You have fled from your homeland to Germany, you do not speak language, but you have to find right one. What would help better than a person who speaks German and his own language, who is familiar with practice in Germany and can accompany one. This is exactly what an offer is established by Caritas in Munich district in cooperation with People’s College souast. She wants to qualify people as so-called cultural interpreters. Hannah recently and Petra Römer of Caritas act as project leaders. The offer is presented on Monday 9 October from 18 to 20 o’clock at wolf-Ferrari-Haus in Ottobrunn. The SZ spoke with Hannah recently about new offer.
In Munich, re is already a course for cultural interpreters. Why do you want to create something like this now in Munich district?
Hannah recently: We as Caritas are mandated by “Action Man” to promote integration also in district. We do research with “integration glasses”, where re are still gaps in district. We have become very attentive to fact that re are always misunderstandings and difficulties in linguistic and cultural field and re is no comprehensive offer yet. We want to conclude this with a network of volunteer cultural interpreters.
who can Cultural Interpreters be?
Every bilingual who is interested in volunteering and who can take about two hours of time a week. You also have to be able to speak enough German. We are going out of people who have a migration background, so y mselves come from a different culture.
So it is best to find people who have had to rediscover mselves here?
Yes, we assume that those who have experienced such an experience can well support ors in a conversation.
What tasks do you have as a cultural interpreter?
The cultural interpreters are booked by specialist institutions from social, health and education sectors. During a conversation y assist professionals linguistically and culturally. They are quasi intermediaries between specialist body and seeker. But tasks go beyond normal interpreting, it is about explaining cultural backgrounds as well.
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What is a typical conflict that can n be assisted?
They often appear in school. If a young person with a Turkish background has very little involvement in discussions, a parental interview could be convened, accompanied by a cultural interpreter. It could reveal that it is in Turkish culture course and re is no contradiction to teacher. When choosing a cultural interpreter, it is important to respect not only language but also region from which it comes.
How does a qualification course run?
On October 9th, an information event will be held for all interested parties. It explains what a cultural interpreter is. You can n register for a preliminary interview and finally for course for qualification. Kick-off event is November 8th. Until December 20, a me evening is held every Wednesday at adult Education School in Ottobrunn. The participants are accompanied by an intercultural trainer, it is about questions such as: What is cross-cultural communication? Where can conflicts arise? In training you will learn how to translate language and culture, stay neutral and build communication bridges. In addition, you get to know different institutions, including hospice and health insurance companies. The practice is tested using role-playing games. The participants will receive a certificate on January 10th.
Can a refugee directly contact a cultural interpreter or does it only go through an organisation?
This must be through a specialist service, for example asylum social counseling. She can contact a cultural interpreter. The idea is that stakes are structured and not some volunteers are constantly employed.
Caritas will manage network of cultural interpreters. Have you received any inquiries?
Yes, both from volunteers and from potential cooperation partners.
