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Praise for Transcribe Bentham from the German government!

By Tim Causer, on 4 March 2015

Here at Bentham Towers we were all delighted – and not a little surprised – to hear that the German Secretary of State for Education and Research, Cornelia Quennet-Thielen, gave praise to Transcribe Bentham as a key example of how scholars and the general public can fruitfully collaborate, in a speech to yesterday’s Digital Humanities 2015 summit in Berlin.

Below is a brief extract from the relevant part of her speech (we are very grateful to our friend and colleague, Dr Angela Marciniak, for acquiring a copy of the speech, and to Angela and Dr Michael Quinn of the Bentham Project for the translation).

(…) Please, give more opportunities to interested people to deepen their knowledge online, and don’t forget that this is best achieved by employing user-friendly software.

The London “Transcribe Bentham” Project, which combines open participation and safe-guards for high quality, is a fascinating example of such an approach. Already on its homepage, everyone is able to see how far the transcription of the manuscripts of Jeremy Bentham has advanced. Anyone may open one of the 169 archive boxes virtually, and to sign up to become a transcriber. Maybe “Transcribe Bentham” could also become an inspiration for projects in Germany, not only to disseminate their research among interested parties but to encourage people to participate in.”

We are extremely grateful to the Secretary of State for these warm words, and TB volunteers should be extremely proud that their efforts are being internationally recognised.

One Response to “Praise for Transcribe Bentham from the German government!”

  • 1
    Progress update, 28 February to 6 March 2015 | UCL Transcribe Bentham wrote on 6 March 2015:

    […] Welcome along to the progress update for the period 28 March to 6 March 2015, during which time further steady progress has been made by TB volunteers. It should also be noted that during the last week, the work of Transcribe Bentham and its volunteers attracted the praise of the German federal government! […]

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