Posted in Interpreter News

In November NABS attended the National Indigenous Health Conference in Cairns.

NABS Interpreter Elizabeth (Liz) Temple presented on improving access and health outcomes for Indigenous Deaf people in the Northern Territory.

There was lots of valuable information shared, including a keynote speech by Paul Higginbotham, CEO of Earbus Foundation WA.

Over 200 people attended the three-day event, many of whom visited the NABS stand.

By NABS Interpreter, Michael Egan

I was both surprised and honoured to be awarded NABS (National Auslan Interpreter Booking and Payment Service) sponsorship to enable a rural interpreter to attend the 2013 ASLIA National Conference (ANC) in Sydney.

My thanks to NABS for their generosity, and to the ASLIA Executive Committee for facilitating all the required arrangements in order for me to attend the ANC.

Having read the line up of speakers I was eager to attend and if there was any disappointment it was that the program was one day only.

It was fitting that the keynote speaker Dr Christopher Stone commenced his potted history of sign language interpreting by pointing out that sign language use by Australian indigenous peoples dates back some 40,000 years.

His research, using mostly archived English church and court documents, found the first record of interpreting was at a wedding in 1575, and Fanny Lazarus was the first recorded interpreter in 1776.

Deaf people were among convicts transported from Great Britain to colonial Australia. From 1928 interpreting in this country developed mostly via welfare agencies until Auslan was accepted under the NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters) umbrella in 1982 and followed by the establishment of interpreter training courses. Interpreting was at that stage a recognised profession.

Dr Stone urged us to consider the meaning of being professional interpreters given that Deaf people now have greater access to civil society and our roles “All in one day” being so varied in terms of settings and skills required.

The career of each interpreter is different depending on whether they work in rural or urban settings, schools, universities, courts, corporate settings, medical etc.

Dr Stone suggested that to meet the challenges of developing appropriate varied skill sets interpreters must engage with the Deaf community to find out what they need/expect from interpreters.

Does our opinion of our roles and expertise match our clients’ opinion of our performance? We cannot grow professionally without the support of the Deaf community and that of our colleagues.

Dr Stone pointed out “tension” between interpreter registration requirements versus the notion of the varied high quality skills interpreters now need in such a wide variety of settings.

I found the Australian Communication Exchange Video Relay Service (ACE VRS) presentation by Tony Bennetts, Chief Information Officer, and Merie Spring, Quality Assurance consultant, exciting in terms of rapidly developing VRS technology and valuable in outlining the specific skills interpreters need to be effective practitioners.

ACE has as its goal the design and production of a single mobile device which can be used by Deaf and hearing impaired people to meet all their communication needs including video phone calls, Skype with captions that can be used to access the National Relay Service. This all-purpose device will be affordable and easily portable, rather like a smart phone.

Tony stated that Australia is at the forefront of communication technology worldwide and that unlike the USA and other countries has the advantage of having only one provider.

From her involvement in ACE VRS quality assurance Merie Spring was able to share with us the rapid development and use of VRS, the training and monitoring of interpreters working in this area and the specific skills needed.

In addition to high level interpreting skills and Auslan/English language competencies VRS interpreters must be skilled in telephone protocol, be able to problem solve,  remain calm and confident under pressure and be able to multi-task.

Unlike other jobs, the nature of VRS work does not allow for preparation because interpreters cannot predict who the next caller will be, the subject of the call or the specialised terminology which will be required.

VRS interpreters must therefore commit to ongoing learning to build a knowledge bank covering wide range of topics. To maintain high standards in VRS interpreting at ACE interpreters are regularly monitored by external interpreters.

Julie Judd, Lori A Whynot and Therese Lewis gave a highly informative presentation on consequence based ethics through reflective practice based on the Dean and Pollard Demand Control Schema.

They spoke of the success of recent structured sessions aimed at giving interpreters tools to help them manage the complex demands of their work. Space does not permit further details of this presentation but I suggest interpreters would very much benefit by accessing the work of these presenters and the work of Dean and Pollard.

On behalf of another interpreter in Bendigo I have purchased a DVD of the 2013 conference which we will make available to other interpreters in our area.

Once again my sincere thanks to NABS for giving me this excellent professional development opportunity and the chance to catch up with friends and colleagues.

Among the friendly faces at the recent World Federation of the Deaf Conference in Sydney was Shamila, from the YMCA Madurai in India.

She shared with NABS some initiatives of the YMCA, such as the Services Centre for the Hearing Impaired, Special School for Mentally Challenged and YMCA Sports and Games Centre.

Since the introduction of a special school in the 1970’s, nearly 1,200 boys and girls have successfully completed their studies in speech language, auditory training and lip reading.

This includes students from pre-school age, right through to a Higher Secondary level of education.

NABS provided Shamila (YMCA Secretary) with some NABS pens and information bags to take back to students and teachers at the School for the Deaf.

Located in Southern India, the Madurai YMCA is involved in a wide range of social action programs with a motive to educate and empower people through its projects in and around the city.

You can find out more about the Association on its website: http://www.ymcamadurai.com/Servicescenter.html

NABS headed to Sydney on Wednesday, October 16 for a big week of celebrations at the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and ASLIA National Conference (ANC).

As bronze sponsors of the WFD Conference, NABS hosted an exhibition stand and had representation at the popular, International Deaf Film Festival.

NABS connected with Deaf Consumers and Interpreters from not only across Australia, but around the world.

WFD welcomed more than 600 delegates over the four-day event, including presenters from Nepal, Finland, Albania, America, the United Kingdom, Sweden, India, New Zealand and Russia.

NABS was also a partner of the 2013 ANC, which followed the WFD forum.

In addition to an exhibition stand, NABS provided a $500 grant towards the attendance of one NABS/ASLIA interpreter – won by Victorian interpreter Michael Egan.

As part of a running competition on the day, NABS also awarded two other lucky interpreters with $250 towards Professional Development of choice (Linda Finucane), and one year’s membership to ASLIA (Alana Wiekart).

Congratulations Michael, Linda and Alana.

The celebrations didn’t stop there, with President of ASLIA Queensland and NABS Diploma of Interpreting trainer, Merie Spring, taking out the title of Interpreter of the Year for 2012.

NABS had a very successful few days in Sydney, and was pleased to see both familiar and new faces at its booth to collect information brochures and merchandise.

This will be a wonderful festival.  It will attract a great number from the Deaf community and aims to celebrate the Deaf Community’s diversity and achievements. There will be stalls, entertainment and activities. 

We are calling for ideas and volunteers to help us to create a two minute film that aims to promote NABS services and showcase our own wonderful community.