Language is (super)vital
Kick-off event marks start of international project on multilingualism in crisis areas
11—14 December 2024
From the 11th to the 14th of December 2024, the research workshop Multilingualism in Spaces of Crisis: The Impact of Human and Non-Human Agency took place at the Department of Translation Studies. Under the direction of Professor Şebnem Bahadır-Berzig and Dr Raquel Pacheco Aguilar, an interdisciplinary consortium consisting of six European partner universities and experts from the field came together to develop common goals for a project proposal.
The involvement of Professor Federico Federici (University College London), a leading expert in crisis communication, together with the collaboration with the Turkish network for Emergency and Disaster Interpreters ARÇ is especially noteworthy and greatly valued. This cooperation enables a practice-orientated perspective on the topics of multilingualism and crisis communication.
The two-day kick-off event focussed on key questions such as:
How can multilingual communication needs be better integrated into international crisis support systems (e.g., INSARAG, WHO) and how can translation services be used for more effective crisis prevention and risk minimisation?
How can global best practice examples be adapted locally to create sustainable solutions for multilingual and multicultural needs?
How can an international, inter- and transdisciplinary training and accreditation programme for crisis interpreters be developed?
The workshop - funded by ARQUS, the Faculty of Humanities’ focus area Multilingualism, Migration and Cultural Transformation and the ITAT - provided a significant impetus for the further development of new research approaches to multilingualism in crisis situations and fostered valuable exchange among the Arqus network partners from Minho, Granada, Maynooth and Graz.
