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| Translation Association and
Interpreters-in-Aid at Disasters (IAD) In the efforts made to become a society prepared for natural disasters, translators had hands-on experience in learning that they also have responsibilities. No one can predict where and when a serious earthquake will take place in Turkey. However, the reality of earthquake, which devastates everything in three- or four-year cycles or causes disasters on a national-scale every five or ten years time, is giving rise to international relief co-operation at times of disasters and making earthquakes a part of translators’ lives. For that purpose, Translation Association has launched a program to organise interpreters at times of emergencies. This program, which we call “Interpreters-in-Aid at Disasters”, covers emergency organisation and basic training activities. The training activities initiated under the leadership of the Translation Department of Istanbul University in early 2000 have paved the way to a standard IAD training, while the emergency organisation activities carried out by the Translation Association has played a complementary role in this respect. Within this framework, our Association has signed a collaboration protocol with the Istanbul Governor’s Office and become involved in the disaster planning made or to be made by public organisations. The IAD activities carried out in collaboration with the University of Istanbul, the Translation Association, and the Disaster Management Centre of the Istanbul Governor’s Office and with participation of organisations such as TRAC, AKUT, Turkish Armed Forces as well as individual experts from various fields are intended to ensure international co-operation under the conditions of disaster, and thus to facilitate the operations of foreign rescue and support teams and perform the translation and co-ordination tasks, which are needed by foreign rescue teams, through an organisational substructure and in full awareness. The progress made so far is as follows: 1) The IAD training program, which has been carried out by Istanbul University in co-operation with the Istanbul Civil Defence Directorate, was standardised; 2) An IAD Committee was set up by the Translation Association; 3) The Collaboration Protocol signed between the Istanbul Governor’s Office and the Translation Association lays the current foundation of the guidance translation activities to be performed at times of disasters; 4) IAD training was given to 80 individuals at Istanbul University in three successive courses and these individuals are involved in the activities with their IAD certificates. Also in Ankara, a group with IAD certificates has been set up. Similar initiatives have been taken in İzmir as well. By involving in the activity of organising a task force of voluntary interpreters, in addition to those with IAD certificate, our goal is to make available a substantial potential of interpreters for use in case of need. |
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