DANBURY, CT, USA – 17th August 2015 – The world’s leading non-profit translation organization, Translators without Borders (TWB), is proud to announce that Lionbridge Technologies, Inc, one of the charity’s founding sponsors, has increased its commitment by becoming the first Diamond Sponsor of the organization.
In the four years since its incorporation as a US-based charity, Translators without Borders has risen from near obscurity in the humanitarian field to the leading advocate for translation and language as important tools in development and crisis. The organization translates more than 8 million words a year for humanitarian development, responds immediately to crises using Rapid Response Teams and trains translators in under-resourced languages.
TWB also advocates for use of translation and local language as a critical tool in better communications, and that message is finally being heard, as expressed by Jessica Lomelin of plan.org: “The need to communicate in local language is not just about delivery of information, but as an emotional tool [], having the ability to speak comfortably in your local native language is key. It’s at the heart of Communicating with Communities.”
TWB’s sponsors, coupled with its thousands of volunteers, have been the engine that has propelled the organization to success. The more than 50 TWB sponsors from the translation industry, stand with the charity in telling the world that #TranslationMatter and #LanguageMatters.
“From the very start, Lionbridge has been a leader in helping us increase access to knowledge around the world and advocate for translation as a strategic humanitarian tool,” said Andrew Bredenkamp, Board Chair of Translators without Borders. “We are thrilled that they are taking the step to greater support, setting an example for others in the industry.”
Paula Shannon, CSO and Senior Vice President of Lionbridge, was a founding board member of TWB and continues in the capacity of advisor. She explains, “We are honored to be partners with Translators without Borders, helping show the world that translation can improve and even save lives around the world. Our participation and support has been a consistent point of pride for our employees and partners. As a global leader, it is unique and rewarding to connect our professional mission and translation expertise with a charitable endeavor. In addition to the financial commitment we have made, we encourage our colleagues to participate and volunteer their time to assist TWB in this important work.” The support provided by sponsors is critical to sustaining and growing the organization, particularly in building a long-term governance structure that supports key programs.
The key learnings from the project have been incorporated into TWB’s Words of Relief program, especially in the areas of advocacy for local language communications and training of community translators.
About Lionbridge
Lionbridge enables more than 800 world-leading brands to increase international market share, speed adoption of products and effectively engage their customers in local markets worldwide. Using our innovative cloud technology platforms and our global crowd of more than 100,000 professional cloud workers, we provide translation, online marketing, global content management and application testing solutions that ensure global brand consistency, local relevancy and technical usability across all touch points of the customer lifecycle. Based in Waltham, Mass., Lionbridge maintains solution centers in 28 countries. To learn more, visit http://www.lionbridge.com
You can also follow TWB on Twitter, @TranslatorsWB #TranslationMatters
