accessibility The Amara interface was translated and integrated completely in Arabic as a result 15 On December 14 2013 Amazon Smile listed Amara as one of its options for donation 16 Educational platform EditEnsemble Video a multi focused video company partnered and integrated their service with Amara s subtitling editor on October 27 2015 being the first higher education educational platform to do so 17 On October 17 2014 Amara launched a new homepage design 18 and on April 7 2015 Amara switched its platform to a new API 19 Awards EditAmara received a Tech Award in 2011 in the Equality category 20 21 The FCC presented the Advancement in Accessibility Award to Amara on October 28 2011 22 It received the ninth Intercultural Innovation Award a combined effort from the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the BMW Group in 2011 for bridging the gap between languages 23 See also EditComparison of subtitle editorsReferences Edit Hopping Clare 2014 11 03 Vimeo upgrades captions and subtitles in bid for accessibility Recombu Archived from the original on 2015 12 13 Retrieved 2016 06 30 Dekena Gundega 2012 11 08 Join the Udacity Translation Project Udacity blog Archived from the original on 2016 03 20 Retrieved 2016 06 30 a b Summers Nick 2013 02 06 Amara launches a free version of its crowdsourced subtitling platform for YouTube users The Next Web Amsterdam Archived from the original on 2016 03 28 Retrieved 2016 06 23 a b Crotty James Marshall 2012 08 31 Amara s Wiki Style Translation Platform Enables Global Growth Of Education Startups Forbes Archived from the original on 2022 07 28 Retrieved 2016 06 23 Why We are Closing Amara s Source Code Amara Blog 2020 01 13 Archived from the original on 2020 01 14 Retrieved 2020 01 14 Participatory Culture Foundation MacArthur Foundation Archived from the original on 2017 08 19 Retrieved 2016 06 30 Supporting Translation and Subtitling of Online Videos MacArthur Foundation Archived from the original on 2017 08 19 Retrieved 2016 06 30 Heim Anna 2012 05 10 Knight Foundation and Mozilla invest 1m in crowdsourced video translation project Amara The Next Web Amsterdam Archived from the original on 2016 05 31 Retrieved 2016 06 23 a b Universal Subtitles Grant Mozilla 2011 Archived from the original on 2016 12 23 Retrieved 2016 06 23 Amara Grants John S and James L Knight Foundation 2012 01 01 Archived from the original on 2022 07 28 Retrieved 2016 06 23 amarasubs 2010 12 23 Translation Party PBS NewsHour Amara Blog Archived from the original on 2015 09 10 Retrieved 2016 06 30 Geeking Out on Words Just Got Easier PBS NewsHour 2010 12 23 Archived from the original on 2016 01 08 Retrieved 2016 06 30 Sreenavasan Hari 2012 04 03 Translate This A Campaign in Every Language PBS NewsHour Archived from the original on 2016 04 27 Retrieved 2016 06 23 amarasubs 2012 04 05 Universal Subtitles is now Amara Amara Blog Archived from the original on 2015 09 30 Retrieved 2016 06 30 nprpculture 2013 08 27 Our new Arabic Language Partnership with Taghreedat Amara Blog Archived from the original on 2015 09 29 Retrieved 2016 06 30 amarasubs 2014 12 03 Amazon shoppers Here s an easy way to help Amara Amara Blog Archived from the original on 2016 09 10 Retrieved 2016 06 30 NEWS Making Video Accessibility Simpler Than Ever Notes from Ensemble Video 2015 10 27 Archived from the original on 2016 09 10 Retrieved 2016 06 30 Amara Facebook Archived from the original on 2022 07 28 Retrieved 2016 06 30 pcfben 2015 04 07 The New API is Here Amara Blog Archived from the original on 2016 06 23 Retrieved 2016 06 30 Past Laureates The Tech Museum of Innovation 2015 09 01 Archived from the original on 2016 07 02 Retrieved 2016 06 30 The Tech Museum of Innovation 2011 11 02 The Tech Awards laureate 2011 Universal Subtitles archived from the original on 2022 07 28 retrieved 2016 06 30 FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Joins Commissioner Michael Copps to Honor Innovators in Accessibility Communications Technologies FCC Press release 2011 10 28 Archived from the original on 2021 07 30 Retrieved 2016 06 30 AMARA Universal Subtitles The Intercultural Innovation Award Archived from the original on 2014 01 15 Retrieved 2016 06 30 External links EditOfficial website nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Amara organization amp oldid 1174362566, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
