International Translation Day

As both a translator and Communication Advisor at a Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa, I think International Translation Day is a wonderful opportunity to discuss how we work with language professionals to facilitate access to quality healthcare.

In early September 2024 I attended the annual New Zealand Society for Translator and Interpreters (NZSTI) conference, just days before starting work at Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa. And I was delighted to see Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa used in an interpreting scenario for discussion.

Agustina Marianacci and George Major led a session titled Allyship and ethicality in practice: What does it mean and how do we do it. They outlined a scenario where an interpreter was helping a person with a refugee background attend a Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa clinic and asked us to consider the different power balances at play, along with other factors that may affect how we – the interpreter – would work with them. It was an interesting and pertinent exercise that involved questioning our own assumptions.

When asked why they’d chosen Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa as an example, Agustina explained that it made a great scenario for potential miscommunication, “So much can go wrong when talking about sexuality across cultures. There are so many taboos, and they differ from culture to culture. It’s something that people can be very shy or private about, and it takes a particularly aware, safe, and competent interpreter to see that and to be able to address it in a sensitive manner.” She also explained that people from all walks of life access Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa services, and highlighted the importance of accessing “affordable places and specialised professionals that won’t make them feel weird.”

So how do people arrange interpreters for Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa appointments? When making a booking over the phone or in person, you, or the person calling on your behalf, can tell us you need an interpreter. Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa will then organise an interpreter to attend your appointment either in person or over the phone. Soon you will also be able to indicate you need an interpreter through our online booking form.

Meanwhile, people who are Deaf, hard of hearing, speech-impaired and deafblind can use NZ Relay to communicate with Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa staff over the phone or on the app, including during an appointment at a clinic.

Translation also has an important role to play in providing access to information. For Te Wiki o te Reo 2024 we worked with translator Wareko Te Angina to translate the week’s social media posts and some key webpages into te reo Māori. Wareko’s approach involved adapting the translated texts so that they reflected a Te Ao Māori worldview. We would like to build on this work in future, making more information available in te reo Māori.

Both translation and interpreting are essential for our international programmes, where we work with Pacific partners to expand clinical and health promotion services, sexuality education, and research. 

– Hannah Lawrence, Communication Advisor 
 

Agustina Marianacci is an English-Spanish community interpreter, conference interpreter, translator, and researcher.

George Major is Senior Lecturer and New Zealand Sign Language Programme Leader at Auckland University of Technology. 
 
Wareko Te Angina is Māori Language Translator, Editor, and Consultant.