The COVID challenge
As has been the case with almost all the sectors, the COVID-19 pandemic that first broke out in March of 2020 has had, and continues to have, a noticeable impact in the way DG Interpretation (SCIC) operates.
Before the pandemic, most meetings were exclusively in person, with occasional participation via video conference of a very limited number of speakers. SCIC also offered remote interpretation via videoconferencing systems for the working meals of the European Council summits.
Since March 2020, due to travel restrictions and sanitary measures, remote participation has become the only possible solution for many meetings. Therefore, SCIC has had to take steps to respond to this crisis by adopting the tools needed to transmit interpretation to the remote participants. These were essential business continuity measures for SCIC to fulfil its mission to enable multilingual decision-making in the European Commission and in the other EU institutions it services, at a time when EU citizens needed it the most. In 2019, SCIC carried out an analysis of the several Simultaneous Interpreting Delivery Platforms (SIDPs) commercially available, in order to gauge their advantages and disadvantages and to try and define possible use cases for said platforms in a delivery model that, back then, was radically different.
In April/May 2020, building on the results of said analysis, SCIC chose Interactio as the SIDP best suited for its needs and integrated it into the audio-visual infrastructure of its meeting rooms, equipped with standard, ISO-compliant interpretation booths. This solution allows SCIC interpreters to work from the facilities they are used to, using the state-of-the-art conferencing systems the EU institutions are equipped with.
May 4th 2020 saw the successful debut of interpretation delivered via Interactio at the Coronavirus Global Reponse Pledging Conference, a high-level event with six languages chaired and organized by President Ursula von der Leyen, which raised over 15.9 billion euros in pledges made for universal access to tests, treatments and vaccines against coronavirus and for the global recovery. Since then, there has been a steady rollout of Interactio in the European Commission, with an ever-increasing number of meeting rooms equipped with the SIDP. As soon as SCIC started using those tools in May, it adopted temporary crisis working arrangements for simultaneous or consecutive interpretation delivered through SIDPs or videoconferencing tools, which were considered necessary to attenuate the impact of the technical limitations and the novelty of the tools.
In accordance with the interim crisis arrangements, SCIC increased the number of interpreters sharing the workload and the number of breaks, limited the working time in the booth, and provided for relief teams to redeem interpreters attaining that time limit. These crisis interim crisis arrangements were adopted in agreement with SCIC’s staff representatives and updated in December 2020, to take into account the experience gathered until then.
Ever since the rollout of SIDPs and other corporate videoconferencing tools, SCIC has identified best practices, which it has shared with meeting chairs, meeting participants and meeting managers in many different ways. SCIC has issued guidelines in all EU languages containing advice about the internet connections, the participants’ IT equipment and meeting etiquette and has shared them extensively with all users of its services. It has prepared a short videoclip with tips for a successful participation in a videoconference with interpretation, widely shared via social media.
It has issued specific guidelines for interpreters and Heads of Interpreting Teams. To protect interpreters, it has also issued a disclaimer about service interruption due to technical problems. Additionally, it has authorised individual interpreters and Heads of Interpretation Teams to stop interpreting when the minimum technical and other conditions are not met.
SCIC has deployed a relentless awareness-raising effort about the particularities of SIDPs among different internal and external stakeholders, including Member States’ Permanent Representations to the EU and gives training to meeting managers ahead of meetings.
SCIC also runs regular training sessions for Commission officials about the use of SIDPs and videoconferencing tools. SCIC has run an extensive survey of interpreters about their experience with SIDPs and videoconferencing tools and acted based on the results. Before starting using them, SCIC tested the new delivery models with the help of interpreters, taking their feedback into account. Moreover, SCIC runs or participates in connection and sound tests before meetings with SIDPs or videoconferencing tools, with the aim of giving customised preventive advice to meeting participants, chairs and technical staff in order to improve the technical and practical conditions for all stakeholders.
SCIC has set up a task force with the participation of SCIC’s staff representatives and the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) with observer status, which is preparing a Charter about the use of SIDPs. The rationale behind all these initiatives is to enable the best possible sound and image conditions for all participants and interpreters working in the meeting, highlighting to the over 50.000 participants of meetings with Interactio organized by the European Commission between March 2020 and December 2020 the crucial importance to properly equip themselves for videoconferences with interpretation.
Since in the vast majority of instances SCIC interpreters work from the premises of the EU Institutions and, therefore, need to be physically present in the workplace, a set of measures focusing on physical distance, hygiene and limited exposure were adopted especially for interpreting assignments, to ensure interpreters’ safety. They translate corporate health protection and business continuity guidelines. SCIC has thus been in a position to continue providing essential interpretation with the highest possible degree of multilingualism throughout the pandemic, adjusting its approach to changing needs until the health situation allows a return to more normal working conditions.