Multilingual Information Access Initiative launches this year in COVID-19 response
The COVID-19 Multilingual Information Access (MLIA) initiative is a collective effort from the LT community to improve information exchange about the virus, across all EU languages and beyond, by supporting the development of applications and services in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative covers all noncommercial research activities in various domains such as NLP, social sciences and humanities, and is endorsed by the European Commission and the European Language Resource Coordination (ELRC) and supported by key language technologies stakeholders in Europe including MT companies, universities, research centers and networks like CLARIN-ERIC, ELRA, the Universities of Padua, Utrecht and Lisbon, LIMSI, and Pangeanic S.L.
This community evaluation effort has been initiated as part of the CLEF Initiative and aims at accelerating the creation of resources and tools for an improved MLIA, with particular reference to a general public use case, including information on social, economic or political aspects related to the pandemic, like self-isolation, social distancing, school closing/re-opening, and so on.
Jesse Carrillo named VP of Sales and Marketing for Utah-based US Translation Company
“This year alone, we have experienced exponential growth as the market demands a complete language platform to handle all interpretation and translation needs while the world learns how to operate remotely,” said David Utrilla, President of US Translation Company. “Seeing a 63% jump in growth affirms that the market is hungry for our comprehensive language platform and we must accelerate our ability to fulfill that demand in a repeatable and predictable manner. I am thrilled to welcome Jesse to be the catalyst for this acceleration — especially as we enter the event production industry. I have known Jesse for many years as he was a customer of US Translation Company and therefore, he has a deep understanding of our customer’s journey and a clear vision for how to build upon our 25-year foundation.”
Vancity, Hua Foundation, and Bảo Vệ Collective launch Translated Aid Resources for people and businesses facing barriers to government COVID-19 supports
Vancity, Hua Foundation, and Bảo Vệ Collective, announced the launch of translated resources for immigrants seeking to apply for, or organizations supporting anyone seeking to apply for, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA).
In response to language barriers faced by different communities in accessing government COVID supports, the project aims to make support programs readily available in some of the most widely spoken languages in British Columbia to bridge the language gap for newcomers and immigrants.
The translated resources are online, and the links are listed below. The guides include detailed information on the available programs, the eligibility criteria, and the step-by-step written and video instructions on how to apply. The languages are Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, and Tagalog, with Punjabi resources being released in the coming days. The websites are now live and can be accessed by every member of the public across Canada at the following links:
Simplified Chinese (Video available in Mandarin)
Traditional Chinese (Video available in Cantonese)
Vietnamese
Tagalog
Though the eligibility period for CERB closes at the end of September, applications are being taken retroactively through early December, and CEBA applications are being accepted until the end of October.
