Transcript for ATA_PR_Video

ata american translators association

[♪ music playing ♪] This is an exciting time for the translation industry.

In the past ten years, our industry has experienced tremendous growth.

The rapidly evolving world economy has spurred ever greater demand for translation services,

and translators and interpreters are, for the first time,

visible and acknowledged as an indispensable force in the global arena.

The American Translators Association has become recognized as a primary source of information

for issues relating to translation in the United States—and increasingly in other countries.

Through the ATA Public Relations Initiative, translators and interpreters are now in the media big leagues.

ATA maintains a constant presence in the forefront of the media.

Appearing in print, radio and television, ATA has delivered its message

to an estimated 80 million homes throughout the United States and around the world.

We are interviewed on national television and radio,

and have been quoted in hundreds of newspapers, in wire service stories and on the web.

[MSNBC] And on Capitol Hill this morning, a House sub-committee is holding a hearing on the espionage charges

emerging from the terrorist detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

So can a shortage of Arabic translators be part of the reason to blame?

Joining me now from our nation’s capital is Kevin Hendzel, spokesman for the American Translators Association.

Kevin, good morning to you.

>>Good morning, Laurie. Thank you for having me.

>>Well, we know there’s a lack of translators out there, especially post 9/11.

I’m sure the U.S. military can’t get enough of them,

but have they been cutting corners in their rush to deal with these detainees?

>>Well, there has been some cutting of corners to try to hire translators and interpreters quickly.

The military has a shortage of time. They’re fighting a war,

and they’re basically paying the price for 30 years of neglect.

The truth is the military and federal agencies simply have not trained enough translators

in Arabic, Pashto, Dahri, Farsi and Urdu—and we are paying that price right now.

>>Are they actually—is the U.S. military conducting thorough enough background checks on these translators?

Well, in the case of Gitmo, they're passing them through what's called an interim check,

which is basically a two week glorified criminal check, and that’s not a real, true security clearance,

which is anywhere from six months to two years.

But the thing to keep in mind here is that the military is trying to put people in place who get information from the terrorists.

The truth is that the translators are the gatekeepers in this process—every piece of information

we have on the War on Terror has to come through a translator or interpreter.

[♪ Newsroom music ♪] News Channel 8

Welcome back. Take it from a parent—it is sometimes hard enough understanding

what’s going on in our kids' classrooms when we speak the language.

Imagine how hard it must be for parents to do their jobs if English isn't the first language spoken at home.

Area school systems, though, are working to make sure their communications home are accurately translated,

but that itself is a very tall order. Here with some perspective on the problem is Lillian Calmetti.

She is with the American Translators Association. It’s nice to have you here.

>>Thanks, I’m glad to be here.

>>We are talking about the schools sort of in specifics,

but what’s going on there can be extrapolated all throughout our community

where the notion of bilingualism is so very important.

It’s not just English; there are lots of other languages being spoken here.

>>That is absolutely right. This is a real problem. It is not going away.

And it's not just the schools that are facing it.

You’ll find this in city governments, hospitals, medical clinics, business—

everyone really has to confront this, and the schools are finding that—

Arlington County alone has to deal with 82 languages in the parent population—hard to believe.

Most of it is Spanish, but there are a range of other languages.

>>Tom West is in Phoenix. He’s a member of the American Translators Association,

and a founder of Inter-Mark Language Services Corporation. Tom, good to have you with us.

>>Good morning. Thank you.

>>Are there unique challenges posed by needing to find so many Arabic translators so quickly?

>>Oh, definitely. We feel that the message that the government needs to understand

is that translation is a profession, just as much as law or medicine.

There’s a lot of talk in the press that there’s a shortage of Arabic speakers. That may not actually be true.

The problem is that there is a shortage of Arabic translators.

abc 26 news

AHEAD

Coming up, language barriers made Katrina even more catastrophic for Spanish and Vietnamese speaking neighbors,

and one organization is making sure it will never happen again.

Lack of communication made evacuation tough for many of our

Spanish and Vietnamese neighbors before Katrina.

>>But tonight—thanks to the American Translators Association,

getting information out the next time a storm hits may be a lot easier.

Cindy Nguyen joins us now to explain—especially with our changing demographics.

>>That’s right—Mike, Liz—more than 1200 translators and interpreters are in the Crescent City tonight

to push some new changes to how information will get dispersed in case another big one comes our way.

Certainly welcoming news to the large Spanish and Vietnamese communities here.

Both had hard times last year.

>>During Hurricane Katrina, both the Hispanic communities and—

in particular, the Vietnamese community was particularly hard hit—

and there weren’t sufficient resources for—to prepare these communities to evacuate

and what to do after evacuation.

>>The Translators Association also provided translated materials for the city’s evacuation plan

and a number of public service announcements, all of which will help folks prepare for the next storm.

And Liz and Mike—the last time the Association was here was 15 years ago,

and they realized the decision to come back this time was crucial

because they know so many people need it.

>>Well, many of you here in the borderland speak more than one language,

and today a workshop was held to emphasize what an asset that can be.

>>Whether you work for industry or for the government, translation and interpreting

mistakes can be very costly and even disastrous. It's critical that you get the translation right.

ATA’s public relations initiative has reached critical mass in the national and international media.

Journalists, producers and anchors with major television and radio networks contact ATA first

when translation issues arise.

We have gone from total obscurity to being quoted in leading media.

We are on a first-name basis with reporters from The New York Times, Washington Post,

USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The LA Times, The Houston Chronicle,

The Atlanta Constitution and many other newspapers.

We have appeared on national television and radio, including CBS, CNN, NBC, Fox and NPR.

Newspapers from Beirut to Paris to Tokyo have cited ATA as the authoritative source in translation.

It was not always like this. Ten years ago, our industry was invisible.

Translators were not regarded as skilled professionals.

Most people viewed us as clerical workers, somewhere between typists and data entry personnel.

Interpreters were simply disembodied voices on radio or TV.

The public’s only impression of us came from translated user manuals riddled with comical errors.

Even translators and interpreters failed to see their work as a viable profession.

For many it was a cottage industry, conducted on a kitchen table or out of a spare bedroom—

a part-time job to make extra income.

There was no need for professional standards, or for that matter, any professionalization whatsoever.

What was the turning point? June 1st, 1996, Washington, D.C.

In the first major regional conference in ATA history, keynote speaker Neal Inglis

stood before a record crowd and declared: “The death of the poverty cult”

that had plagued the translation industry for decades.

Inglis deftly characterized the poverty cult as “Envying the success of others..."

and "Gloating over the failure of others...” a pervasive sense that it is “better for everybody to fail...”

“...than for a few to succeed.”

Translators assumed that there was a limit to what they could earn and resigned themselves

themselves to eking out a meager existence that would always require other sources of income.

Under the poverty cult mentality, translators could never expect to achieve significant financial success,

nor did they deserve it.

Translators and interpreters suffered from their own negative self-image,

and the pervasive nature of the poverty cult undermined the public’s image of us.

In fact, we had no public image.

There was no effort to influence public policy: no national advocacy or lobbying for translators and interpreters

and no endeavor to promote the translation and interpreting professions through the popular media.

What we needed was nothing short of a revolution in the way we perceive ourselves,

and nothing less than an all-out effort to convey a message of professionalism

and profitability to the greater public.

Enter the ATA Public Relations Initiative.

ATA understood that the translation industry was poised for rapid growth,

and that the key to that growth was nothing short of a transformation

in the way that our industry was perceived.

ATA wanted to change the way that the public saw the translation industry

and the way that translators saw themselves and their own profession.

This ultimately resulted in a revolution, an explosion in national visibility for translators and interpreters.

What is ATA’s Public Relations Mission?

To communicate the need to use skilled translation and interpreting professionals

to the general public, governmental and international organizations,

educational institutions, and commercial users of translation and interpreting services.

ATA adopted a specific targeted public relations strategy built on four pillars:

Media and public outreach, Consumer and client education,

Educational and standards institutions, and Lobbying and congressional oversight.

Our goal is to create maximum visibility for the translation and interpreting professions

and to amplify our message.

What is our message?

Whether you are an official at the CIA, Dell Computer or even in local government,

translation and interpreting mistakes can be costly or even disastrous.

You must have a qualified, professional translator to get the job done right.

How are we conveying this message to the public? Through the media.

9/11 catapulted translation onto the front page.

Translators and interpreters were no longer behind the scenes, they were the story.

ATA leaders were interviewed in all major media, bringing critical perspective

to what was clearly the most significant event in recent history.

You can’t fight global terrorism without knowing the terrorists’ languages.

It is easier to train a pilot to fly an F-14 than to train him to speak Arabic,

and the latter may prove more important to national security.

ATA continues to use breaking news in national security, health care,

and a variety of other areas to get our message out to the general public.

We retain a first-class media consultant who has developed relationships

with preeminent media channels throughout the United States.

When it comes to media attention,

ATA is on the cutting edge.

The ATA PR Initiative has grown and gathered momentum.

In addition to our Media Outreach Program,

ATA has cultivated excellent relationships with government officials,

promoting the industry and cultivating a growing market for our services.

We have also produced ‘Translation Getting it Right’

a guide to buying translations,

a groundbreaking client education tool.

ATA’s exciting school outreach program is introducing

the translation industry to the next generation of translators and their clients.

We go to schools and speak to students.

We promote translation as a career and explain

the vital role that translators and interpreters play in the world today.

Finally, ATAs partnership with the Red Cross and

annual pro bono projects also enhance the public image

of translators and interpreters.

The world has changed in the last ten years,

and so has the translation industry.

Translation is respected; translation is attractive as a profession;

translation is big business, and quite lucrative.

By making the public aware of the vital role that translators and interpreters

play in the global economy and national security, ATA

is raising the status of our profession, and with it our bottom line,

a direct benefit to our members and to the industry as a whole.

But there is much more to be done, and we need your help.

You too have a role to play in the PR revolution.

No matter where you live or what association you belong to,

[♪ music playing ♪] every one of us is a representative of our industry.

What does public relations mean for you?

Public relations means raising the profile of our industry.

Public relations means educating the public about what we do.

Public relations means cultivating fearless two-way relationships with

our clients and letting them know that quality translations make a difference.

Public relations—that means everyone of us is an ambassador for our profession.

Where do we go from here? The ATA Public Relations Program

has had remarkable success. ATA has been quoted in

Congressional testimony and is increasingly viewed as the authority

on translation and interpreting in the United States.

ATA has taken center stage, giving the translation industry

public visibility where none had existed before.

The time has come for all language professionals

and organizations to recognize the critical role visibility plays

in the success of foreign language initiatives, ranging from education,

public policy, legislation and local outreach to industry regulation,

government funding, and the dynamics of the language services market.

ATA stands ready to join with all language organizations

to promote our common goals and objectives.

Our industry is an industry in transition.

We are the gatekeepers of information in the global information age.

No matter how busy we are getting the words out,

we also have a responsibility to get the word out.

That is what the ATA Public Relations Initiative is all about.

[♪ music playing ♪] ata american translators association