If you use interpreters, AIIC standards and working conditions ensure quality of service. If you are an interpreter, joining AIIC provides recognition, networking, representation and a chance to influence globally acknowledged standards. If you train interpreters or receive training yourself, AIIC provides guidance and supports research.
AIIC advocates for all conference interpreters and the profession as a whole, giving a voice to practitioners and users alike. Simultaneous interpreting in particular requires common rules and shared expectations, both within the team of interpreters and with meeting organizers and participants. Quality conference interpretation depends on the skills and abilities of the interpreters, but also on appropriate working conditions, solid teamwork, and reliable technical equipment installed and operated by professionals.
The world of interpretation stands today on the edge of a new frontier – the frontier of Distance Simultaneous Interpreting. Given its potential to bring about a transition as momentous as that from consecutive to simultaneous back in Nuremberg, it is more important than ever that AIIC remain at the forefront, shaping the conditions that will define this new mode of delivery as the guardian of quality conference interpretation.
Serving interpreters and the conference industry
AIIC helps conference organizers find professional interpreters through its online directories of members and vetted consultant interpreters.
AIIC promotes quality training through its Best Practice recommendations for Interpreting Schools and its Schools Directory.
AIIC also promotes life-long learning by organizing training courses for professional interpreters and trainers.
AIIC advises young people interested in interpreting or just starting out in the profession.
AIIC listens to users of interpretation services and carries out detailed studies of their expectations.
AIIC caters to the needs of the conference industry through its private market sector, which provides expert input for the organization of conferences and promotes the role of the consultant interpreter.
AIIC incorporated Sign Language in 2012 on an equal footing with spoken languages and provides expert advice on specific requirements for the use of sign language interpretation in conference settings.
AIIC reaches out to the interpreting community at conferences and through its web site, webzine Communicate! and Facebook page.
Promoting professional excellence and good working conditions
AIIC supports ongoing research on how to optimize conditions for quality interpreting.
AIIC, in cooperation with the International Standards Organization (ISO), defines the standards for fixed and mobile interpreting booths.
AIIC offers advice to planners and architects of new conference centres.
AIIC has researched the correlation between working conditions and interpreter performance with support from specialists in occupational medicine.
AIIC closely follows developments in new technologies and reacts appropriately to the challenges and opportunities they represent.
Representing the interests of all interpreters
AIIC negotiates agreements with major international organizations (UN, EU) on working conditions and remuneration.
AIIC sponsors a project addressing the challenges faced by interpreters in conflict zones.
© Text: AIIC
The AIIC Austria Region is a co-organizer of the “One Trial – Four Languages” exhibition in Innsbruck.