Creating a World with Multilingual Spaces

September 2, 2010 |
David Lee

During the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference, which took place in Hollywood Sept. 1-3, 2010 there were more than 80 workshops. The largest track was the Prevention Track sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Workshop Title: Creating a World with Multilingual Spaces
Presenters:

Description:  It costs too much to print in two languages. Repeating everything takes twice as long! If they don?t understand, they should bring someone to interpret. Sound familiar? Language is a powerful tool used to achieve political goals. It can be used to silence already marginalized voices in an effort to maintain privilege; or it can be used to create spaces for new voices to emerge in ways that transform power relationships and empower marginalized people. With the increase of non-English speaking monolingual communities, these dynamics become increasingly important to anyone working in the field of sexual violence. Whether one works as an organizer, an advocate, or in direct services, social justice work is about relationships and trust. Organizational multilingual capacity focuses on creating social justice spaces where language is used democratically to strengthen cross-cultural alliances by providing the tools and resources necessary for bridging communication across language.
Materials:

  • Highlander Institute
  • Spanish Basics, 2007 [PDF]
  • Equipment, Logistics and Affordable Strategies for Bilingual and Multilingual Meetings, Jefferson Center for Education and Research, Bulletin 3, 2001 [PDF]
  • Antonia Castañeda, Children as Translators, La Voz de Esparanza, June 1997 [PDF]
  • Barbara Gardner with Christine Smith, Talking Together, Training for Community Interpreters: Interpreters Handbook, 1994. [PDF]
  • Various Sources, Tips for Interpreters [PDF]

To view a complete list of workshops, speakers and information related to the 2010 National Sexual Assault Conference, click here.