ABOUT
When arriving in a new country, effective communication in the initial stage is one of the main tools to achieve integration in that country. A newcomer will obviously not immediately be able to master the local language, which is why the services of a public service interpreter play an important role in this initial stage. Practices of how interpreters can be and are employed in such settings differ widely across Europe, and there is no European framework of minimal standards for public service interpreting (PSI) yet. This causes unequal access to basic services across the EU. An additional challenge for newcomers is the mismatch between interpreter supply and demand: speakers from languages of lesser diffusion (LLDs) are often excluded from access to essential services due to insufficient interpreters in their languages.
To tackle these challenges, the project has a three-fold overall objective:
- Develop minimum standards to guarantee high-quality language support and equal access to basic services for newcomers across the EU;
- Facilitate access to interpreting services by offering remote solutions that are more adapted to contemporary needs;
- Increase the interpreting capacity for LLDs to make sure that more newcomers have access to essential language services and to empower the speakers of these languages
EU-WEBPSI includes several project stages to achieve these objectives. To be able to fulfil the several project objectives, an innovative EU-wide portal will be set up, which will provide video remote interpreting services. Three reception authorities will be responsible for the training of 60 newcomers who will be deployed as public service interpreters on the web portal after certification. Throughout the project, we will refer to these interpreters as (WEB)PSIs.
CONSORTIUM
The project started in September 2022 and ends in August 2025. The consortium brings together ten partners active in the field of PSI:
Universities with teaching and research experience in several PSI domains such as interpreter-mediated communication in various settings, video-mediated interpreting, interpreter training and e-learning content.
Reception authorities that work with public service interpreters on a regular basis. These partners’ insights are used to gain a deeper understanding of (PSI in) the asylum context. In the course of the project, these reception authorities will be responsible for the selection and coaching of trainees who will be deployed through the web portal.
Interpreting agencies with experience in offering interpreting services, interpreter training and interpreter assessment. These agencies will also be involved in the training and certification of the trainees.
AMIF-PROJECTS
The European Commission’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) is set up for the period 2021-2027, with a total of EUR 9.88 billion. The Fund aims to further boost national capacities and improve procedures for migration management, as well as to enhance solidarity and responsibility sharing between Member States, in particular through emergency assistance and the relocation mechanism.
AMIF contributes to the achievement of four specific objectives:
- to strengthen and develop all aspects of the common European asylum system, including its external dimension
- to support legal migration to the Member States, including by contributing to the integration of third-country nationals
- to contribute to countering irregular migration and ensuring effectiveness of return and readmission in third countries
- to enhance solidarity and responsibility sharing between the Member States, in particular towards those most affected by migration and asylum challenges
