Speakers

Specialization within the Profession

What are the various types of specializations available for sign language interpreters?

What are the different ways to pursue specialization as an SLI?

What are the resources and possibilities that are already available for us?

These and other questions will be introduced by the workshop leader and also discussed in groups.

Professor Anna-Lena Nilsson

Anna-Lena is currently a guest professor in translation studies, with a focus on interpreting, especially sign language interpreting, at the Institute for Interpreting and Translation Studies, Stockholm University. She has more than 40 years of experience as a signed language interpreter and has trained signed language interpreters since 1994.

Professionalization for Sign Language Interpreters: Insights from Live Broadcasts and Freelance Coordination

This presentation will explore the importance of professional development for sign language interpreters, with a focus on live broadcasts. We will discuss the role of collaboration between freelancers and coordinators in enhancing service quality, share practices for managing linguistic challenges, and highlight the significance of preparation and follow-up in the interpreting process. Insights from our experience in coordinating freelance interpreters for government press conferences will also be shared.

Augmante Skibelid

Augmante Skibelid, with a background in Culture and Communication from the University of Oslo and specialization in public sector interpreting, is a Senior Advisor in the Norwegian Ministries Digitalisation Organisation (DIO). She coordinates the Interpretation and Translation Service, developing procedures to inform the population in different languages during crises and everyday life.

Augmante works on improvement of the quality and efficiency of in-house interpreting services. In the Digital Services Department, she also helps standardize and streamline production for press conferences and web TV. With experience from the Directorate of Integration and Diversity, and the Central Hospital Interpreting Center, Augmante works in recruiting, training, coordinating and evaluating interpreters.

Church Interpreting – Music and SignWiki

Church interpreting calls for a lot of preparation, due to complicated vocabulary and often quite a lot of music interpretation. In Iceland we have been using SignWiki to make this preparation more efficient and easy for us. In the lecture Árný will go through how we share information and keep material available for all.

Árný Guðmundsdóttir

Árný has been working at the Communication Centre for Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Reykjavík (SHH) as a Sign Language interpreter since 1997. She finished a Masters Degree in disability studies 2012. She is now Program director for sign language interpreters at SHH and the Editor of SignWiki.

The Fun of Letting Go: Sign Language Interpreting Theatre and Music Performances

The goal is to introduce Adda´s methods in her work to participants and offer them an opportunity to try some of those methods themselves, through exercises and short projects. This will include e.g. copy-character and character switch exercises, translations of scenes/songs, interpretation with scenes/songs on video and using different voices in sign language. She will also give space for discussion about the methods as well as feedback for each participant´s performance in the workshop.

Ástbjörg Rut Jónsdóttir (Adda Rut)

Adda Rut is a Sign language interpreter (ITM) and a theatre director. She is the artistic director of the Sign language interpreters company “Hraðar hendur” (Swift Signers) as well as the theatre company O.N. productions.

Adda Rut has a specification in interpreting theatre and music performances, as well as directing theatre performances, performing and facilitating theatre workshops, both for Deaf and hearing.

With the extensive experience she has gained in the field for over 20 years, she has developed her own methods, both for interpreting performances and making performances with mixed groups of Deaf and hearing.

Collegial teamwork in remote interpreting

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the interpreters’ work have changed from traditional interpreting in face-to-face settings to increasing numbers of remote assignments, with a physical separation of the interlocutors. This physical separation has challenged the interpreters' work, and the possibilities for them to work together as a team.

The current study that will be presented describes the collegial teamwork of interpreters in remote settings. The aim was to describe the work, structure, and requirements of the collegial teamwork in remote interpreting. The focus was on how interpreters work in various ways as a team, in the pre-session, during the interpretation, and in the post-session. The lecturer will argue that Sign language interpreters need to bring collegial teamwork in remote settings to the table and discuss the challenges that they face in this rather new type of teamwork.

Camilla Warnicke

Associate professor Camilla Warnicke is an authorized interpreter of Swedish and Swedish Sign Language and a deafblind interpreter. She works at the Institute for Interpreting and Translation Studies, Stockholm University, and at the Sign Language and Deafblind Interpreter Program at Fellingsbro Folkhögskola, Örebro. She is affiliated with the School of Behavioural, Social and Legal Sciences, Örebro University.

Specialising in Healthcare Interpreting - Advanced Insights and Skills

Interpreting in healthcare settings involves working with people in vulnerable situations with sometimes life-or-death outcomes. It requires a clear view of the appropriate role of the interpreter, as well as an understanding of the aims of clinicians as they communicate with their patients.

In this collaborative workshop, we will discuss and share strategies for interpreting in both primary and secondary healthcare settings.

Paul Belmonte

Paul has been practising as an interpreter since 2005. He did his initial training at Heriot-Watt University, then worked for 15 years in a deaf organisation. Since 2020 he has worked as a specialist health interpreter for the National Health Service in Scotland. He has presented training events and at conferences all over Europe and completed his MSc from Queen Margaret University in 2022.