ATA to Hold Virtual Roundtable in Response to Film “Translators”

A free virtual event held during Universal Human Rights Month will address the challenges depicted in the film Translators and provide insights into the repercussions of asking children to work as interpreters for people with limited English proficiency (LEP) and the trauma it can cause.

The American Translators Association (ATA), the premier association of translators, interpreters, and language professionals in the world, will hold a free online roundtable to discuss the depiction of children as interpreters in the film Translators, directed by Rudy Valdez and presented by U.S. Bank.  A diverse panel of language services industry experts, including researchers, language access advocates, and former child interpreters, will provide insights into the issue, explaining how the film highlights many of the challenges child interpreters can experience and how people who need professional interpreters can avail themselves of their federally protected rights to access them.

The panel will discuss a review of the film and the issues it presents, analyze the challenges of offering “meaningful” language access for LEP individuals, and suggest solutions to avoid placing the language brokering burden on children.

The free virtual event will be held on Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. EST in English, with Spanish and ASL (American Sign Language) interpreting and live professional captioning.  Register here to receive a Zoom link to attend.  A recording of the event will be made available afterwards on ATA’s website.  ATA encourages advocates, journalists, and leaders to participate and help spread the word about this important issue.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact us by emailing ATA’s Advocacy Committee at advocacy@atanet.org.

About the American Translators Association
The American Translators Association (ATA) is the largest professional association of interpreters and translators in the United States, with thousands of members in over 100 countries who work in over 90 languages. Members include translators, interpreters, teachers, project managers, web and software developers, language company owners, hospitals, universities, and government agencies.  ATA’s mission is to promote the recognition of professional translators and interpreters, to facilitate communication among its members, to establish standards of competence and ethics, to provide its members with professional development opportunities, and to advocate on behalf of the profession.