Microsoft: Adlam

For the 60 million Fulani people spread across West Africa, the preservation of their culture had been threatened because they didn’t have an alphabet or writing system for their language. So brothers Abdoulaye and Ibrahima Barry set out to preserve the Fulani language and culture from imminent extinction by developing ADLaM, a handwritten alphabet crucial for cultural preservation. To ensure the culture would continue to be preserved in the digital age, however, they needed to make sure the alphabet translated to modern-day platforms. So in partnership with Microsoft, the Barry brothers’ developed digital font, ADLaM Display, embedded in Microsoft 365 applications and globally available through Google Fonts.

We worked with the Fulani community to ensure their alphabet would reflect their full visual culture. We researched hundreds of traditional textile patterns and designs, using Fulani graphic elements from textiles in the final typeface.

Truth Well Told: We launched on over 1 billion devices around the world, and the alphabet and typeface, ADLaM Display, is now embedded within Microsoft 365 applications like Outlook and Word reaching over 1 billion devices around the world.

Access for the Fulani community wasn’t limited to Microsoft devices. Microsoft shared the ADLaM Display typeface with Google, who made it available on their Google Fonts platform.

We also concentrated on adoption. Working with the brothers, we created and distributed books to learn to read and write the alphabet in ADLaM schools to move from the chalkboard to the books and computers.

The initiative also included the launch of schools teaching AdLam in five countries from 2023-2024 (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and The Gambia). ADLaM will be taught to 2 million students in Guinea in the next five years as part of the government’s Sustainable Development Strategy. Mali is adding ADLaM as an official alphabet in their Constitution which will expand access to teaching it in public schools. The community embraced the alphabet with an online dictionary with #ADLaMRe and used the alphabet in local businesses. ADLaM Display will impact other languages—the Bambara, Bozo and Dogon languages share phonology and syntax with Pulaar.

Beyond providing digital access and education, ADLaM has strengthened cultural pride and boosted the economy of the Fulani community, showcasing the power of collaboration between technology and community leadership in cultural preservation and empowerment.