Microsoft: Adlam – An alphabet to preserve a culture

Socrates Papazoglou

Global tech brand Microsoft collaborated with Abdoulaye and Ibrahima Barry, the brothers who created the ADLaM alphabet, to ensure that the Fulani people had access to digital ecosystems, preserve their language and culture, and expand access to literacy.

Campaign details

Brand: Microsoft Brand owner: Microsoft Entrant company: McCANN, USAIdea creation: McCann New York Market: Middle East & North Africa (general region) Sector: Information technology Media channels: Social media 

Executive summary

The UN predicts that 90% of the world’s languages could be extinct within the century. Pulaar, the language of the Fulani people, a West African community of 60 million people spread across the world, was one of them. Pulaar had no writing system. In 1989, two brothers, Abdoulaye and Ibrahima Barry wanting to...

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