Skills to Maximise Inclusion through Interpreting and Mediation

Responding to migration into Europe over recent years is a key issue at both European and individual member state level and has been recognised as a priority in a range of strategies and policy initiatives. Central to all initiatives to create community cohesion and harmony is the role of the interpreter and cultural mediator, who form an important role in bridging the divide between the public sector, society and the individual migrant and refugee. The quality level of the interpreter / cultural mediator is a vital ingredient in a successful outcome. Poor quality leads to poor outcomes and equally an excellent approach leads to positive outcomes for all stakeholders. The 2 year project was led by Dacorum CVS (UK) and included five other partners with expertise in the fields of learning, community engagement, language based projects, interpreter and community mediator training and supporting migrant and refugee communities. The partners also brought a diverse geographic prospective from Bulgaria (Runi Center), Germany (Iberika), Greece (Active Citizens Partnership), Italy (CSC Danilo Dolci) and Sweden (Swideas). The project focus was on the professional quality and standards of the interpreter and cultural mediator, the need for which is often overlooked in the planning and delivery of community initiatives. We developed a web portal as an effective training tool with materials (12 course sessions), videos (9) and a speech repository, created a badge recognition system and test with 60 learners the training system which looked to create the best from a mix of class and online provision. The outcome of this testing fed into an improved quality of the final version of the web portal. The overall approach was a trans-national one to an issue of trans-national importance. This was underpinned through research to update knowledge on the scenario in each partner country and two staff training activities (24 participants) which developed a team ethos common approach to all aspects of project delivery. The project was active in dissemination using a wide range of communication channels to the key target audiences of public sector service providers, decision makers, politicians, NGOs, learning providers, individuals with language skills and community members with an interest in migration and refugees. Twelve multiplier events (275 attendees) fed into creating recognition, impact and sustainability at both partner and wider stakeholder level.