CTTS News

Formal Conclusion of H2020 RISE EU-Funded INTERACT Project

The EU-funded INTERACT project (International Network in Crisis Translation) formally closed on March 31st of 2020. The project was coordinated by CTTS member Professor Sharon O’Brien and included in its team, Dr Patrick Cadwell and Dr Alessandra Rossetti also of CTTS. The timing is strange, given the importance of timely and accurate translation of information in our current global crisis. The project has produced a number of outputs that are highly relevant to this crisis, e.g. the recommendations on policy for crisis translation and the Citizen Translation 101 course content that is now online on YouTube. This course content is free and can be accessed here.

From the very beginning of this crisis, the team has been contacted for advice from various parts of the world. For example, a translator in the Ministry of Foreigner Affairs in Wuhan asked for advice in January on what they should do to ensure that foreign nationals understood the information being issued by the Chinese authorities. Building on the team’s connections with New Zealand, a Wellington City Council Community Liaison Office also got in touch to ask about how to ensure that migrant and refugee communities did not fall through the communication gaps. The INTERACT team will continue to work with NZ Red Cross to deliver training in this time of crisis. Strangely, as the project comes to an end, things could not be busier!