FOSS Backstage 2025

Right-to-Left, Left-to-Right: Rethinking Multilingual Design
2025-03-11 , Wintergarten

Open Science materials, created by open source often centre on English, sidelining 75% of the world who don't speak it. In this session, we share the creation of "Open Science MOOCs" for Arabic speakers blending videos, quizzes and RTL-friendly design. Learn how we navigated multilingual UX challenges to build truly inclusive Open Science resources


Open Science aims to be inclusive, yet its materials are overwhelmingly designed for English-speaking audiences—excluding 75% of people globally. In this session, we’ll share how we tackled this challenge in our Arabic-speaking community by creating "Open Science MOOCs," a platform with videos, quizzes, and guides tailored for Right-to-Left (RTL) users.

We’ll explore the nuances of designing a user experience that works smoothly for both RTL and LTR audiences, where everything—from layout to navigation—mirrors each other to create true accessibility. Our presentation will focus on the practical lessons we’ve learned, the challenges of multilingual UX design, and how others can apply these insights to build more inclusive platforms.

Join us to rethink what it means to make Open Science/open source truly open for everyone.

I'm an honorary research fellow at the University of Liverpool and a Research Project Manager for AI for Multiple Long Term Conditions: Research Support Facility (AIM RSF) at the Alan Turing Institute. I believe that Open science is fundamentally about  decolonisation by challenging the legacy of settler colonialism, which often marginalised Indigenous knowledge systems, and by promoting the integration and respect of these diverse perspectives in the broader scientific discourse. I lead the Open Science community Saudi Arabia (OSCSA) which introduces and contextualises Open Science practices in Arabic-speaking countries.

I am a software developer and open source contributor. I build innovation into systems. I work with diverse stakeholders in the open science community to build projects for greater impact.

Richie Moluno is a Software Engineer and open-source contributor with a passion for improving data science and software development practices. He's on a Masters program in Robotics and Autonomous Systems at Aston University, Birmingham UK. Richie's open-source contributions are notable for their impact and innovation. At The Turing Way, he automated the attribution of contributors and enhanced localization efforts, making the project more accessible. He also played a key role in the Open Innovation Lab. Richie developed JSquarto, a tool for generating JavaScript code documentation, enhancing flexibility and accessibility across multiple languages