Be professional at work, or don’t do it!

Dear colleagues:

Interpreting is a profession with so many complexities we often overlook a very important factor: Professionalism no matter what. Let me explain.

Interpreting takes us to wonderful places both physically and figuratively, but sometimes it can take us to the very dark corners of the universe. As interpreters we let people borrow our voice and knowledge of a foreign culture and language to convey a message. Sometimes the venue is not the place we would spend our vacation at; the borrower is not somebody we would invite to dinner, or the message is not something we would cherish. These are the times when we must be professionals.

Fortunately for all of us, there are two ways to be professional as an interpreter: The first one is to evaluate the assignment, do a self-examination of our impartiality, level of tolerance, and physical endurance, and either take the job or turn it down if the auto-evaluation tells us that is the best way to go. Interpreters are human and humans have different reactions to specific situations. Some colleagues may feel that a venue, speaker or subject matter will keep them from doing a good job; others may feel uncomfortable, but will render a top-quality service regardless of the place where they work, the people they interpret for, or the issues discussed in the speech. The important thing is to be honest with ourselves and make the right decision.

For example, I know colleagues who will not interpret in court for a pedophile, a murderer or a rapist; some of my peers will not enter the booth in a venue where they will advocate for or against something they believe in, like gun rights, globalization, pro-life actions, pro-choice groups, and so on. Finally, some people, like myself, will professionally interpret for all of the above, but would never interpret in a hospital with all that smell of Clorox and other disinfectants. The key is to reject those assignments we cannot do without feeling incompetent or unprofessional.

The real problem is when interpreters take the assignment and then perform unprofessionally. The world is a complicated place and we live in it. Sometimes external circumstances physically put us in a place where there are now more things we disagree with than before. It is under these circumstances that we must be honest and turn down what we cannot do at the top of our game, or make the determination to do an assignment we do not like as if we loved it. We will be uncomfortable, but we must perform just like the emergency room physician who saves the like of a mass murderer, or the lawyer who defends the most despicable war criminal. That is professionalism.

For this reason I am disturbed when I hear how some colleagues step out of their interpreter role and do things we are not supposed to do. I am talking about those in the booth who change the register of what the speaker said to either favor or harm the message because they disagree with what was said from the podium; I am also talking about the unfortunate cases when court interpreters in immigration and federal court tone down legal terminology or try to assist the defendant or respondent just because they sympathize with his situation or disagree with the government’s policy or legislation.

Those appearing in immigration court or before a federal judge under an immigration charge have allegedly violated the law of the land. This should never impact our court interpreter’s work. If they were arrested (in federal court) or detained (in immigration court) it was under a legal precept violation or a lawfully issued order. It is irrelevant that we like it or not. Refusing to interpret once you already took the assignment, giving information to the respondent, telling them not to go to court, warning them of the presence of immigration agents, and even refusing to use the legal term “alien”[INA Section 101(3) The term “alien” means any person not a citizen or national of the United States…] choosing the more accepted, but legally incorrect term “immigrant”, are unprofessional acts. We should not take these assignments if we believe we cannot act professionally. As officers of the court, we must act as expected by the law even if we feel uncomfortable doing it.

As a court interpreter I have interpreted for murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and drug lords; as a conference interpreter I have interpreted for conservative and liberal groups; as a media interpreter I have interpreted both: Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Obviously, I do not agree with everything I interpret and I do not like everybody I have interpreted for, but I have always been professional conveying the message as intended by the speaker and with total loyalty to legal terminology and procedure when working in court. I know my limitations, I understand the circumstances that would keep me from being professional all the time, and you will never see me interpreting in a hospital setting. I now invite you to share your thoughts about those events we should turn down when we question our professionalism.

Ignoring court certifications is turning fashionable.

Dear colleagues:

Legal certainty is the foundation of any system of justice administration. Modern society cannot function in an environment where people are afraid to act because they ignore the outcome of their efforts. Human creativity and progress need a certainty that a set of actions will produce a desired outcome, and the peace of mind fostered by an absolute trust in an honest, capable and independent judge who will clarify what is confusing and decide what is contested according to law and equity.

All civilized nations enshrine these principles in their national constitution and create international courts of justice to address controversies that go beyond their own jurisdiction. To work, this system requires of honest, independent, capable, skilled, and knowledgeable professionals who serve as judges, attorneys and other officers of the court, including court interpreters.

No legal system can be fair when some are denied access to justice because of the language they speak, and no access to the administration of justice can be effective unless its services are provided by skilled professionals who have met rigorous standards set by the authority under the principles of equal justice uncompromised by expediency or convenience.

Every day we see how more nations adopt these principles, sometimes because of the realization of the truths above, and sometimes because the change is imposed by the unstoppable waive of globalization. Countries have changed their legal systems to incorporate these values, and as part of these changes, they have adopted legislation requiring court interpreters to be professional, ethical, skilled and knowledgeable. Some have called this process certification, others licensing, concession of patent, accreditation, etcetera.

Countries like the United States have developed a solid and reputable system of certification at both levels of government: federal and state.  Because the overwhelming majority of non-English speakers in the U.S. speak Spanish, all states and federal government have developed a certification process (licensing process in Texas) for Spanish language court interpreters. The federal government has issued federal court interpreter certifications in Navajo and Haitian Creole as well. To satisfy their local needs, states have adopted certifications for the most widely spoken languages, other than Spanish, in their jurisdiction; these certifications vary depending on the demographics of each state. Both, the federal and state judiciaries have adopted a system to classify court interpreters of languages without certification program as accredited or qualified.

Court interpreter certifications guarantee litigants and judges those officers of the court who provide interpreting services in a court procedure have demonstrated, through a rigorous scientific testing process, to have the minimum required skills, knowledge, and ethics to practice as professional certified court interpreters. Accredited and qualified court interpreters give litigants and judges an assurance that the federal or state system in charge of language access services was convinced of the skill, moral character and professionalism of these interpreters by alternate means to the certification process non-existent for that language combination.  It all boils down to the basic principle of legal certainty.

Many countries have a dual system of administration of justice: There is a judiciary as an independent branch of government that decides controversies between individuals, government entities, and in criminal cases. There is also a sui-generis administrative court system that exists not as a part of the judiciary or as an independent branch of government, but as an independent entity within the executive branch at both: federal and state levels. These administrative courts deal with civil law controversies of the administrative type where individuals dispute certain actions, benefits, entitlements, and rights that must be protected, conferred, or denied by an agency of the executive branch of government. The best known administrative courts in the United States are Immigration, Social Security and Workers’ Compensation.

Because these administrative courts are not part of the judicial branch of government, rules, policies and requirements pervasive in the judiciary do not extend to these so-called Article 1 Courts (because they are created by legislation, not the constitution) as opposed to Article 3 Courts (created by Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution). Rigorous criteria for court interpreter certification, created for legal certainty, are not applied or followed by most administrative courts, leaving the door open to those seeking shortcuts, opportunity, and financial gain with absolute disregard for judicial certainty and the best interests of the parties to a controversy.

A few weeks ago the Immigration Courts in the United States (Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR) publicly announced they were hiring Spanish language interpreters nationwide to work in the immigration courts. Although this would place these interpreters directly under the supervision and control of the court, a big improvement over having people providing interpreting services in immigration court under the supervision of SOSi, the well-known language services provider that earned the contract by bidding lower than the rest, it is still bad policy that will eventually harm those who go to immigration court seeking relief.

EOIR’s announcement requires no reputable universally accepted court interpreter certification (federal or state level). It only requires candidates to pass a test with no scientific validation offered online.

This tendency to retain lesser qualified individuals for matters that could eventually affect someone’s life forever, such as a removal or an asylum case, is echoed by those who also settle for less interpreting quality in exchange for more money and argue that non-certified court interpreters, even if healthcare certified, or those who take cover under the unrecognized so-called “community interpreter” credential, are qualified to interpret depositions!

Depositions are a very delicate legal proceeding because they take place outside the presence of a judge. This means they require of an even more experienced certified court interpreter, not a lesser qualified paraprofessional. The most complex litigation, the ones involving enormous amounts of money, the ones often dealing with conflict of jurisdictions and legal systems, those governed by international conventions, and for those very reasons, the ones where interpreters earn the highest fees, always start with depositions very difficult even for many seasoned court interpreters.

Multi-million dollar lawsuits, intellectual property infringements, trade wars between nations, the livelihood of an injured worker who will never work again, removal proceedings that will keep a person outside the country for the rest of her/his life, asylum hearings, often an applicant’s last hope to protect her/his life, liberty and family unity are not less complicated cases. We cannot leave the administration of justice for those who do not speak the language of the court, judicial or administrative, in the hands of greedy agencies, ignorant unscrupulous authorities, and opportunists and incompetent paraprofessionals. I now invite you to share your thoughts on this topic and the disturbing tendencies we see.

What makes a good interpreter?

Dear colleagues:

Often when we attend a social event and start a conversation with people we do not know, but know about our profession, we are asked what makes a good interpreter. I know there are many answers to this question; all have value and are probably right. In my case, after being asked the same innumerable times throughout the years, in my personal and professional opinion, three things make a good interpreter.

First, the interpreter must be able to communicate concepts from a source language into a target language.  Webster tells us that an interpreter is one who translates orally for parties in different languages. The main goal is to make sure that a concept was conveyed in such a manner that the person receiving the information, who does not understand the language of the speaker, gets everything those who speak the main speaker’s language got.

To achieve this, the interpreter must understand what is being said in the source language, synthesize what was said, and orally convey it to the receiver with proper grammar and vocabulary in the target language, so it can be understood. Good interpreters “clean” the message so unnecessary words that may sound strange in the target language are eliminated. The good interpreter interprets the “meat” and gets rid of the “fat”. (I know this does not apply to some community interpreting, particularity to court interpreting where everything must be interpreted. This is a global answer, thinking of conference interpreting).  The good interpreter must understand, synthesize, and have command of grammar, culture, and vocabulary.

Second, a good interpreter must have a pleasant delivery that everybody understands. Good voice, décalage, volume, rhythm, pace. Listeners must be so comfortable they forget about the voice in their ear and concentrate in the speech. Voice modulation, clarity, enunciation, are a very important part of a rendition. Heavy breathing, coughing, slurping, rushing through the speech, and chasing speakers too close to what they just said make you look bad, even when you are a good interpreter.

Finally, my third attribute of the good interpreter is team work. The good interpreter lives in a conflict-free environment. They support their colleagues in the booth, are fair, and will go the extra mile to save a rendition. Often, a good interpreter who gets along with others is more desirable than a great interpreter who creates conflict everywhere. Do not misunderstand this attribute of a good interpreter. I never said that an interpreter willing to work more for less, or one who accepts deplorable work conditions, or a low fee are good interpreters. They are not. Easy going differs from easy to fool.

There you have it. To me a good interpreter then, is one who understands a concept, digests it, and conveys it to the client in a pleasant clear voice, so it can be understood by the foreign language speaker; and does it all while being a dedicated professional, good colleague, and decent human.

I now invite you to share with the rest of us your idea of a good interpreter.

Should healthcare interpreters in the U.S. be concerned?

Dear colleagues:

For several weeks I have been contacted by colleagues who provide their services as interpreters in the health sector of the United States. They have all expressed the same sense of confusion, anguish, anger, and uncertainty many of us have noticed in social media and professional forums on line.

This environment started after the decision by the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI) to not renew the accreditation of their Spanish language interpreter certification program by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) effective January 1, 2018, and it ballooned after the video of a speech during the California Healthcare Interpreters Association (CHIA) annual conference in Irvine, California in early March was uploaded to the web and watched by interpreters all over the world. Apparently, most interpreters were upset about four things: (1) The decision to terminate the NCCA accreditation; (2) That many learned of this decision by the NBCMI at this conference; (3) That the NBCMI authorities did not informed those candidates scheduled to take the certification exam that the exam they would be taking in 2018, although the same test taken by interpreters certified in the past, was being offered after the Board had quit their accreditation of their Spanish language interpreter certification program by the NCCA; and (4) That many did not like NBCMI’s decision to change the wording on their website portal to show in a casual way, hidden in the text, or at least not highlighted, that they had not renewed said accreditation, and the unofficial explanations and assurances by apparently some people associated with NBCMI that such change would not impact their certification.

I am a veteran of the profession, but like many of you, even though I have interpreted my share of medical events as a conference interpreter, I have never been a healthcare interpreter. Let me explain the healthcare interpreting scenario in the United States.

Healthcare interpreting is an essential part of the health sector in modern society, but despite this and the need to elevate this service to a professional level, healthcare interpreting had a later start than other community-based fields of interpreting like court interpreting.

The United States was no exception, until finally, a few years ago, two organizations took the lead towards the professionalization of the field. Embracing the basic principles and values of the certification program the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) had written about, the Certification Commission on Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) and the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters developed and implemented two interpreter certification programs. Both understood the overwhelming need to certify interpreters in the most widely spoken foreign languages in the United States, and they both developed a program for interpreter certification in Spanish (there are other languages now. Please visit their websites to learn about the languages covered by each program).

Unlike court interpreting, which developed certification programs sanctioned by the government at its different levels (federal, state, and initially sometimes local), the healthcare sector had no government authority sanctioning the validity of its certifications; and even though this brought healthcare interpreters a professional freedom enjoyed by other professionals like physicians and lawyers, and denied to court interpreters who have no control over the administration of their certification exams, it also created an uncertainty about the validity of their interpreter certification programs.

Because in a private sector-oriented society like the U.S., the situation healthcare interpreter certification programs were facing is not the exception, but the rule, there is a reputable trustworthy entity that solves this problem: The Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE).

The Institute for Credentialing Excellence, or ICE, is a professional membership association that provides education, networking, and other resources for organizations and individuals who work in and serve the credentialing industry. ICE is a leading developer of standards for certification and certificate programs and it is both, a provider of and a clearinghouse for information on trends in certification, test development and delivery, assessment-based certificate programs, and other information relevant to the credentialing community. ICE created the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) in 1987.

The NCAA’s Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs, which were created in the mid-1970s, were the first standards developed by the credentialing industry for professional certification programs. The NCCA Standards were developed to help ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the public. They highlight the essential elements of a high-quality program.

The NCCA standards follow The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, & NCME, 1999) and are applicable to all professions and industries. Certification organizations that submit their programs for accreditation are evaluated based on the process and products and not the content; therefore, the Standards are applicable to all professions and industries. Program content validity is demonstrated with a comprehensive job analysis conducted and analyzed by experts, with data gathered from stakeholders in the occupation or industry.

NCCA accredited programs certify individuals in a wide range of professions and occupations including nurses, automotive professionals, respiratory therapists, counselors, emergency technicians, crane operators and more. To date, NCCA has accredited approximately 330 programs from over 130 organizations.

Accreditation for professional or personnel certification programs provides impartial, third-party validation that your program has met recognized national and international credentialing industry standards for development, implementation, and maintenance of certification programs. This solved the problem for both programs and two certification programs were born:

The Certified Healthcare Interpreter credential (CHI) developed by the Certification Commission on Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) that offers a certification exam in Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin in 2 steps: First, a core exam consisting of 100 multiple-choice questions, to be answered in English, on medical terminology, healthcare scenarios and ethics; and to those who pass the core exam, an interpreting exam that tests the candidate’s skill on sight and written translation, and simultaneous and consecutive interpreting.

The Medical Interpreter credential (CMI) developed by the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI) that offers a certification exam in Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Vietnamese to those who pass (with a score of 70 percent, 80 percent in Mandarin) an interpreting exam that tests skills on sight translation and consecutive interpreting (no simultaneous interpreting or written translation).

Besides competing for interpreter candidates in the same market, both programs needed to convince healthcare providers, insurance companies, patients, and attorneys, that their credentials were reliable, trustworthy, and standard. They started an intensive and successful education campaign that used the NCCA accreditation as one of its most valuable resources.

Even today, CCHI’s website proclaims the validity of its program and skill of its certified healthcare interpreters:

“…Just as healthcare interpreters work hard to get credentialed as “certified healthcare interpreters,” certification programs can also “get certified!” The process is called “accreditation” and, today, it is administered by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), the accreditation arm of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE). Accreditation is the process by which a credentialing or educational program is evaluated against defined standards by a third party and is awarded recognition when found in compliance with these standards. It’s more than just a voluntary membership in an association. Accreditation (and renewal of accreditation) involves a rigorous process that ensures the quality of examinations and certification offered by organizations like CCHI. In fact, NCCA accredited programs certify individuals in a wide range of professions and occupations, including nurses, pharmacists, counselors, EMTs, HR professionals, defense security specialists, and more. CCHI is proud to represent the healthcare interpreter profession as equal among other allied health professions…today, CCHI is proud to offer the only nationally accredited certifications in the interpreting industry. NCCA’s accreditation validates all aspects of CCHI’s certification programs and CCHI as a certifying body…”

To this day NCCA accreditation continues to be a crucial element of the CCHI program.

Apparently, the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI) disagrees with this principle, and even though their website lacks detailed explanations or reasons for the decision not to renew accreditation; some colleagues claim they have unofficially argued that continuing NCCA accreditation is unnecessary because their program is now well-established, the accreditation only covered the Spanish certification program, and their exams have not changed from the ones offered during the accreditation era. Several interpreters have indicated that NBCMI claims that a renewal was too expensive; that they had spent fifty thousand dollars on the initial accreditation, and that their Board had directed those financial resources to the development and administration of certification exams in other languages; activity that would be more profitable.

On its official website, NBCMI addresses its decision to end NCCA accreditation:

“…Prior to 2018, the Spanish CMI certificate was subjected to an additional level of NCCA accreditation, but while the National Board remains a member of the Institute of Credentialing Excellence (ICE), each of the National Board programs have been standardized to ensure the CMI certification in each offered language best meets or exceeds nationally accepted standards, including transparency, inclusion, and access…”

It mentions they continue to be members of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE), the parent entity of NCCA, and adds a self-serving statement where they praise their own CMI certification. They emphasize their continued ICE membership adding this statement to their official website:

“…As a proud member of ICE, we stay informed on best practices in developing and administering quality certification [certificate] programs so that we may better serve you…” 

This could be a simple statement of facts, but unfortunately, it could also be misunderstood by some who may think that continued ICE membership affects their CMI program after January 1, 2018.

ICE clearly tells us what membership means:

“…An organization may join ICE at any time whether or not it has any programs accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).  Membership in ICE does not mean that an organization or any of its credentialing programs have been accredited, approved, or otherwise endorsed by ICE…”

Membership in ICE does not mean that an organization or any of its credentialing programs have been accredited, approved, or otherwise endorsed by ICE. We can see this means more than no more accreditation. According to ICE itself, membership means no approval or any other endorsements.

As I write this post, my only goal is for NBCMI to published a written detailed explanation of the reasons they abandoned the NCCA accreditation, the potential consequences this decision can bring to certified medical interpreters, and why candidates scheduled to take the exam in 2018 were not informed of this important change so they could decide to either pursue the CMI certification or perhaps take the CHI exam instead. Spanish language CMI interpreters have a right to know why a certification exam after the NCCA accreditation ended has the same cost as the one offered when the accreditation was in place. How does a business decision to add more languages to the certification program benefit the Spanish language CMIs whose credentialing program lost NCCA accreditation? So far, NBCMI has limited its answer to a statement posted on their newsletter that repeats what they previously said about the validity of the exam and CMI certification, but the explanation of the reasons to discontinue the accreditation have not been disclosed. Dismissing social media as myths and misinformation does not answer the questions so many interpreters want answered.

Some changes have already been impacting those who hold a CMI certification: Some institutions stopped reimbursing the certification exam fee to certification candidates taking the exam in 2018. It has been reported that some clients are now preferring those interpreters holding a CHI certification over a CMI credential; and, a good possibility is that in the future, CMI credentials will be questioned and tested by attorneys who will cross-examine NBCMI certified medical interpreters in the presence of a jury during a medical malpractice trial.

NBCMI needs to explain why NCCA accreditation went from being something they were proud of a few years ago to something no longer needed:

“…The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI) is pleased to announce that its Certified Medical Interpreter (CMI) program has been accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), thus joining an elite group of certifying bodies dedicated to public protection and excellence in certification… NCCA accreditation was one of the objectives the National Board set for itself at the very outset…” (NBCMI press release dated January 18, 2013 at Miami Beach Convention Center)

These are valid questions we hope NBCMI will officially address, and they are all legitimate reasons in a free market economy like the United States’ for any interpreter working on the healthcare sector to think very carefully about which one of the two certifications she or he should hold. Let’s hope that at the end of all the confusion and uncertainty the answer is either one of the certifications, but as of today, we do not know if that will be the case, even if both certifications were equally recognized, because one continues to have an accredited certification program and the other one does not. Many of our colleagues would like to know the reason for the changes that both, NBCMI and its parent organization IMIA experienced just now: a new president for NBCMI (we wish her well) and the resignation of IMIA’s president-elect before he officially took office. Interpreters want to know if these changes at this confusing times are related to the decision to end accreditation, or it is just a coincidence.

I now invite you to share your thoughts on this issue, and please, do not write personal attacks, and unless you are officially commenting on behalf of NBCMI, please abstain from sending surrogate comments defending the Board.

How a conference for interpreters and translators should be.

Dear colleagues:

On March 16-18 I attended the “Spring into Action” conference, a joint venture of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Florida (ATIF), the Spanish Language Division (SPD) of the American Translators Association (ATA), and Florida International University (FIU).

ATA’s Spanish Language Division had been involved in other high-quality conferences: A “Spring into Action” joint venture with the Delaware Valley Translators Association (DVTA) in Philadelphia in 2015, and a collaboration with the Portuguese Language Division of ATA in Las Vegas many years earlier. Because of such good memories and references, when the administration of the SPD approached me with presenting in Miami I said yes immediately, I enjoyed the conference tremendously, and I learned very important lessons that motivated me to write this post.

For those of you who do not have Spanish as one of your working languages, please read the post until the end. The lessons learned at this conference apply to all languages and fields of interpreting and translation, and will benefit all colleagues who put them into action.

First, the event was held at a conveniently located college campus: Florida International University in the Miami metropolitan area. This made it possible to have a professional activity in a learning environment, with a college infrastructure (smart units, college classrooms, university environment) instead of a hotel ballroom with banquet chairs where those attending a lecture must master note-taking on their knees and must settle for a partial view of the presenter and a panoramic view of the bald head of some colleague who got there earlier and took the front row seat. Miami’s location is perfect for a gathering of Spanish language interpreters and translators because it has two major airports (Miami International and Ft. Lauderdale) and it is accessible to colleagues from all over the Americas, Europe, and the United States. The weather was another plus; I left Chicago in a snow storm and landed in balmy and sunny Miami.

The organization was great, and I applaud all those involved in organizing the conference. I have been in their position and I know how difficult and time-consuming it is. Congratulations to all organizers, administrators and volunteers.

The conference program was impeccable. It was a perfect balance of interpreting and translation workshops and presentations with something of quality for everyone, regardless of their specialty field or experience level. Unlike many conferences where you find a mix of good workshops and many fillers that make you question your decision of paying for the event, all presentations were top quality. We had universally known names who shared their knowledge with the rest: Antonio Martín and his Dr. Macro; Alberto Gómez Font and his lecture on toponomy; Xosé Castro’s talk on communicators and translators productivity; Jorge de Buen and the signs and symbols we should translate; Daniel Tamayo’s sight translation workshop; Karen Borgenheimer and her consecutive interpreting advanced skill building workshop.

We also could see how some already renowned colleagues and presenters elsewhere were officially introduced to the international Spanish interpreter and translator community. We had the pleasure to hear from Darinka Mangino who shared with us the use of an ethnographic analysis of communicative setting as a preparation tool for an assignment; and most of the country learned what I already knew: Javier Castillo is an excellent presenter and interpreter trainer who showed the audience how to improve their memory to improve their outcomes.  I could not attend all the other presentations and workshops, but I talked to many colleagues and I heard only praise for all presenters and presentations.

Everything I have shared with you should convince you of the success of this conference, but the most important factor, and what sets it apart from most of what we see in the United States was that there were no corporate sponsors pushing sales of their products until an exhausted translator agrees to buy something she may not even need, and there were no unscrupulous agencies chasing interpreters to convince them that working for rock bottom fees is fine if you are “learning and practicing” while you work, or as long as they offer you consistent volume (so you can work more consistently for a laughable pay). That there were no “presentations” where agencies could convince interpreters of the benefits of telephone interpreting from home (conveniently leaving out of the sales pitch they will be paid by the minute of work to where by the end of the month the interpreter cannot pay the rent of her place or the food of her kids) made us all feel more comfortable as we knew we were among our peers and nobody else.

This model can be copied by interpreters and translators elsewhere. Some countries or languages may not have enough colleagues to put together an event like this. That is fine. You can always hold a joint event with other professional interpreters and translators from your region, from other languages, and helped by a local institution of higher education.  You will soon see the results: more quality presentations, more attendance because the conference will not cost your colleagues an arm and a leg like some of the huge conferences, and you can talk to your peers without being harassed by salespeople or agency representatives. In my opinion, this is the right formula as far as size, content, format, and organization.

For those of you who may argue that big conferences offer certain things smaller ones do not, I give you this Miami conference as an example you need nothing else. Some people have argued that you would be missing networking when the conference is smaller or restricted to a few languages. I would argue this is not true. When I need a colleague from a specific language combination, for some specialized field, or from a particular region of the world, I always bring on board people who I know, colleagues who I have seen working in the booth during other assignments, or interpreters recommended by a trusted colleague. I would not recruit somebody I know nothing about just because he gave me a business card during a big conference. Finally, to those who may argue that unlike Spanish language interpreters and translators, their language combination would not allow them to experience a truly international event if all they attend is a smaller conference, I suggest they attend the annual conference of the International Association of Translators and Interpreters (IAPTI). This association holds conferences once a year in different parts of the world (not the U.S.) attended by interpreters and translators from all continents. The conference is top-quality, the size is not too big and not too small, the cost is very affordable, and there are no corporate sponsors or agencies keeping you from enjoying the event. I am not saying you should never attend a big conference, they also include some great presentations as part of their extensive programs, these humongous events must be experienced by everybody at least once in a lifetime; all I am saying is that you will find more value on a smaller event like “Spring into Action”, and you will not have to break the bank to attend. I now ask you to please share with us your opinions and your experiences at the Miami conference or at any other translators and interpreters conference.