BARBADIANS NOW HAVE a viable solution for solving language communication challenges within various global industries and sectors.
This is thanks to the opening of a Translation Bureau at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, today.
Featured speaker, Minister of Labour, Social Security and Human Resource Development, Senator Dr Esther Byer, made it clear that she strongly supported this endeavour, and urged the Bureau to make its services available to all.
She noted: “The intention of UWI to promote its Translation Bureau to the public and private sector, and indeed to the wider civil society, is fully encouraged… Like tourism, the success of our international business sector depends on our ability to attract foreign investors, and facilitate and maintain business. The availability of interpretation and translation services is a critical element in the development of these services sectors.”
The Minister also focused on the benefits within the area of conference tourism, as Barbados has been promoting itself as a destination of choice in this growing niche.
“I know that recently Barbados lost out on hosting an OAS meeting because it was felt – not by the OAS, but by our delegation, that Barbados did not have the translation capacity! But no longer! …Our ability to provide the required services contributes to our efforts to host large events which attract large numbers of participants and results in the earning of foreign exchange gained from tourist spend,” she emphasised.
Dr Byer further noted that additional benefits of the Translation Bureau would range from the operationalisation of treaties, to facilitating discussion with delegates from countries such as Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, China and others.
The Minister expressed the hope that from the initiative Barbadians would see the relevance of learning a foreign language.
She advised: “The acquisition of a second language broadens one’s scope for jobs in every region of the world, and increasingly so here in Barbados… It has also been shown that employees with another language contribute to increased profits for businesses and earn higher average salaries than those who are not so skilled.”
The Translation Bureau will be offering services in Spanish, French, Portuguese, German and Mandarin. (BGIS)
