Call for volunteer interpreters and translators for the Egyptian Social Forum for Youth Ismailia, Egypt, December 5 - 8, 2013

CALL FOR VOLUNTEER INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS
in the

Egyptian Social Forum for Youth
Ismailia, Egypt

December 5 - 8, 2013

INTRODUCTION

The Egyptian Social Forum for Youth (ESFY) will focus on presenting the experiences of youth in the Arab and Mediterranean region. It welcomes all points of view with focus on social, economical and democratic problems (local communities issues, land and housing issues, informal immigration, the right to organize, student movements, youth movements, art and alternative media, popular community control, participatory democracy, artistic events, and some role models in making alternatives.) The ESFY wishes to help the movements to exchange experiences, coordinate with each other, and discuss alternatives.

http://www.esfy.org/index.php/en/
http://openfsm.net/projects/egyptian-social-forum-for-youth-2013/project-home

Babels, international solidarity network of volunteer interpreters and translators, is a long-standing partner of social forums, and a political actor committed to the communication rights of their participants, affirming the right of everybody to express themselves in the language of their choice. See Babels’s charter and protocols here - http://www.babels.org/spip.php?rubrique2

Babels is very pleased to participate in the ESFY, coordinating the volunteer interpreting for inter-linguistic communication during the ESFY in four languages: Arabic (AR), English (EN), French (FR), and Spanish (ES) - and we are SEEKING VOLUNTEERS.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

If you have previous training in simultaneous interpreting in booth, or if you are currently studying in a conference interpreting university program now - and if you are based in Egypt -

then you can fill out the volunteer interpreter application here: http://goo.gl/7LRUjS

Deadline: Wednesday, November 20, 2013

But make sure you have read the below information first, it’s important!

Hearty thanks and best wishes,

Babels Volunteer Interpreting Coordination Team for ESFY2013

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VOLUNTEER SOLIDARITY COMMITMENT
This event is all volunteer - no one receives any money and it does not lead to possible employment afterward. The volunteer interpreting in this forum does not take away paid interpreting opportunities from interpreters working in Egypt. Babels has a strict policy of solidarity and avoidance of conflict of interest: We do not put volunteer, unpaid interpreters in events where there are or could be paid interpreters.

SOCIAL FORUM ATMOSPHERE
Volunteering as an interpreter in a social forum is a unique opportunity to contribute your linguistic talents to support social movements, and to connect with other interpreters with similar solidarity interests - it can be a very enjoyable and rewarding experience. However, it also requires a great deal of flexibility, patience, and good humor from the interpreters, as a social forum can at times feel less structured than a more formal conference. The volunteer interpreters are expected to fully commit their best efforts and support to the interpreting team throughout the event.

LANGUAGE NEEDS
We will surely need these combinations: AR<>EN bi-active, AR<>FR bi-active, AR<>ES bi-active, and EN-FR-ES combinations.

TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT
Interpreters will mostly work simultaneously. We and the forum organizers are doing our best to ensure good quality equipment, be it booths, consoles, or tour guide system bidules. We might also use some spiders: (https://sites.google.com/site/interpretationspider) for some rooms.

ACCOMMODATION and FOOD
Volunteer interpreters will receive free hotel lodging Ismailia in the Olympic Village, where the forum takes place, along with free meals throughout the forum. Interpreters will stay in shared hotel rooms. (https://www.facebook.com/Ismailiaolympicvillage)

TRANSPORT
There will be free bus transportation Cairo <> Ismailia and from Upper Egypt - the buses are hired by the ESFY to transport people to the forum. There is no budget for plane tickets to fly interpreters in from outside Egypt.

CERTIFICATES
While the forum can provide great experience, it is a long-standing policy of Babels that we do not provide certificates verifying booth or interpreting hours. This is because we are not a centralized organization, and we do not have a centralized structure that could validate such a certificate. Volunteer interpreting with Babels is a solidarity activist choice, and we want to avoid other special interests motivating participation.

HOW TO VOLUNTEER IN THIS EVENT
Simply fill out the volunteer interpreter application form: http://goo.gl/7LRUjS

DEADLINE TO APPLY
Wednesday, November 20, 2013. No applications will be accepted after this date.

QUESTIONS?
Any comment or question you might have, please post it here in the babels forum, under the ESFY2013 forum thread:

Babels forum
http://www.babels.org/forum/

ESFY thread in forum
http://www.babels.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=54

If you have a personal question that you can not post on the forum, you may email us at:
esfy2013-contact@babels.org (but try to use the forum first!)

JOINING BABELS
We encourage interpreters to become members of Babels. If you would like to do so, you can register here:

Babels Registration
http://www.babels.org/spip.php?article29