Case: Simultaneous interpreting; Yemen Peace Talks, December 2018

Yemen Peace Talks, December 2018.

Client: Guarantee Travel Group, Jordan. Guarantee is a leading full-service travel agency, with offices across the Middle East and in Europe. End client: one of the official UN organisations.

Event: Yemen peace talks, outside Stockholm, Sweden, between Yemeni government and Houthi rebels. Mediated by UN envoy, Martin Griffiths.

Interpreting type: Simultaneous interpreting, Arabic < > English during 11 days of talks.

Simultaneous interpreting for crucial international peace talks requires top-drawer resources, project management and professionalism. And we took this and the other aspects of this assignment extremely seriously.

With just over a week to go before the talks were due to start at Johannesbergs Slott, an hour outside Stockholm, Guarantee Travel approached us with the request to handle the simultaneous interpreting between Arabic and English. Finding four interpreters, with the right credentials, who could drop everything and commit their lives for the upcoming 11-day talks, was a mammoth task. But this is one of the advantages of being a small, owner-run agency: we were able to dedicate a weekend to finding the right interpreters for the job. A team of 4 experienced UN interpreters with the right skill sets and backgrounds was screened and prepared for the task at hand, and all contracts were all signed by the Sunday; a working day in Jordan.

Once the team had gained security clearance from the UN, and all parties were in place, the project ran smoothly, with the Arabic <> English interpreters basically working on call for almost 2 weeks. The negotiations for peace were rather fruitful, and the professional interpreting that our team was able to provide was pivotal. Simultaneous and consecutive interpreting was provided in several scenarios – from press conferences to back-and-forth negotiations, and announcements by the UN Secretary General.

Moayed Ramahi, who was running the project for Guarantee, says “Avison provides seamless business cooperation, and excellent customer service, along with first class support. We were provided with selected interpreting professionals for our project, and we are happy with the quality of work delivered, along with the topnotch integrity and professionalism. I hold no reservations whatsoever, and strongly recommend this company and its interpreting services.”

If you have a query about simultaneous, conference or consecutive interpreting, don’t hesitate to get in touch using the form below.