Description
The proposed project deals with community interpreting in Greece, i.e. the interpreting before authorities between non-Greek speakers and public servants. In Greece this topic is both neglected and very pressing. There is no formal training or assessment for individuals functioning as community interpreters in Greece; in the majority of the cases where a trained interpreter would be needed, authorities either go ahead without or use untrained individuals at hand declaring to be speakers of the language in question. The objective of the proposed project includes : a. to map for the first time the situation in Greece concerning the provision of community interpreting services, b. to highlight the shortcomings in the provision of interpreting services in delicate environments such as the authorities, refugee camps, hospitals, educational settings and police in Greece and c. to increase awareness and to provide the stake holders with the necessary information to take the measures that will improve the situation in Greece.
Summary of project results
The project deals with the neglected issue of community interpreting in Greece. In Greece this topic has both been neglected and become extremely pressing. There is no formal training or assessment for individuals functioning as community interpreters in Greece; in the majority of the cases where a trained interpreter would be needed, authorities either go ahead without or use untrained individuals at hand declaring to be speakers of the language in question. It has been the objective of the project a) to map, for the first time, the situation in Greece b) to highlight the shortcomings in the provision of interpreting services in delicate environments such as the authorities, refugee camps, hospitals, educational settings and police in Greece c) to increase awareness and to provide the necessary information to take the measures that will improve the situation in Greece. As output the project highlighted the problem for the first time and could back the situation by the provision of data to political stakeholders. The project designed a roadmap to establishing a sustainable system for the provision of community interpreting services. The output is already having major impact on policies being designed at the moment. CiGreece has been the only study providing related data and analysis. The project produced hard quantitative data concerning the inequality that is sustained due to poor interpreting services provided by authorities. Both the qualitative and quantitative data show the problem. The data has been disseminated to various political stakeholders and the vital issue of establishing professional interpreting services has become visible.The main gain from the project is that poor interpreting has been moved into the limelight and has become an issue that has to be tackled. The project voiced the agony of hundreds of foreigners living in Greece and who are unable to communicate efficiently in order to settle vital issues. Moreover, the data reflects the interest of the Greek authorities to improve the situation. Public authorities became interested and were able to understand the stake. The project produced state-of- the-art material that can be used to solve the problem. The impact oft he project was considered a huge success. Letters thanking the team for ist contribution and ist invitation to deliver an infomation event at the Ministety of Justice are considered turning points. CiGreece has put Greece on the European map of interpreting research. The knowledge produced will be a profit not only nationally but also internationally.
Summary of bilateral results