Community events foster a sense of togetherness and responsibility, spurring community members to keep the community safe, inclusive, and welcoming. This is especially important when the community is made up of people from all walks of life, from younger to older, different genders, different cultures, and across languages.

California especially is home to people from many different countries and backgrounds, including first- and second-generation immigrants, and others whose preferred language isn’t English. Diverse backgrounds bring fresh perspectives to community events and planning, which is why we were so excited to provide interpretation services to the recent Hilby Avenue Traffic Calming Project on May 17^th.

The interpreter we provided has a great many years of experience, even in other traffic-related projects. We prepared our interpretation equipment, made up of portable receivers and headsets that have an incredible range of use. Our client let us know that the portable equipment was a “great approach” for their walking tour around Hilby Avenue, and was quite happy with our mobility and flexibility in helping.

The event was a great success. We helped to welcome incoming community members, letting them know that interpretation services were available. The headsets allowed for the Spanish participants to understand the presentation, Q&A, and breakout session in order to provide feedback. Our interpreter assisted the Spanish speaking participants to write their comments in English on the provided maps of Hilby Avenue, as well as interpreted for the event employees so they could directly communicate with the Spanish participants and ask for their ideas.

This type of community safety event is very important, and therefore, we worked as community members as well to help generate more feedback from participants who were able to offer different perspectives. We look forward to future continuous endeavors with the traffic safety project.

Check out our Facebook page to see photos from the event.

MONTEREY, California – March 29, 2017 – This evening Monterey Language Services (www.montereylanguages.com) provided Instant Translation for a Seaside, California meeting with an expected turnout of over 400 attendees.

The issues surrounding sanctuary cities have recently become a source of major concern for many of us in California and the country. In order to give ordinary people the chance to have their opinions on this important topic heard, the City of Seaside – not far from Monterey Language Services’ base in Monterey – organized a public meeting devoted to sanctuary cities – with an expected turnout of hundreds of people.

Monterey Language Services implemented an Instant Translation solution, in which the meeting was presented in English but instantly translated into Spanish with the translation displayed visually on a screen. Audience members were also able to read the translation on their phones, tablets, and other personal devices. Follow the link to see Instant Translation in action: https://youtu.be/dRP5lQHQ0tM

This real-time display of translation proved to be a success and made the important content of the meeting accessible to everyone. “Tonight’s meeting is a testament to the method’s suitability for large audiences. When it comes to providing cross-cultural communication for very large audiences, Instant Translation is a time- and cost-effective solution,” says Mei-Ling Chen, Director of Monterey Language Services.

When the City of Seaside approached Monterey Language Services with a request for a Spanish language option for tonight’s meeting, Monterey Language Services was happy to take on the challenge: “What sets us apart from the competition,” says Mei-Ling Chen at Monterey Language Services, “is finding solutions that meet our clients’ needs. That’s our strength.”

The usual method of simultaneous interpretation with a sufficient number of headsets, transmitters, and receivers to accommodate such a large audience proved too expensive. Instead, Monterey Language Services presented a cost-effective solution that addresses the City’s needs: a method that can service a full house without adding extra hours to the meeting’s duration because of language interpretation needs.

For more information, please contact Mei-Ling Chen at 831 655 3460 or mei-ling@montereylanguages.com

Monterey Language Services is committed to bridging the world’s languages by providing high quality, professional and efficient translation & interpretation services in over 175 languages.

Contact Information
Mei-Ling Chen
Monterey Language Services
http://www.montereylanguages.com
831-655-3460