Bilingual Advocacy And Why It Is So Important
Bilingual Advocacy - What is it and why is it so important?
At Vandu Languages, we understand the importance of truly understanding each other - especially when accessing vital services. Our trained Bilingual Advocates support non-English speaking clients in making informed decisions to access the support services they need. This essential service empowers individuals to have their voice heard and ensures they are represented accurately.
We are proud to offer such effective interpreting and translation services but sometimes clients require more support when communicating with support services. An interpreter’s focus is on literally translating what their client is saying into the relevant target language. A bilingual advocate is more than an interpreter as they also act as a representative, expressing their best interests. They focus on deeply understanding their clients’ needs and voicing them to ensure they are well understood by all parties in the relevant target language.
So how can someone become a Bilingual Advocate?
The majority of our Bilingual Advocates begin their journey working with us as an interpreter. As multiple language speakers, it’s great to use your skills to benefit both you and your community! If one of our interpreters has an interest in getting more involved with cross-cultural communication, we can refer them to one of our Bilingual Advocacy courses. Here they will learn how to provide informal mental health support, represent members of the community and more!
The course itself compiles all the need-to-know information about supporting people in the community over a 10 week learning period. We are committed to training more Bilingual Advocates so we offer the course at a reasonable price. Enrolling in our next fleet of learners is also the cheapest time to train as this sequence of sessions are subsidised.
Vandu’s experience of creating inclusive services spans over 20 years! We ensure that the service-provider fully understands the needs of the client, so no assumptions are ever made based on their ethnicity, culture or religion. We always represent our client in a professional manner, avoiding offence being caused by either party due to cultural differences or the language barrier between them. We work to provide additional information for vulnerable people who aren’t equipped with the skills or knowledge to make informed choices in a particular situation. By making our own services empathetic to the issues often faced by clients, we strive to enhance the accessibility of the support services we work with.
Our advocates are expertly trained, fluent in the language they represent but most importantly, compassionate and passionate about what they do. The driving force behind our Bilingual Advocacy initiative is our advocates themselves!
If you’re an interpreter looking to deepen your understanding of communication or a bilingual speaker wanting to help support your community, get in touch! We’re running a new Bilingual Advocacy course soon so be sure to drop us an email at admin@vandu.co.uk for more information!
We look forward to hearing from you!
