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PRESIDENT’S WORDS
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ARTICLE
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EVENTS
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SPECIAL
Read a message from
50th National Assembly on
Check out the upcoming
International Translation Day
WASLI’s President, Debra
Sign Language Interpretation
events about deaf
2017 in a special article by
Russell, about recent
of Japan in Fukuyama city.
communities, sign language
International Federation of
studies, translation and
Translators - FIT
activities of WASLI.
interpreting studies.
WASLI
newsletter. no. 4
2017
We are proud to share with you our next conference logo and theme.
President’s words Debra Russell
Dear Members and WASLI supporters, Welcome to this edition of our WASLI Newsletter. Not only can you enjoy this newsletter, but you can also enjoy reading the WASLI 2015 Conference Proceedings, which have just come out! If you were a delegate in Turkey, the proceedings are included in your registration and you will have received a link for it. To those wishing to purchase, you can do that easily from our website. Thank you to Suzanne Ehrlich and Isabelle Heyerick for their editorial work in bringing this project to a completion, and to each of the authors who have generously shared their work with you. Our executive board has approved the logo for WASLI 2019 in Paris, and we hope you are excited by the color and imagery represented in the logo. More importantly, we are working hard to secure an appropriate conference venue, and our thanks to WASLI members living in Paris who are helping Michelle Ashley, WASLI 2019 Conference Chair. It’s never too early to begin saving so that you can attend this event. Our regional representatives continue to work hard to raise awareness of interpreting issues in their region, and to plan learning events that can support interpreters and Deaf communities working collaboratively. During February I was fortunate to meet Angela Murray, our Austoceania representative in Wellington, New Zealand. While there I attended a meeting with her and representatives from Deaf Aotearoa, the national Deaf association, where they reviewed opportunities to support interpreters in the Solomon Islands and Fiji. This region has been an outstanding model of working towards making training relevant for the
local context, and building the skills and capacities of local interpreters to work with the deaf community. My personal thanks to Rachel Locker McKee, George Major and Ly n x , f o r h o s t i n g t w o e v e n i n g presentations, where I had a chance to meet with interpreters, signed and spoken, in Wellington and Auckland. It was great to spend time with the communities and I so appreciate the warm hospitality. In a similar vein, I met with Bunko, efsli President, Ivana and our Europe Regional Representative, Christopher Stone via s k y p e d u r i n g D e c e m b e r. T h e s e conversations help us to work cooperatively, and to also consider ways in which well-developed regions such as Europe can support countries where interpreting in still emerging. Liz Mendoza, North American Regional Representative, has been holding regular meetings between Mexico, US and Canadian interpreter leaders and we look forward to seeing the fruits of their labor in supporting interpreters in Mexico, especially on the challenging issue of accreditation. Watch the Streetleverage site for an interview between her and Brandon Arthur, where they discuss WASLI in the context of international learning. Our Fund Development co-chairs, Bibi Moulder and Chris Grooms, have been busy with a GoFundMe campaign targeting dollars towards the Africa Regional Conference which was held in Nigeria this month. To each of you who have joined me in making a donation, I thank you. Our African regional representative, Natasha Malika, and conference chair, Tim Tinat, have put in countless hours to ensure that African interpreters could meet to take the next steps of developing the profession in Africa. Several of us presented via video, keeping the travel costs low for presenters, and increasing the funding available to African delegates. Our congratulations to all on what looked like a very successful and productive conference.
Our WASLI Board will hold its next meeting in Panama City July 14-15, 2017, in conjunction with the Second Latin American Sign Language Interpreters conference. Those representatives who are not able to secure their funding to attend will participate by technology, which makes it possible for our dedicated group of volunteers to learn from other regions and share their own successes. The Latin American conference is shaping up to be a very exciting event, and several WASLI Board members will participate in it. I look forward to co-presenting with Kaisa Alanne, WFD Board member. Our collaboration with the World Federation of the Deaf continues and most recently we have struck a shared committee that will oversee the International Sign Accreditation Standards, ensuring we have a constant improvement loop built into reviewing processes on a regular basis and dealing with any concerns that may arise based on an IS interpreter’s conduct. Dr. Christopher Stone will chair this group that also included Liz Scott Gibson and Bo Hardell. The next round of accreditation will be announced soon, and WASLI extends congratulations to those candidates who w e r e a w a r d e d W F D - WA S L I I S Accreditation in December 2017. Finally, on this same topic, Colin Allen, WFD President, and I have been selected to present at the Federation of Interpreters and Translators conference in Brisbane in August of this year. The FIT conference, for the first time, will highlight sign language interpreting, in a dedicated track and through a keynote delivered by Dr. Jemina Napier. It will be an exciting event and we are very pleased to share our innovative approach to accreditation. WFD and WASLI have also put forward a joint submission to the United Nations OHCHR regarding the review of the CRPD. We have focused on submission on barriers and access to judicial processes for deaf people via professional and trained continues on the next page...
sign language interpreters. We believe these joint submissions are a demonstration of solidarity at the international level, and send a strong message to the United Nations from two key stakeholder groups, deaf people and the interpreters that serve the local communities. During 2017 we will also review a number of key documents, including the WASLIWFD Memo of Understanding that was signed ten years ago. Our intent is to update the MOU, including the perspectives of the WFD Youth Section (WFDYS). We are also in touch with the World Federation of Deafblind to canvas their interest in a triparty arrangement between our three organizations, as WASLI has a MOU with WFDB and WFD does not yet have that. We also have a small working group reviewing our WASLI Philosophy Statement on Training and our Educational Guidelines, which were also ratified in 2007. Rachel Locker McKee is leading this work. As always, I thank each of you for your generous support for me as President and for the board of directors. I thank each of you working as volunteers for WASLI. As we share the work of raising awareness of the profession of interpreting, I hope you will see the value that WASLI brings to your world. Our new membership year started January 01, 2017 – If you have not renewed, please do and recruit your friends to do the same! For more information see our membership information in this issue. If you have questions or comments, please e m a i l m e a n y t i m e a t president.wasli@gmail.com. Sincerely.
5th Pacific Regional Conference on Disability in Samoa Australasia Oceania representative attends
The fifth Pacific Regional Conference on
Solomon Islands Deaf Association, Mr. Kyle
Disability was held 20-24 February 2017 in
Miers from Deaf Australia and Ms. Gael Seru
Apia, Samoa. This conference saw the largest
Fiji Interpreter.
group of deaf participants of any previous pacific
Deaf participants had a real presence during the
regional conference. Deaf participants from
conference as they chaired sessions, presented,
Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa and
were panelists and a local Deaf Samoan Mr.
Solomon Islands attended. There were
Simona Simati was honored to present the kava,
interpreters from each of those countries and
a traditional cultural custom, to His Royal
Angela Murray, WASLI Australasia Oceania
Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamese Ta'isi Efi at
representative, used this as an opportunity to
the opening ceremony.
support and assist the interpreters from the
A meeting of all deaf participants and
islands who were attending and working at the
interpreters discussed current challenges for
conference.
Deaf Communities, the need for cooperation
Interpreter training in the Pacific Islands has
and mutual support to achieve and agreed that
been sporadic and mostly only available to those
formation of a new deaf association in Samoa
in Fiji. Since this conference was held in Samoa,
and supporting the Solomon Islands Deaf
two local Samoan interpreters spent the week
Association should be priorities going forward.
working alongside experienced interpreters
The Conference outcomes statement recognized
from Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. The local
the need for more sign language work and the
interpreters said this was a very valuable
need to recognize and promote sign languages in
learning experience for them and they were
the Pacific.
hungry for more opportunities and training.
There was also a particular outcome that urged
Angela Murray presented about WASLI and the
the Pacific Disability Forum to support the
work of WASLI in Australasia Oceania as part of
parallel work of WASLI Australasia Oceania
a panel presentation on the situation of the Deaf
with WFD Oceania to develop skilled and
community in the Pacific led by WFD Expert
qualified interpreters, professional codes of
Group on Human Rights Coordinator, Ms. Elena
ethics to improve accessibility for deaf people in
Down. There were 6 other panelists: Mr. Isoa
the Pacific to information, education,
Nabainivalu and Mr. Krishneer Sen from Fiji
employment and services across all sectors.
Association of the Deaf, Mr. Faleasi Loto from
Wa t c h s o m e i m a g e s o f t h e e v e n t a t
Samoa Deaf club, Mr. Ali Barnabas from
https://youtu.be/YZbwrkO-viw.
Gallaudet University The 2017 Symposium on Signed Language Interpretation and Translation Research From March 31st until April 2nd, Gallaudet University hosted the
North-America with us, Liz Mendoza and our Deaf Interpreter
Symposium on Signed Language Interpretation and Translation
Advisor, Nigel Howard.
Research. Scholars, interpreters and students from all over the
The symposium offered the participants a look into the history of
world joined at this 3-day event to share and discuss research on
signed language interpreting research, the profession of deaf
signed language interpreting and translation.
mediators and interpreters, and into the right of deaf people to
Keynote presenters were Prof. Dr. Beppie van den Bogaerde on
interpretation throughout history.
the first day, Dr. Xiaoyan Xiao during the opening of the second day
Additionally, on-going research on current matters such as the
and Dr. Robert Adam delivered the closing keynote.
quality of interpreting, deaf interpreters, signed news broadcasts,
During the symposium, 36 presenters shared their research with
the access of deaf people to justice, the right of deaf people to
the attendees. These included a presentation by the WASLI
function as a juror in court proceedings was presented.
president, Dr. Debra Russell (co-presenting with prof. Dr. Jemina
The symposium was a unique opportunity for anyone working on
Napier), the WASLI secretary, Isabelle Heyerick, and our social
signed language interpretation and translation to meet up, to share
media coordinator Suzanne Ehrlich (co-presenting with Dawn
new ideas and explore possible future cooperation. The thrill of
- WASLI would like to acknowledge and pay respects to Elena Down who passed away suddenly, shortly after the Samoa conference. Elena worked tirelessly for the rights of people with disabilities and in particular for the Deaf community in the Asia Pacific region. Her contribution and passion for the ongoing work in the Pacific disability sector will be sorely missed.
ŠGallaudet
being able to experience this at Gallaudet University made even more exciting. Truly, there is no other place like it in the world.
ŠGallaudet
Wessling). We were also very lucky to have our regional representative for
- Professor Tomoki Hayashi, Vice President of the Japanese Association of Sign Language Interpreters (JASLI) passed away on April 6, 2017. Professor Hayashi, as Chairperson of the International Affairs Committee of JASLI, attended WASLI Conferences and facilitated some workshops at WASLI-Asia Meetings making a significant contribution. We sincerely pray for his soul to rest in peace.
Call for Volunteers TRANSLATORS
WASLI wishes to offer news and information in multiple languages. In that way we are looking for dedicated translators who are willing to support our organization. For the written language translation department we are looking for people who can translate from English into Hindi, Russian and German. For the written translations, send an e-mail to translations.wasli@gmail.com with the following information: full name, e-mail address and your working languages (which can be others than the ones listed above) and your level of proficiency in them.
Legal Interpreters for Deaf People in Serbia
50th National Assembly on Sign Language Interpretation in Japan
In Serbia, the Ministry of Justice has appointed
The forum will be held in Fukuyama city in
participants will visit Hiroshima Peace
17 permanent court "sign language interpreters
Hiroshima Prefecture, in the western part of
Memorial to consider the preciousness of peace
for deaf people" which is the first appointment
Japan, from August 18, Friday, to August 20,
walking around the atomic bombed city of
of the kind after almost two decades. So far only
Sunday. It includes lectures on “Human Rights”
Hiroshima.
3 "interpreters for the hearing impaired" have
and “Community Development”, discussions
been registered in electronic records of court
on issues of employed sign language
translators and interpreters.
interpreters, and workshops where you can
The Association of Serbian SLI (ATSZJ) in
learn from the lives of Deaf people.
cooperation with the Belgrade City
Also, there will be a special course where
The event will attract more than 1,000 people from across Japan, including Deaf people, sign language interpreters, sign language learners, government officials and medical professionals.
Organization of the Deaf have translated the Law on the Use of Sign Language. This is the first law translated by Deaf Sign Language users and interpreters in the region. Futher details: http://gogb.org.rs/tvojepravo/zakon-o-upotrebi-znakovnog-jezika.
65th Japanese Federation of the Deaf (JFD) National Congress in Fukuoka Japanese National Congress of the Deaf, hosted
WASLI African Representative has Called on the Nigerian Government to Make SL an Official Language
by JFD, was held from June 1, Thursday, to June 4, Sunday, 2017, in Fukuoka city, southern part
The Africa Regional Representative, Natasha
disabled community, but rather a linguistic
of Japan.
Maliko, made the call in Abuja during the first
and cultural minority. The only difference
JFD marks the 70th anniversary of the
Regional Conference on Sign Language
between us and them is our language, the only
foundation this year and Mr. Colin Allen, WFD
Interpreting and Deaf Rights in Africa jointly
thing that sets the deaf people aside is sign
President, gave a keynote speech in the event to
hosted by the Africa Federation of Sign
language which is not a physical disability, we
commemorate it. Also, WFD board members
Language Interpreters, Deaf Resource Centre
are part of the disabled community but we are
participated in 4 separate sessions (1: Sign
and the World Association of Sign Language
in alliance and partnership with them.”,
Language, 2: Human Rights, 3: Information
Interpreters, WASLI.
Natasha said.
Access, and 4: History) as panel members.
Maliko also said political will and appropriate
On her message for the Nigerian government,
legislation is needed from the Nigerian
Natasha said, “what we are asking for is the
government to make Nigerian sign language
political will and legislation that will change
an official language as it is in other countries. “It’s important for us to realise that partnership is very important, Deaf people without interpreters will not reach the goal and reach their full potential and without the Deaf people, sign language will not exist; we coexist in this world and we need to carry vision of complete access for deaf people and as well as give them their human right which is sign language recognition.”, she stressed. “Deaf people don’t think they are part of the
the plights of the deaf in Nigeria, the government should make sign language in Nigeria official.”. ©VoiceNigeria
African Forum of Sign Language Interpreters has been Created in Nigeria During the First Regional Conference of Africa Region, delagates created the African Forum of Sign Language interpreters. Conference Goals: · Building leadership capacity among sign language interpreters and Deaf leaders in Africa · Strengthening the capacity of AUD & AFSLI for regional activities that will promote Deaf rights and sign language interpreter education · Building synergy with the regional government for inclusion in developmental activities of the region · Building a network of all organizations of the Deaf and interpreters in Africa for
utilization of material, technical, and human resources. · Identifying new practice and trends in the field of sign language interpretation and sign language research methodology · Developing partnership strategies with WASLI, WFD, EUD, NAD, and NAOBI in achieving the goals set by AFSLI and AUD. Next conference will be held in Nairob, Kenia in 2018.
Do you have a national interpreter’s association in your country? Or are you thinking of setting one up, with support from your national Deaf association? If so, we would welcome you as a national member.
Become a member or renew your 2017 membership. http://wasli.org/membership
Join us!
EVENTS AUSTRALIA XXI FIT - International Federation of Translators World Congress Brisbane 3 – 5 August 2017 Website: http://www.fit2017.org DENMARK 8th Deaf Academic Conference Aarhus 10 - 12 August, 2017 Website: http://www.dac2017.com/ FRANCE EFSLI 2017 - AGM & Conference Toulouse 8 - 10 September, 2017 WASLI Conference Paris 17 - 20 July, 2019 Website: www.wasli.org XVIII World Congress of WFD Paris 23 - 27 July, 2019 Website: www.paris-wfd2019.org HUNGARY 3rd International Conference of the World Federation of the Deaf Budapest 08 - 10 November 2017 Website: wfdbudapest2017.com
International Translation Day 2017 Translation and Diversity In our digital world, a product or service is often marketed in many countries, and information appears to flow instantly across most national boundaries. Yet we don’t want other societies to impose their way of thinking on us. How does translation relate to the desire to access everything while retaining diversity?
subtitling and dubbing, is different from localisation. In contrast to localisation, this type of translation typically aims to open a window to the source culture, and thus helps share local insights and alternative views of the world, giving the experience of another culture through one’s own language.
Cultural diversity is closely tied to linguistic diversity. Losing your language means losing a part of your cultural identity. Translation is important both to maintaining and learning from a culture.
Both localisation and source-culturespecific translation are challenging intellectual tasks that involve much more than mechanically matching up the words and phrases of two languages. Only skilled human translators are able to perform these creative types of translation, which help us maintain our own culture and learn from other cultures, respectively.
Globalisation brings greater international cooperation, but the downside of that can be cultural homogenisation, which in turn threatens diversity. In an effort to access global markets effectively, products and services are often translated with sensitivity to the target culture, rather than imposing the culture of the source content. This type of translation, called localisation, thus supports diversity. Language transcends physical barriers of distance, borders and time. Translation of literature and other culture-specific material, such as foreign film through
Each culture in the world should be in control of its destiny. By promoting diversity of cultures and languages, we can hope to create a bright and colourful world, full of possibilities for learning, growing and sharing a peaceful vision for humanity based on mutual respect. We thank translators for their contribution to diversity as we celebrate International Translation Day 2017. by International Federation of Translators - FIT
WASLI 2015 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Get your copy! The WASLI Board and the Conference Proceeding editors, Isabelle Heyerick and Suzanne Ehrlich, proudly present the proceedings of the 2015 WASLI conference. This edition compiles a selection of papers presented in Istanbul during the 2015 WASLI C o n f e r e n ce “ H u m a n R i g h t s , w h e r e d o Interpreters fit in?”. The eight papers reflect the themes presented at the WASLI conference: interpreting as a means of access to religion, interpreting for deaf professionals, International S i g n i n te r p ret i n g , n e w m o d e l s fo r t h e professionalization of interpreters and the challenges interpreters and Deaf communities face in countries such as Jordan and Kenya. The full publication can be purchased from the WASLI website.
The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters. The Editor, together with the WASLI Executive Board and external contributors, produce the WASLI newsletter. WASLI will work to ensure the authenticity of any information provided. We reserve the right to edit all submissions that are published. WASLI accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed. Readers are invited to reproduce information provided the source is quoted. Readers should contact secretary@wasli.org for permission to use WASLI official photographs, or to advise of a change of email address.
WASLI EXECUTIVE BOARD Officers: Deb Russell (President); José Ednilson Souza Junior (Vice President); Isabelle Heyerick (Secretary); Susan Emerson (Treasurer) Regional Representatives: Angela Murray(Australasia & Oceania); Natasha Maliko (Africa); Monica Punjabi and Etsuko Umemoto (Asia); Desanka Zizic (Balkans); Isabel Rey (Latin America and Caribbean); Liz Mendoza (North America); Igor Bondarenko & Anna Komarova (Transcaucasia & Central Asia); (Europe); Christopher Stone.
FOLLOW US
WASLI VOLUNTEERS Deaf Interpreter Advisor: Nigel Howard WASLI Membership Coordinator: Robin Demko Social Media Coordinator: Suzanne Ehrlich and Christy Filipich WASLI Translations Coordinators: Michelle Chang (written translations), Christian Rathmann and Arkady Belozovsky (signed translations) Website: Patrick Galasso Newsletter Editor: José Ednilson Júnior Fund Development Committee: Chris Grooms & Bibi Dalacey-Mould Educational Video Modules: Simone Scholl Conference Chair: Michelle Ashley
CONTACT US WASLI Office 7/211 Wellington Street Collingwood Victoria 3066 Australia
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