Introduction to week 3

GRAZIA: Hello, everyone. We hope you enjoyed last week’s activities. Thank you for all your comments and questions in the discussion forums. It has been great reading everyone’s views. This week, we will look at ethical codes and concerns and explore the ways good practise is understood in humanitarian interpreting. We will examine some of the possible situations, obstacles, and ethical dilemmas interpreters may face in their work.

JAMIE: This week, we will also discuss self-care and interpreters well-being. Interpreting in refugee contexts can be extremely demanding. Interpreters may feel anxious and stressed. They may suffer vicarious trauma and burnout as a result. We will look at the risks and importance of understanding the causes and symptoms of trauma and burnout and share tips for resilience.

MARTA: We will discuss the importance of self-awareness in interpreting encounters. The interpreter may over-sympathise with the refugee and thus, give a slightly modified interpretation without being aware of it. Conversely, they could make negative assumptions about their refugee, that is, the interpretation becomes somewhat biassed.

GIOVANNA: In the last few steps, we will reflect on what we have learned over the whole course and consider some of the ways in which we can improve interpreting with refugees in our countries. We will close the course with another short video, so I’ll see you then.