our work
The International Plain Language Federation brings together plain language organisations and individuals. We promote the public benefits of plain language and improve professional practice.
about us
The International Plain Language Federation was established in 2007 as a joint project of three organizations – the Center for Plain Language, Clarity and the Plain Language Association International (PLAIN). We work together to advance plain language as a profession.
We are managed by a board made up of representatives of these three organisations.
Our Agenda
Our current priorities
International standard
Developing an international standard for plain language.
Training and certification
Exploring options for training and certifying plain language practitioners.
developing an international standard
One of our main activities right now is developing an international plain language standard.
We have been working towards an optional multi-language standard for plain language under the auspices of the International Standards’ Organization (ISO). The Standards Project has been on our agenda since the we were established in 2009.
In 2018, Clarity published a special edition of their journal, dedicated to this standards work.
The International Plain Language Federation’s efforts to establish an international, multi-language, plain language standard took one giant step forward in Ottawa, Canada during the week of June 23, 2019. There, a proposal for a plain language standard was considered as part of a week-long meeting of Technical Committee 37 (TC 37) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The proposal ― instigated by the International Plain Language Federation―was put to the ISO by Standards Australia.
At the Ottawa meeting’s closing session on June 28, TC 37’s steering committee announced that it had agreed that Standards Australia’s proposal to develop an international standard for plain language could go forward for a vote of all the Committee’s members.
TC 37’s vote on the proposal closed on September 25, 2019. We announced the result of the vote at PLAIN’s 2019 in Oslo, Norway.
Read more, including about what you can do to support, here.
Standards working group
| Christopher Balmford Australia Bede Sunter Karen Schriver Rosa Margarita Galán Vélez Gael Spivak | Anne-Marie Hasselrot Sweden Joanna Richardson Lynda Harris Sissel C. Motzfeldt Milva Finnegan | Annetta Cheek United States Joh Kirby Miguel Martinho Susan Kleimann Nicole Fernbach |