In five languages

One story, rewritten for every reader.

Arabic is our first language, and from it we move into English, Kurdish, French and Japanese. This site speaks all five, each in its own script and direction.
  • العربيةاقرأ UNPLANNED MEDIA بالعربية، من اليمين إلى اليسار.
  • EnglishRead UNPLANNED MEDIA in English, from left to right.
  • کوردیUNPLANNED MEDIA بە کوردی بخوێنەوە، لە ڕاستەوە بۆ چەپ.
  • FrançaisLisez UNPLANNED MEDIA en français, de gauche à droite.
  • 日本語UNPLANNED MEDIAを日本語で。横書きで、左から右へ。

From Iraq

We start in Iraq, and write for every reader.

An illustration of the site's languages; it marks no offices and claims no figures.

Each in its script

Global by design

How we write in five languages

  1. We never translate word for word; we rewrite the story for its reader, in their own phrases and the rhythm of their language.
  2. We designed the site for Arabic and Kurdish from right to left, rather than flipping a design made for other languages.
  3. Each language has its script and its typographic rules: punctuation, numerals and where a line may break.
The Middle East and its surroundings at night in 2016: dark land and sea, with the lights of cities and roads shining gold along the coasts and rivers.
At night from orbit, a bright fan of city lights traces the Nile Delta and the thin line of the river south through the dark desert.

The site and the stories

This site is in five languages. Our stories are born in Arabic first, and we are working to bring them into more languages.

Choose your language

You can change the language at any time, from the top or the bottom of the page.

Explore the worlds