Warwickshire News Mine

The ‘Languages and Access’ conference dealt with the changing nature of Warwickshire’s population over recent decades and the effect that a rise in ethnic minority settlement has had on the need for interpreting and translation services in the county.

Post-war New Commonwealth migration, and particularly more recent immigration related to work and asylum, has increased the number of ethnic minority residents in the county, making it a multicultural population speaking at least 50 different languages.

The county council’s Interpreting and Translation Service (ITS) team, who organised the event at Ryton-On-Dunsmore’s Holiday Inn, said “bienvenue”, “witamy” and “bem-vindo” when they welcomed colleagues and partners to discuss the many language services that they offer to the council and other organisations around the county.

The multi-lingual event was officially opened by Councillor Heather Timms, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Customers, Workforce and Partnerships.

Special guest speaker at the event was Alison Lewis from NHS Warwickshire, who spoke about a new project to improve access to primary care for expectant mothers whose first language is not English.

Other guest speakers included Rekha Narula, a speaker of French, Spanish, Italian and Mauritian-Creole who works as an interpreter for Warwickshire County Council, who shared her experiences, and Janet Bonser, Patient Advice Liaison Service Manager for South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust, which regularly uses the services of interpreters for dealing with patients.

Councillor Heather Timms said: “Warwickshire County Council’s Interpretation and Translation team are an important link in maintaining open lines of communication between the county council and those Warwickshire residents who do not speak English as their first language, as well as those who have a sensory disability.”

Warwickshire County Council’s Interpreting and Translation Services (ITS) team can provide services to translate and interpret in over 140 different languages and dialects from around the world, including British Sign Language.

The team handle around 200 requests for help each month, varying from the translation of written documents to requests for interpreters at meetings.

Monika Rozanski, Manager of the ITS team until September 2009 and organiser of the event, said: “At least 5% of people living in Warwickshire belong to ethnic minority groups, and we have seen the demand for interpreting and translation services significantly increase in recent years.”

She continued: “We’re continually improving the service and offering new languages to meet changing demands. It is vitally important to ensure that we can communicate at all levels of service delivery with residents whose first language is not English or who have a hearing or sight disability.”

European Day of Languages, a Council of Europe initiative, is held annually on 26th September to celebrate language and cultural diversity. The day was first celebrated in 2001 and is now recognised by 45 different countries. The aim of the day is to increase awareness and appreciation of all languages and encourage lifelong language learning.

Link to WCC