Interpretation and Translation
BABELS-EL
Babels coordinators in Greece are :
Translation : Dora T.
Lexicons : Costas A., Maria R.
Solidarity Accomodation : Dimitris O., Panayotis P., Roula S.
Tickets : Maria R., Lina F.
General coordination : Graziela S., Panayotis Y., Anastasia L.
What we have done so far
we created a discussion and communication list (parla@babels.org) and an external communication list (babels-el@babels.org)
we translated babels’s call in many European languages (English, Romanian, Turkish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian etc.) and we sent it to other coordinating groups throughout Europe.
we prepared pamphlets, posters and leaflets and we sent them to Thessaloniki, Corfu, Ioannina, Herakleion, Rethymno and Patras (wherever there is a School of Philosophy and Schools of Translation and Interpretation)
we have contacted all the people registered in the Babels database and we have been organizing meetings to let them know about Babels.
there are Babels coordinating groups in Athens, Thessaloniki and Crete.
we have contacted professional interpreters and translators and people that could help us (in universities, cultural institutions and foreign language institutions etc.)
we have implemented the Sit-prep and have actually implemented the ALIS’s equipment in the Babels office so that inexperienced interpreters can practice.
we participated in various events and youth festivals and we did our best to spread the word about Babels (anti-racist festival, Youth of Synaspismos festival etc.)
we travelled to Romania together with the enlargement group of the European Social Forum and we found some contacts there.
we provided interpretation into Greek in the European Preparatory Assemblies of Istanbul and Vienna.
we insisted that there should also be Balkan and Eastern European languages in the EPAs as well as in the ESF.
we established a special translation group for translating the Greek documents into other languages
we attend regularly the meetings of the Logistics Working Group and of the Coordination Group of the 4th European Social Forum highlighting the needs of Babels.
How we procceed
we are organizing informative meetings and thematic discussions in Athens
we are organizing events at various universities (Athens, Patras, Corfu, Ioannina, Thessaloniki, Rethymno) which will take place after the end of the examination period.
we are preparing the sit-prep process so that all inexperienced interpreters will have the chance to practise and to familiarize themselves with texts from the previous forums, as well as with speeches that are about the 4th European Social Forum in Athens. We have arranged for the next meetings of the Panhellenic Organizing Committee of the 4th ESF to be recorded so that we can use this recording for the preparation of the Greek interpreters.
a major test event will take place on 19th February 2006 at the meeting of the Panhellenic Organizing Committee where volunteer interpreters will have the chance to familiarize themselves with ALIS’s equipment and to interpret directly people invited to talk about the European Social Forum. We highlighted that this is a major opportunity because there will be no audience and everyone can try without being anxious about the result.
we start the sit-prep sessions from 13th February 2006.
we have started the pre-selection stage by sending a message to the database informing people about the new date of the 4th ESF and confirming the participation of those interpreters that are certain that they will be available for the 4th ESF. We ask the other European coordinations to give us a minimum of interpreters so that we can start booking their tickets.
we prepare new ALIS and Babels poster and pamphlets with the new date and the venue of the ESF.
the Logistics group is currently preparing a database for solidarity accomodation based on Babels formula. The database has not been completed yet and you can temporarily see it in the website : www.karousos.gr/gsf (It is in only Greek, though)
we will travel to Moscow to make contacts with Russian interpreters that would like to participate in Babels’s effort.
What we need
we need the Logistics Group to inform all the organizations participating in the 4th European Social Forum about Babels needs so that there will be enough interpreters and translators (about 80 volunteers so far, most of which need to have practice)
we need a minimum of 120 interpreters (maximum, ideally, 150) for the EL booth
we need a minimum of 60 room coordinators if we have to provide interpretation at 30 rooms
we need as many interpreters as possible with mother tongues other than Greek and Greek passive.
solidarity accomodation : the interpreters, who will travel from Europe and other parts of Greece as well, will be working for up to six hours a day during the European Social Forum. Therefore, they need to rest and they should be accomodated to homes as well
we need the Logistics’s group cooperation in the booking and payment of tickets (every delay will increase the cost and make interpreters give up if they don’t receive their ticket)
we need the Logistics group’s help for the recording of speeches and events of the European Social Forum so that this material can be used for the practice of the interpreters
we need the Logistics group’s help for finding coordinators for every room in the forum
we need 3 rooms at the venue of the European Social Forum that will be allocated in the following way :
- a. Babels’s office
- b. Rest-room for the interpreters
- c. Translators’ room (where a certain number of Babels translators will translate the texts of the European Social Forum that need to be translated immediately). There will be a limited number of languages.
we need the Logistics group’s help for finding interpreters from the Balkans and Eastern Europan Countries.
BABELS-EL
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