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A lot of us take little things in life for granted – things like telling grandma what you had for lunch or cracking a joke with your partner. But imagine for a second what these experiences are like for those relatives and friends who happen to have different native languages. For millions of people around the world, a simple chat can turn into a bit of a mission.
Last December, Rask AI Team got to thinking about how cool it would be to lift those barriers – if not forever, then as a special gift for the holiday season, when connections with your loved ones become even more precious.
Here’s what we came up with.
Breaking through the barrier
In recent years, the complex relationships in intercultural families and families with immigrant or indigenous backgrounds have become a popular topic in the media. From Oscar-nominated films to hit comedy specials, from museum halls to the theater stage, the exploration of the intercultural experience has captured audiences worldwide.
At the heart of these stories is a theme that touches many: the challenge of overcoming language barriers with those closest to us. This issue is especially pertinent for second and third-wave migrants, as well as individuals in mixed marriages or friendships. In the USA alone, 12.9% of the population – around 40 million people – are first-generation immigrants, and hundreds of millions have an immigrant past, leading to multilingual family setups.
As we were scrolling through emotional accounts like these, we thought: hold on a second… Rask AI is a natural at preserving the warmth and sincerity of a voice even in translation! And that's how the concept of the campaign was born. Launched on the eve of the holiday season in December 2023, Translate Your Heart unites and celebrates people who have to face a language barrier in their closest relationships.
Here’s how it works: we created a dedicated landing page that allows users to upload and redub short personal videos. We made access to the technology as simple as possible by eliminating registration and offering the service for free. Rask AI’s VoiceClone feature took central stage – after all, there’s no better way to maintain emotional connection than to hear a familiar voice in the translated video.
Translate Your Heart: real-life stories
To show the campaign in action, we filmed a series of videos with real heroes from different countries who shared their experiences.
Alisha, a student with a German mother and an Ivorian father, grew up speaking German. Her visit to the Ivory Coast to meet her paternal family was pivotal, experiencing a profound sense of belonging despite language barriers. In the Translate Your Heart campaign, Alisha created a heartwarming message for her father in French, one of his native languages.
Jerome is Indonesian student with Chinese heritage, who now lives in Japan and navigates between Japanese, English, and Indonesian languages. Using Rask AI, he recorded a simple yet emotional message for his Chinese-speaking grandparents, showing that for people facing language barriers, even a mundane message can be significant.
Stephanie, born in Colombia and raised in Spain, is fluent in Spanish, English, French, and Italian. Now living in Germany after marrying into a local family, she’s tackling the challenge of learning another language. Rask AI’s campaign inspired Stephanie to record and dub a message for her husband’s grandmother, expressing her affection in fluent German.
We invited bloggers and influencers from across the globe to participate in the campaign, and the response was overwhelming. Despite diverse origins — spanning the USA, Philippines, Canada, Ukraine, Germany, Turkey, Mexico, and beyond — this theme resonated universally. Each participant shared a unique story, highlighting how Rask AI played a pivotal role in helping them express those crucial, heartfelt messages.
Nina Monzolevska @ninamonzolevska
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C161qY3ymcm/?igsh=MXJtcHMzOHV5c3NvNw%3D%3D
Leah @heyoleahpinay
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2PiepqCpxa/
Parminder & Melissa Deol @lissandnikk
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1_QRWbrJHH/?igsh=dTV2bTU1aTUwZjgy
Louie & Mandy Nappi @nappifam
https://www.instagram.com/p/C191K59sChM/
McKenzie @mrthankyouplease
https://www.tiktok.com/@mrthankyouplease/video/7326498753223871752
Closing word from the team
As a team, we believe that technology should do more than just impress; it should make a real difference in everyday life. AI is a tool that can address meaningful issues and serve a regular person in practical ways.
Massive thanks to everyone who participated and translated their hearts with us. Over 3000 videos in 20 days and more than 4.5 million impressions on social media – not bad for our first global campaign of this kind!
Don’t miss your chance to join in and create your own video messages in various languages for your loved ones.
Stay tuned for more creative projects from Rask AI!
