Tomedes Powers Global Political Cooperation with Simultaneous Interpretation

Taking an informed, international approach to policy decisions isn’t always easy. Countries’ differing attitudes, political situations, justice systems, and far more come into play, as well as their language differences. Yet with hard work, careful coordination, and expert translation services and interpretation services, it is possible for countries to work together, learn from one another, and take a collaborative approach to major issues. This was precisely what happened when Tomedes recently worked with a committee that facilitates setting drug policy in Europe and throughout the world.

The Challenge: Providing English to French Simultaneous Interpretation Services

The client was planning an important online conference, consisting of plenary sessions and breakout sessions, spread across three days. They needed simultaneous interpretation services, with four interpreters converting the sessions from English to French over Zoom, as the event was delivered.

The focus of the three days of discussion was to be drug policy and crime in Africa. As such, the interpreters needed to be familiar with language relating to policy and to matters of the judiciary. Given the international and high-level nature of the event, the client asked Tomedes to provide certified French interpreters for the United Nations (UN) for this work. 

The Opportunity: Why Tomedes Was the Right Choice

The Tomedes team was most happy to oblige. As a global provider of both translation and interpretation services, we are well positioned to provide highly qualified linguists for demanding tasks at short notice.

In cases like this, where the quality of the interpretation is of the utmost importance, we are delighted to provide interpreters with extensive experience of working at UN-level, to assure the smooth delivery of the event in linguistic terms. We can facilitate this in-person and also online, as this client required. Demand for Zoom language interpretation shot up during the pandemic and remains high to this day. Zoom delivery with online interpretation ticks all the right boxes for modern international event organizers, from carbon footprint reduction to keeping operational costs low.

This client’s work is all about optimizing communication between NGOs and government agencies in order to facilitate collaboration. Structure, process, and clarity all play an important role in that, so it was important to the client that their event interpretation services were delivered in a similar fashion. Tomedes’ highly organized approach, our ISO 9001:2015 certification for our quality management system, and our professional customer service all demonstrated to the client that we fit the bill.

The Solution: Online Simultaneous Interpreting

Our project manager worked with the client from start to finish, making arrangements for four interpreters to cover the event. Our simultaneous interpreting service for online events works just as it does for in-person occasions, with interpreters working in close coordination and with regular breaks. In this manner we assigned two interpreters to cover the plenary sessions and two to cover the breakout sessions.

The content of the sessions was focused on drug policy and crime, with the event bringing together senior officials from a range of international agencies in multiple countries. Clear communication was the cornerstone, as is so often the case when providing language solutions for the healthcare industry, policy makers, government departments, NGOs, and more.

By delivering the conference simultaneously in English and French, as well as by holding it online, Tomedes’ client enabled a richly diverse audience to participate. Approximately 1.5 billion people speak English, including those who speak it as a second tongue. Meanwhile, French has more than 300 million speakers, making it the fifth most spoken language in the world. English and French have the distinction of being the only two languages that are spoken on all five continents–hence their relevance for international events such as that organized by our client.

The Result: Coordinated Drug Policy on an International Scale

The concept of being stronger together is certainly one that holds true when it comes to policy making around narcotics and crime. Our highly skilled, certified French translators and interpreters helped to facilitate this beautifully during the client’s event. As the speakers delivered their expertise in English, our interpreters carefully relayed their words in French, meaning that Zoom participants could listen in whichever of the two languages they felt most comfortable using.

The event was well-attended and the client was delighted with how smoothly it ran, including how well the language-related aspect worked. Our certified French interpreters never missed a beat when it came to delivering the subject matter in French. Meanwhile Tomedes’ customer service, from our interpreters through to the project manager who oversaw the provision of interpretation services in its entirety, was second to none.

Another satisfied client. And a satisfied team here at Tomedes, too. It’s always a good feeling to know you’ve given your best and facilitated something worthwhile, such as this client’s event, to help make the world a better place.