The Land Portal Foundation is glad to bring your attention to a new and improved version of a powerful information tool called LandVoc, which is referred to as LandVoc 2.0! 



In these difficult times, access to accurate and timely information has become an essential service and it is our collective responsibility to make sure that information is kept out of lockdown.  A controlled vocabulary and linking tool, LandVoc encourages the transparency and accountability that our lives and livelihoods are dependent on.  

What is LandVoc? 

LandVoc is a land governance thesaurus consisting of 310 concepts, which are translated into multiple languages. Once LandVoc is adopted, pieces of information are classified and tagged according to concepts within the thesaurus.  LandVoc then works as a linking tool. Properly tagged and classified pieces of content are bridged to thousands of other related pieces of information, in a variety of languages from all over the world! 

 

What are the newest developments with regards to LandVoc 2.0? 

While LandVoc has been in use since 2012, today, we are launching a new and improved version of LandVoc - LandVoc 2.0! 



LandVoc is a living thesaurus of concepts related to land governance.  As language and use of land governance terminology is constantly evolving, so must LandVoc. Thus 80 new concepts have been added to LandVoc, while 37 concepts have been consolidated or removed based on guidance from a range of experts.  Just a few of the latest terms include perception of tenure security, slum upgrading and usufruct.



Furthermore, thanks to our community of partners based around the world, concepts are continuously being translated based on local use and context.  LandVoc is currently available in Arabic, Burmese, English, French, Khmer, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, Thai and Vietnamese.

 

Finally, LandVoc has been transformed into a hierarchy of concepts rather than a simple list. Showing horizontal and vertical relationships between the concepts enables greater understanding and the possibility of specifying broader or narrower terms as well as synonyms. 

How can I learn more about LandVoc? 

To learn more about how to benefit from and use LandVoc, you are invited to follow this campaign by subscribing to the LandVoc bulletin. 



We are also establishing a small Community of Experts to help us with further managing and developing LandVoc.  With this in mind, a LandVoc Community of Experts virtual workshop is being organized in close collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Workshop outcomes will be published in a report. If you are interested in becoming part of such a community of experts, please contact us at [email protected]. 



Furthermore, the Land Portal is currently in the process of putting together a Knowledge Lab on LandVoc that aims to increase the use of LandVoc and its relevance as a tool that can be employed with ease by institutions and organizations working on land issues, from local civil society organizations and national land commissions to international NGOs and research institutes. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in adopting LandVoc in your repository,  database or website. Stay tuned here to learn how other organizations are using it! 

 

Finally, for more detailed information on LandVoc, we encourage you to visit https://www.landvoc.org