Author: Translators without Borders

Lali Foster, Communications Manager at Translators without Borders, responds to the European Refugee Crisis with an update from work on the ground in Lesvos, Greece.

‘Today, a seasoned humanitarian worker told me he had never understood how important language was in humanitarian crises until he started working on the European refugee response. Why? Because refugees travelling through Europe need clear information they can understand at every point in their journey. They need it to move, to work their way through complex asylum procedures and keep safe, healthy and warm. With very few Arabic and Farsi speakers (let alone Urdu, Pashto, Dari) on the ground in Greece and up through the Balkan route, TWB’s remote translation support has never been so urgently needed.

As you can imagine, Translators without Borders Rapid Response Teams have been extremely busy. We are guided by three priorities in managing our workload: 1. Addressing urgent humanitarian messaging widely across the affected population. 2. Expanding the geographical reach of our work to each stage of the refugee journey, 3. Adapting quickly to the ever-changing needs of this crisis. To date, our team of 100 professional translators acting as rapid responders has produced 5,000 words of key health information (including winter and protection info) and 5,000 words of longer-term and asylum information, which has been disseminated through key partners where it is needed the most.
Our teams have been working all day, every day to produce an enormous variety of messages that include over 100,000 words of rapidly changing information translated into Arabic, Dari, Farsi, French, Greek, Kurdish, Pashto, and Urdu. These include, but are not limited to, signage, health advice, guidelines for volunteers and staff, audio messaging, maps, ATM use instructions, scripts for radio, vocabulary lists for volunteers working at shore sites, web content, travel advice, newspaper articles, and legislation. With such critical information, the trust our humanitarian partners put in our speed and accuracy is enormous. I’m really proud to be working with such professional teams because so many humanitarians here now depend on our work to do theirs.’

Introducing additions to the Translators without Borders team

TWB recently appointed two new senior staff positions, Executive Director and Director of External Affairs, making this an exciting and important year for realizing the growth potential of the organization.

Over the past four years, TWB has become stronger and stronger, developed partnerships and continues to steadily expand, and elevating the message that communications in the right language is vital for humanitarian development. Today, more than 3,200 professional translators support the organization, offering their skills pro bono, to spread knowledge worldwide. In early February, TWB reached a major milestone of 30 million words translated for over 500 humanitarian organizations using its web-based Translators without Borders Workspace (check out the map below showing some of the work that kept us busy in 2015). To build on this work and to reach new heights, TWB now has two more staff members to make this happen.

New Executive Director Aimee Ansari said, “I’m very excited to be leading such an innovative organization with so much potential.  There is an ever present need to provide lifesaving information to people in languages they can understand. But seemingly less urgent needs sometimes go unnoticed, such as the need for mothers to understand baby formula instructions or a HIV patient’s need to understand their doctors instructions on how to take their medicine correctly. Translators without Borders will continue to respond to both emergency and longer term needs associated with language and communication barriers.”

“Our volunteer base is the foundation of the organization; we couldn’t provide the services we do, without them.  I look forward to leveraging their valuable work to help the organization grow and to have even greater impact.  Our workspace, donated by ProZ.com, is one example of how I hope TWB can use technology to help people in crises to live with dignity,” said Amy Rose Mc Govern, new Director of External Affairs.

Translators without Borders welcomes our new staff

Aimee Ansari, Executive Director

Aimee brings 20 years of experience in leadership positions in large humanitarian and development organizations.  She has worked in several humanitarian crises from the Tajik civil war to the earthquake in Haiti, the conflicts in the Balkans to the Syrian refugee crisis and the conflict in South Sudan.  Her passion is listening to people and helping them create a future for themselves that allows them to thrive.  She believes in developing and implementing strategies that apply creative approaches to seemingly intractable problems.  Aimee speaks English and French and is conversant in Russian and Arabic.

Amy Rose Mc Govern, Director of External Affairs

Amy Rose has a background in international relations and joins Translators without Borders with over ten years experience in program management and communications in the international development cooperation sector. She has worked with NGOs, governments and institutional donors in Africa, Asia and Europe. Amy Rose is a qualified translator and interpreter (French and Spanish) and holds a degree in International Relations.

The TWB Translator Training Center in Kenya has moved location from Upper Hill to a bit more downtown (see new address below). When you happen to be in town, come look us up. The team of Phoebe Maina and Paul Warambo will be happy to show the work we do there.

Since the start in 2012, the Center has provided basic translation training to over 250 people (I had to do the calculations for a recent presentation!) Most people attended our 1-week introductory translation training. Approximately 30 people continued with a 6-week advanced training course. Under special circumstances, such as a response to an emergency, we have also delivered short training sessions varying between a few hours of online training to 2 days training in our Center. This training was for crisis intervention translation teams that respond to a specific need, such as the Ebola crisis, the Burundi election riots, the Nepal earthquake, and more recently, for the European Refugee crisis.

Rapid Response Translation Teams for European refugee crisis

Paul Warambo, the translation manager at TWB Nairobi, Kenya, is managing part of the translation activities where translators work in shifts to provide translations from English into Arabic, Farsi, and Greek. Paul recruited 20 rapid response translators for each language combination and formed 2 teams per language.  Translation is also provided for Urdu, Dari, and Pashto. These languages are managed in the TWB Workspace, a web-based platform powered by www.proZ.com, that facilitates the work that thousands of professional volunteer translators do. The translators are located all around the world and include quite a few Syrians, Afghans, and Iraqi who live in Europe or in the US and support their compatriots this way. The Rapid Response Teams communicate primarily by using Skype groups.

All documents requiring translation are converted to Google Docs and translators receive a link to the article to translate. After the initial translation is completed, another member of the translation team reviews the text. After both translators agree, the customer receives a link to download the translation. Speed is key and sometimes the translation is available within the hour after receiving the source text. The work continues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We partner with organizations such as: International Red Cross and Crescent, Internews, the Danish Refugee Council, Norwegian Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, Catholic Rescue Service, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the Mercy Corps, and local partners.

We translate posters and flyers for use in the refugee camps, such as information on where to get food, where the toilets are, and where supplies are distributed. Ferry schedules and locations and updates on ferry strikes or accidents are translated for publication. Other topics include asylum rights, disease outbreaks, and more. We also translate daily weather reports for Internews, which is important for many people.

Training for Rapid Response Translation Teams

In the Kenya office, we recently revised our translator training materials used to train refugee crisis translators. TWB’s translation and training volunteer, Abdelah Lomri, took a few months off and is now presenting the training sessions in Greece. The main module of the program is “Introduction to translation for rapid response translation teams”. In addition, some basic medical modules will be given. Various topics like hypothermia, cholera, and tuberculosis health messages are vital to refugees.

In 2015 we focused on the Ebola crisis. Currently, our priority is the European refugee crisis. We have constant flow of  rising needs like the growing Zika virus crisis. The TWB Kenya Translation Center continues to play a vital role in many of TWB’s important projects worldwide.

Kenya office address: 1st Ngong Avenue, ACK Garden House, Nairobi.

Postal address : TWB Kenya, c/o RedR UK Kenya, P.O. Box 51645-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In its stated mission to promote a world where knowledge knows no language barriers, Translators without Borders (TWB) has taken another major step forward, working with Microsoft to launch Kiswahili (also known as Swahili) translation through Microsoft Translator. This is welcome news for the estimated 150 million Kiswahili speakers throughout East Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kiswahili is the first African language to be added to the automatic translation service.

Launched in Nairobi, Kenya in October 2015 by Microsoft, Kiswahili text translation runs on Microsoft cloud services and has been integrated across Microsoft’s product range, including Microsoft Office, Microsoft Translator apps (Windows, Android and iOS), and Cortana, among others. This effectively means that users can translate text into and out of the Kiswahili language anywhere and at any time. Kiswahili is also now available as an instant messaging language on Skype for Windows Desktop (www.skype.com) for real-time global communication.

“Government bodies and NGOs in Kiswahili-speaking countries can now produce documents and information at virtually no cost and communicate rapidly with local communities,” explains Will Lewis, Principal Technical Program Manager, Microsoft Machine Translation and Skype Translator. “They, businesses and private individuals can all benefit, as communications difficulties between Kiswahili and non-Kiswahili speakers become a thing of the past.”

“Working with Translators without Borders on this ground-breaking initiative has been very satisfying,” Lewis adds. “Our mission at Microsoft, as the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, is to empower every person and every organization on the planet, so we wholeheartedly support TWB’s humanitarian goals.”

Written by Sarah Powell

Interviewee: Will Lewis, Principal Technical Program Manager, Microsoft Machine Translation and Skype Translator

Internews and Translators without Borders are collaborating on a very important project in Greece and the Balkans. NewsthatMoves is  a humanitarian information service that provides refugees along the migrant routes in Europe with fast, accurate, and useful daily information to their mobile phones, online,and through social media.

In addition, NewsthatMoves is the Mediterranean Rumor Tracker, which tracks and collects the rumors among refugee communities passing through Europe. By identifying misinformation and hearsay and responding to it with relevant, factual information, NewsThatMoves aims to keep the refugee population well informed and safe. The service is available on mobile phones and it is linked to www.refugeeinfo.eu, which is managed by the International Rescue Committee. The site is shared via volunteer networks throughout the Balkans and Greece and its impact has been growing steadily over the past months. Rumors also has an offline component whereby communication in print and audio format is produced for people arriving in Lesvos. This includes information about registration, essential services, and options about what they can do next.

As part of its Words of Relief* project that responds to the European Refugee Crisis, Translators without Borders provides daily rapid response translation of news reports for NewsthatMoves into Arabic, Farsi, and Greek. It is critical that the information is provided in the languages of the people who need it. From updates on border closures, to ferry strike notifications and changing immigration procedures, Internews and Translators without Borders are keeping refugees along the migration route informed and empowered to help themselves.

*Words of Relief is a Translators without Borders (TWB) project designed to provide local language translation services to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), UN agencies, and other actors during times of crisis and humanitarian response.

Sofia Vlavianou

1. Why did you decide to participate in the work of the Rapid Response Team (RRT)?

I have always admired the work of TWB and have made donations via my translation company, so when the RRT was formed I was happy to have an opportunity to offer some of my time to such a worthy cause.

2. What are your daily activities for the RRT?

Usually I spend about an hour a day translating news items and articles, or editing. The Skype group for the RRT is a great environment to work in, with excellent translators who like working together and ensuring a quick turnaround for vital pieces of information for refugees and refugee workers.

3. What are your views about the current refugee crisis in Europe?

I am greatly saddened by both the refugee crisis and the way it is being handled by Europe and the world. I think it is disgraceful that any nation should find excuses to turn its back on people in need, especially considering that most European countries have, at one time or another in history, experienced crises which forced their peoples to become refugees or migrants. As for my own country, Greece, I fear that it has been saddled with a burden that is much too heavy for it to bear, coming as it does on the back of a long-standing economic crisis.

4. Why do you think that language is important in such situations?

Certain concepts are universal and do not require language: stretching out to grab a child from the sea, handing a warm blanket to someone who is soaking wet, feeding someone who is starving. Beyond that, though, language, i.e. communication, is everything. Any concerted effort to provide assistance is based on being able to communicate with the people being assisted. Being organized also requires having a common language, to understand what people need, to communicate with the authorities. In this crisis, where the linguistic barriers are many and difficult, the role of translators and interpreters is vital.

5. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I am a full-time translator and interpreter based in Athens, Greece, wife to Nikos and mum to Manos. I am half Greek and half English and grew up on the remote Cycladic island of Amorgos. I studied in Manchester (UK) and in Naples (Italy). I enjoy traveling and am addicted to running! My dream is to run the Antarctic marathon one day.

 

Farzaneh Tamnanloo

People are always looking for peace, but today’s world is full of violence and cruelty. Everyone must do what they can to help make peace. I can understand the pain of people who have left their homes and have abandoned everything to survive. Many years ago, in my country, Iran, I saw people who were homeless after a severe flood. They had lost everything, but at least they could speak or communicate with others to get help. But refugees, in addition to their dire situation, cannot even discuss their basic needs ‫ with those trying to assist them. So I decided to become part of a Rapid Response Translation Team.

We translate news, information about camps and registration centers, weather reports, and instructions for asylum seekers. I usually translate about 300 to 1000 words per day as part of the Rapid Response Team. I also have an active profile in the TWB Workspace‫.

Language is one of the fundamental human needs. In this critical situation, people are suffering from psychological pressure, as well as the loss of their homes and family members. The suffering caused by not understanding other people’s words, should not be an additional obstacle to refugees. Translation helps to remedy this situation.

I’m a biologist. I have a Master of Science in Plant Developmental Biology. Plant tissue culture is my primary profession. Currently, I am working as an R&D manager of a research center. After finishing an English course, and because of my interest in translation, I started to work as a translator in specialized fields related to biology, medicine, chemistry, and agriculture. I now have more than eight years of translation experience.

 

Ahmed Samir

Volunteer work brings me a lot of joy and gives me a window to escape from deadline stress and stiff commercial content. Volunteering for a Rapid Response Team with Translators without Borders has given me the chance to really enjoy translation. It has given me the opportunity to communicate with other translators and coordinators across the region and globally. Collaborating with peers turns the process into an online rhythmic dance where everyone translates and edits each other’s work. There is a spirit that unites us as a team; there are vulnerable people and volunteers on the ground, struggling in extreme conditions and we should help them with our tiny in-house efforts.

I mainly edit media roundups, refugee stories and other journalistic material, but I sometimes join in the translation efforts for the Rapid Response Team and exchange information, guidelines and suggestions with other contributors. This dialogue has been constructive. Throughout last year, the project management response was impressive and professional. It provided the necessary help and orientation to raise awareness of the cause we are supporting.  I believe it would be useful to create a proprietary software platform that may further orchestrate the process and enhance consistency and terminology unification. Also, it could speed up the pace of delivery and increase quality.

In the coming year, more work is needed, as the constant flow of refugees on a painful journey to where they think might be a new home continues. Language can be a tool to alleviate their grief. Even a translated sign or welcome note in a registration camp could make a difference and enhance relationships.

I work as a translator in Cairo, but sometimes feel that a linguist is just a small gear in a huge machine, processing languages for profit.  However, volunteer projects or community translation help to remedy this situation.

 

 

In February, TWB announced the winners of the 3rd Access to Knowledge Awards.  The awards recognize individuals or organizations that contributed outstanding work that exemplifies the our mission to translate for humanity.

The Access to Knowledge Awards began in 2012 to honor volunteers, donors, and non-profit partners.  The awards are given within each of the organization’s six pillars: Organizational Excellence, Translator Community and Workspace, Training, Nonprofit Partnerships, Financial Sustainability, Awareness and Communications. The Translators without Borders Board of Directors, staff, and advisers nominate candidates and vote for 6 winners. In addition, a number of honorable mentions are also awarded.

“Without the assistance this past year from all our dedicated supporters, Translators without Borders would not have succeeded in helping as many people and translating as many words as we did”, said Aimee Ansari, Executive Director of Translators without Borders. “We reached the major milestone of 30 million words translated earlier this year. In 2015, we activated the Words of Relief crisis relief network to respond yet again to an urgent crisis (the European refugee crisis), and we continue to build the capacity and to train translators in our field office in Kenya.  These are just examples of the work that is being done and we hope to continue to build on our successes. That is only possible with the generous support of our donors, the dedication of our volunteers, and the commitment of our non-profit partners.”

The 2016 Access to Knowledge Award Winners

The Excellence Award 

Awarded to an individual who has gone above and beyond the call-of-duty in helping Translators without Borders meet its mission.

Winner: Sue Fortescue

Honorable Mention: Marek Gawrysiak – TextPartner and Ewa Gawrysiak – TextPartner

The Right to Knowledge Award

Awarded to an individual (or company contributor), who has made a difference through his or her ongoing commitment to the translation of humanitarian information.

Winner: The European Refugees Rapid Response Team

Honorable Mention: Eric Ragu and the Nepali Rapid Response Team

The Empowerment Award

Awarded to an individual whose work has allowed us to significantly move the barometer in increasing language capacity within a critical region of the world.

Winner: Nancy Matis

Honorable Mention: Simon Andriesen

The Humanitarian Communicator Award

Awarded to a non-profit who understands the critical link between language/translation and access to critical knowledge.

Winner:  Jus MacKinnon and Ji Lucas – Qatar Computing Research Institute

Honorable mention: Humanity Road

The Donor Award

Awarded to the individual or company or foundation/trust that has made a significant financial contribution to aid TWB in meeting its mission.

Winner: Renato Beninatto, Moravia

Honorable Mention: Will Lewis, Microsoft

The Communicator of the Year

Awarded to the person who has creatively used marketing and public relations to build awareness of the organization and the need to provide content in the right language.

Winner: Marleen Laschet

Honorable Mention: Bjarne Poulsen

 

 

This issue’s interviewee and Volunteer is Markus Meisl. Markus has been working as a part of the Sponsorship Team for Translators without Borders (TWB) for 5 years, always ready to communicate with sponsors and ensure they get the recognition they deserve.

Here is what Markus shared with us about himself and his work for TWB.

“I grew up in Berlin when the Wall was still up, so I grew up in the coolest place on earth”, says Markus, when asked to tell us about his story. “I’m a trained conference interpreter, I studied in Heidelberg and lived in Vancouver, Canada, for more than 8 years- and I didn’t really want to come back!”

Markus, who has been working at SAP since 1998 and is now  manager in its language department, tells us how he found out about TWB and why he decided to volunteer.

“I was at a Localization World conference, and Lori Thicke held a presentation about TWB (which she founded). I was at an age where what you do in your work life ideally also satisfies your moral needs of doing something good for the world every day, and this seemed to be a really worthwhile cause. I had volunteered for an immigrant settlement agency in Vancouver before, and I thought it was a good time to get back into something similar, so I contacted Lori and asked if there was anything that I could help with.”

Of his role at TWB Markus says, “I work as a liaison between TWB and the companies who provide it with sponsorships on a yearly basis, such as translation agencies. When an agency pays the money they pledged, I make sure that they provide us with their logo, a short description of their company, and all their social media ID, so that we can recognize their contribution and that they can support us through their channels.”
Markus says that getting people to respond to his emails quickly is the trickiest part of the job, but this doesn’t stop him from enjoying volunteering for TWB: “I find it really satisfying to be helping an organization that does social work in a broader sense, it’s where I get that moral satisfaction that in my regular day job I don’t always have.”

Aside from working at SAP and volunteering for TWB, Markus spends his free time doing a lot of physical exercise (such as running, playing soccer, and skiing) which he needs in order to stay balanced, “At least that’s what my wife says!”. He doesn’t just play football, he also supports Berlin’s own team, Hertha BSC. Most importantly, Markus enjoys spending time with his wife and his kids. “We love taking the dog out in the forest and hanging out at coffee shops”.

 

 

Translators without Borders latest project: The TWB Cookbook!

The Translators without Borders (TWB) Cookbook project, launched in January 2016, was inspired by posts in the Foodie Translators Facebook group, created by Claire Cox.  When a member posted a recipe from her grandmother’s cookbook, someone suggested creating a family cookbook from the dozens of posted recipes.  Other members suggested using it as a fundraiser and supporting TWB!  As TWB Volunteer Manager, I accepted this proposal and the TWB Cookbook is quickly coming to life. The cookbook will soon be published as a series of downloadable PDF files on the TWB website. People who who access the recipes are encouraged to donate using the Donation tab on the website.  We also hope to make a printed version available at a later date.

The first recipe is for the veggie soup Ifty and his team of volunteers serve to hundreds (sometimes thousands) of refugees every day on the Greek island of Chios.  The soup is served from a woodfired soup kitchen, shown in the photo below.

The cookbook project has attracted lots of interest from people wanting to participate with TWB.  The cookbook was also  featured in the Institute for Translators and Interpreters London Regional Group Newsletter! This is a positive and fun way to raise awareness for TWB. A big thanks to all Foodie Translators group who has helped make this a reality. Your support is wonderful.

TWB supporters are welcome to contribute original recipes, (not subject to copyright or taken from websites or cookbooks).  For more information and the template for submitting recipes, please contact [email protected].

To join the Foodie Translators Facebook group, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/FoodieTranslators/?fref=nf#