MyLanguage - A New Website for Multicultural Australia
 
After six years of operation, MyLanguage, a web portal to millions of multilingual information resources for new and emergent Australian communities was relaunched at the FECCA Conference in Adelaide this month.

Mr Hieu Van Le, Lieutenant Governor of South Australia and Chairman of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission recently launched the new MyLanguage web portal saying:

‘What we have in MyLanguage is perhaps one of the most valuable tools for living that newly arrived Australians can get their hands on today. It provides a whole suite of important pieces of information – and in more than 65 languages.

If you've just settled here, if your English is still developing, and if you're looking to find your feet in a rather unfamiliar place, then this is the website for you,’ he said.

MyLanguage reflects Australia’s position as one of the most multicultural countries on earth and seeks to simplify access to important online information resources for a culturally and linguistically diverse population.

The new portal provides clear links to multilingual search engines, web directories, government websites, online dictionaries, and syndicated news headlines. It also contains translations of online government and community information relating to health, legal issues, settlement, education and public libraries along with information on multilingual library collections around Australia.

MyLanguage national manager, Brendan Fitzgerald, says the new MyLanguage is all about making life easier and more inclusive for Australia’s non-English speaking population.

‘Through the delivery of quality language services MyLanguage ensures that individuals from non-English speaking communities have fair and equitable access to services such as health, education, housing and the justice system.’

MyLanguage is a joint partnership between the State Libraries of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia; Public Libraries Services South Australia, the Northern Territory Library and Libraries ACT. ‘Libraries have always been gateways to information. It makes sense that libraries around Australia should deliver this service and make information more accessible for Australia’s diverse communities,’ said Fitzgerald.

 The new MyLanguage is now live at: http://mylanguage.gov.au/