In response to the Covid-induced crisis affecting jobs and travel in the region starting around January/February, the AIIC Asia Pacific Regional Bureau conducted a survey to determine the extent of the impact.
An online regional meeting was held on 21 March to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on conferences and events in Asia-Pacific, including the use of remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI), as well as an information session about AIIC for members, especially recently admitted pre-candidates and candidates. After this regional meeting, a series of free online workshops and training sessions were organized on various topics (based on member feedback) for the benefit of members in the region, with some events also open to non-member interpreters.
- April 17: Webinar by Maha El-Metwally on remote conference interpreting, organized by AIIC Training & Professional Development (ATPD) and the Asia Pacific region.
- April 25: Panel discussion on RSI with practical inputs (panelists: Hong Jiang, Leo Liu, Grace Song, Aubrey Chen, Bernard Song)
- May 2: Staying on top of your game. Deliberate practice as a case in point (by Dr. Elisabet Tiselius)
- May 16: RSI approaches in institutional settings – panel discussion followed by Q&A. The panelists were AIIC interpreters working with high profile institutions such as the United Nations, the European Union, the FAO, the South Pacific Community and the government of Canada (Katia Feo, Phil Smith, Gillian Misener, Blandine Jeanne, Roy Benyon)
- May 30: Acoustic shock and the health risks of poor sound (panelists: Marc Orlando, Andrew Constable, Gabriella Verdi, Kathleen Ratel, Andrea Caniato)
- June 6: AP event with the AIIC Task Force on Distance Interpreting (TFDI) (panelists: Andrew Constable, Manuela Wille, Oliver Pouliot, Denise Tschager)
- June 9: Webinar on RSI for a Chinese-speaking audience, organised by Hong Jiang (over 450 participants). This webinar is accessible in Chinese here.
- June 27: Strategies in Simultaneous Interpretetion for Interpreters in the Asia-Pacific Region by Cyril Flerov (AIIC USA Training).
- September 5: Asia-Pacific Region: Note-Taking for Consecutive Interpreting Abridged Step 1 by David Violet (AIIC USA Training).
The series will continue in the months to come, so please check this section regularly so you don’t miss anything! If you are not a member of AIIC Asia Pacific and would like to receive updates on our public events, please contact us and we will add you to our mailing list.