Athens 2006 - FRENCH BOOTH Selection Process

Final report and list of volunteers selected for Athens


Report also available in FRENCH : http://www.babels.org/a515.html


This report closes the last phase of a new process enabling the formation of the volunteer team for the 2006 ESF French booth. Among other things, this process aims at sharing decision making among all people willing to do so and making decisions more explicit and transparent. The list of persons selected has been forwarded to the Athens ESF Organizing Commitee.

Contents (click for direct access to each section):

Explaining the process
Big, last-minute change and confusion
Criteria for selection
List of selected volunteers

This report closes the last phase of a new process enabling the formation of the volunteer team for the 2006 ESF French booth. Among other things, this process aims at sharing decision making among all people willing to do so and making decisions more explicit and transparent.

During the first phase in October 2005 we contacted experienced interpreters registered on the Babels database. We asked them if they were prepared to get into contact with two or three persons living close to them, who had indicated that they had little or no experience with forum interpretation upon registering on the Babels database.

The purpose of this approach has been to establish human relationships between Babelist@s and to set up a local-scale network, but also to confirm the language skill levels of volunteers and check their availability on the planned dates.

Approximately 60 people volunteered to conduct these meetings as part of Phase 2, (see the procedures defined for these meetings: http://www.babels.org/a443.html). These meetings gathered a total of 130 people. Each meeting produced a report that was drafted jointly with the participants.

Phase 3 of the process leading up to the European Social Forum went from 25 December to 1st March. The following people volunteered to conduct this phase: Grégoire, Kelly and Philippe.

In January 2006 we learnt that the dates for the European Social Forum had changed. Instead of 6-9 April, the Forum will be held on 4-7 May. This forced us to adjust the Phase 2 process in a rush, since a number of volunteers had indicated that they were not available in May.

In addition, in light of enrolment in the ESF program, the Organizing Committee informed us that the bulk of the interpretation needs will be for Greek, Eastern European languages and English. We were therefore requested to find in priority people who had one of these three languages in their language combinations. English and French will play an important role as relay languages between the various booths.

We then issued a new call for volunteers indicating the new dates and the new language requirements. We also asked everyone to look around for volunteer interpreters having Eastern European languages in their language combinations. 86 people responded to this call, and we were happy to note that many new volunteers came forward to Babels, mobilised by word of mouth.

We forwarded the names of some interpreters to other booth selection teams (German, Spanish, Russian), as a function of their language combinations.

In light of interpretation requirements and ESF budgetary constraints, the Organizing Committee asked us to provide a list of 60 volunteers for the French booth – with no guarantee whatsoever that all these volunteers will actually go to Athens. The budget reality of a Social Forum is such that there are often last-minute cuts (remember what happened in Caracas earlier this year!!!)

Consequently we had to proceed with a selection from among the hundred or so volunteers. Not an easy task!

To do this we determined a common protocol for selecting volunteers for the 06ESF.

1) First selection criterion, taking precedence over the others: language combination. Any experienced or professional interpreter having Greek or an Eastern European language in their A or B language combination (in addition to French) was automatically selected.

This first criterion helped secure 32 names on the list.

2) Second criterion: English as an A or B language.

3) Third criterion: having participated in the selection experience.

These two criteria helped fill the next 28 positions in the list.

We added 10 people on standby in case some people dropped out.

4) Fourth criterion: joint evaluation made during the meetings, the fact of having participated in a forum, experience in simultaneous interpreting…

This fourth criterion was the most difficult to apply. In fact:
• an evaluation will always be subjective unless formal testing is used,

• length of experience is not always a valid argument, all the more so as in Babels we like mixing experienced with not-so-experienced interpreters in the booths,

• geographic distance is a financial argument for sure, but should not prevail as such, otherwise we miss out on the richness of having people come from many different areas, etc.

As an example, as part of preparation work for the Nairobi WSF in 2007, it is interesting to include African volunteers who participated in the Bamako WSF or Canadian volunteers who participated in forums on the American continent.

In short, if there is to be any dispute, it will probably be on this 4th criterion. Feel free to express your opinions on the Babels forum ( http://www.babels.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482)

Consequently, please find below the list of volunteers for the French booth that we forwarded to the Athens ESF Organizing Committee. We expect the Committee to tell us shortly how many people they can take on. These volunteers will then be contacted to organize their travel arrangements to go to Athens.

Should you have any comments about this selection process, we advise you to use the Babels forum ( http://www.babels.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482).

NOTE! If your name is in this list and you are no longer available on the dates of the Forum – or if there is an error in you language combination - please contact us VERY QUICKLY at the following address: selectionfrenchbooth@gmail.com

"Stand-by" list :