<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">Natalia Matveeva, <a href="mailto:matveevan@uhd.edu" target="_blank">matveevan@uhd.edu</a><br></div><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="gmail_attr">9th Biannual Forum on Plain English at the University of Houston-Downtown, February 29, 2024<br></div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr"><br></div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">Dear Colleagues,<br></div><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr">We are pleased to invite you and your students to participate in the 9th Biannual Forum on Plain English organized by the Institute for Plain English Research and Study (IPERS) at the University of Houston-Downtown. The forum will take place via ZOOM on Thursday, February 29, 2024 (10am-3pm, Central). It aims to promote informed uses of Plain English guidelines, which are writing standards recommended by several government agencies for improved communications with the general public. The event is free of charge. <br><br><b>Presenter:</b><br>Professor Michael Blasie is the nation’s foremost expert on plain language laws and an Assistant Professor at Seattle University Law School. He served as a keynote speaker at the 2023 international plain language conference. He authored United States Plain Language Laws, the first book to analyze all US plain language laws. <br><br>Professor Blasie is a nationally and internationally recognized legal writing expert. As a National Judicial College writing instructor, he teaches judges. He presents internationally, including in Argentina, India, Kazakhstan, and Turkey. He graduated from Hamilton College and NYU Law School, practiced law for ten years, and served as a law clerk for Judge David Richman.<br><br>Our one-day forum will address the following topic:<br><ul><li style="margin-left:15px">How Laws Can Help and Hurt Plain Language in Legal Documents<br></li></ul>For the program, see the flyer: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oOyT55c9X5Q-C6UJXmuyj75ThtBNkcd5/view?usp=drive_link" target="_blank">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oOyT55c9X5Q-C6UJXmuyj75ThtBNkcd5/view?usp=drive_link</a> </div><div dir="ltr"><br><b>Date and Time</b>: 10a.m.-3p.m. (Central), Thursday, February 29, 2024<br><br><b>Location</b>: ZOOM (The link will be sent via email. Please register using the link below.)<br><br><b>Registration Deadline</b>: Monday, February 26, 2024<br><br>Register for the forum using our online registration: <a href="https://uhd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9yNvjyEE91YmWpM" target="_blank">https://uhd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9yNvjyEE91YmWpM</a> <div><br>Please provide your working email address so that we could contact you with the link to the ZOOM session.<br><br><b>Sponsors and Supporters</b>: This program is made possible by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Institute for Plain English Research and Study (IPERS) at UHD.<br><br><b>Contact Information</b>: If you have any questions, please email us at <a href="mailto:matveevan@uhd.edu" target="_blank">matveevan@uhd.edu</a>. We are looking forward to seeing you at the forum.<br><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial">Natalia Matveeva, Ph.D.</span><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">Professor, Corporate Communication</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">Communication Studies</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">Co-director, Institute for Plain English Research
and Study (IPERS)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">Department of Arts and Communication </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">University of Houston-Downtown</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">(713) 222-5371</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><a href="http://www.uhd.edu/ipers" target="_blank"><span style="color:#0563c1">www.uhd.edu/ipers</span></a></span></p></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
</div></div></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><br></span></p></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div>