Printable version - SCICnet - Europa

SCICNEWS
Joint Interpreting and Conference Service – Service Commun Interprétation-Conferences
Newsletter No. 9, Wednesday 31 January 2001
How does it work?
Door to D.O.R.
The second in the series of in-depth
looks at “why am I here today” starts at
the very beginning of the SCIC’s
involvement in meetings: the booking of
rooms and interpreters by our various
clients in the Commission: DGs,
Services, and cabinets.
The Demande d’Organisation de Reunion
team handles bookings by the
Commission, the CES/CdR and the
agencies served by the SCIC: next stop
in the tour of SCIC-B-1 will be
Programming, where the additional
requests from Council are added on and
assigments are made.
The D.O.R., which is part of SCIC-B-1,
has six members: Viviane Baretti,
Delphine Kirscht, Bénédicte Naisse,
Tarja Rintanen, Esperanza Baltasar
Poyg and Anna Galvano.
Ian Andersen: What does the D.O.R. do?
D.O.R.: Well, the D.O.R receives all
bookings of rooms and interpreters by fax
on the single standardized DOR-document
from the Services. The SCIC manages
some 60 meeting rooms and we allocate
rooms and interpreters to the extent
possible in accordance with the requests
made. (You can see the D.O.R.-booking
document (the DOR) on EUROPAplus by
clicking here:).
Continued on p. 10
- 1 -
Outlook News …
You may have noticed that a new icon
called « startOLK » has appeared on the
screens of SCIC PCs in the different
buildings where we work.
The SCIC IRM Team is almost through
installing new email software on the 250
computers with the login « visite ». The
system is being tested in order to iron out all
possible bugs : if all goes well, it will be
available from Monday 5 February.
Premature use could seriously damage your
health.
See Rubrique Informatique on p.10 ….
Easy Readers
Source: SCICNEWS
SCICNEWS online is much easier to read
on-screen than the paper version and
contains far more information.
A number of readers have complained that
the paper version of SCICNEWS e-mailed to
colleagues is annoying to read on the
computer screen because you have to scroll
up and down the columns.
Please note that the online version of the
newsletter is specially designed for onscreen
reading and is much easier on the
eyes (and the mouse). Surf to :
http://scic.cec.eu.int/scicnews/default.htm or
click the SN logo in the top right-hand
corner of the SCICNET homepage.
SN online contains all past issues of the
Continued on p. 15

Management Meetings
Friday, 12 January 2001
General Information – SCIC
Postes vacants des cinq chefs d’unité
d’interprétation : Composition du Comité
de sélection : Noël Muylle, David Walker,
Marleen Harford, Carlos Alegria +
membre extérieur. Prochain CCN : 15
février. Les entretiens ont eu lieu à partir
du 19 janvier.
Réunions avec la Délégation des
interprètes : les réunions mensuelles
auront lieu l’avant-dernier vendredi du
mois. La prochaine aura lieu le 26 janvier,
avec à l’ordre du jour notamment les
missions.
L’Administration prévoit l’introduction
d’un week-end garanti par mois, sur une
base semblable aux « soirées garanties »,
le délai d’inscription devrait être de 6
semaines à cause des besoins de
programmation des missions. D’autres
propositions concernent le départ en train.
La Délégation a aussi demandé d’installer
une antenne du bureau de voyages au
CCAB. L’Administration en fera la
demande à la DG ADMIN.
SCIC sur l’Internet: Le SCIC est
désormais présent sur EUROPA, ce qui
intéresse notamment les universités. Des
mises à jour se feront progressivement,
notamment sur le site a.i.c. Les suggestions
sont les bienvenues.
Accès au Conseil pour les AIC par la rue
Froissart : le bâtiment Juste Lipse est
divisé en plusieurs parties. Les a.i.c. ont
bien accès au Centre de Conférences
(entrée rond-point Schuman) mais pas à la
partie administrative du bâtiment.
Les fonctionnaires avec leur carte de
service Commission ont accès aux
différentes parties. Etant donné que des
- 2 -
discussions doivent avoir lieu avec le
Conseil sur les questions de sécurité, (dont
les liaisons informatiques au SCIC), il y
aura aussi lieu de voir quelles sont les
possibilités pour que les a.i.c. bénéficient
d’un accès simplifié au bâtiment.
Tournoi de football inter DG’s : Paul
Brennan s’en occupe pour le SCIC.
Information : L’an dernier le SCIC est
arrivé en finale et a perdu contre la DG
AGRI. Peut-on faire mieux cette année ?
Enquête qualité : la décision a été prise de
lancer l’opération les 25 et 30 janvier
prochain dans toutes les réunions à
Bruxelles sur base des mêmes
questionnaires que ceux déjà élaborés (sauf
un) pour les interprètes et les délégués.
Au Conseil, l’enquête concerne 15
réunions (pas de Coreper ni de Conseil de
ministres) ; au CES une plénière et une
section importante ; au Comité des régions
par contre il n’y a pas de réunion ces jourslà.
Le rapport final de la société Algoe est
prévu fin mars. Les résultats seront
exploités dans la plus grande transparence
et professionnalisme.
Présidence belge : Marco Benedetti a
rencontré l’Ambassadeur Demoulin pour
une première prise de contact. Le SCIC
aura des contacts privilegés avec la
coordination de la présidence.
Télé-interprétation : Le Parlement
européen a organisé a partir du 22 janvier
des essais de télé-interprétation auxquels le
SCIC est invité et participe. Nous en
tirerons les conséquences pour les essais
que nous ferons autour de Pâques au
Conseil.
A.I.I.C. : Marco Benedetti a rencontré le
nouveau président de l’A.I.I.C., Jean-Pierre
Alain. La discussion a principalement
porté sur l’élargissement et les nouvelles
technologies, sur lesquelles l’A.I.I.C. aussi
se penche activement.

General Information – Commission
Le Président Prodi a réaffirmé la priorité
que la Commission accorde à
l’élargissement ce 11 janvier lors d’une
rencontre avec le Chef du service du SCIC.
Le SCIC continuera de mettre l’accent sur
ce dossier, qui est notre défi principal pour
les années à venir, en poursuivant ses
actions de sensibilisation à la profession,
de formation, de recrutement et de
sélection d’a.i.c.
Friday, 26 January 2001
General Information – SCIC
2001 - Année européenne des langues :
sous l’égide du Conseil d’Europe et de la
Commission européenne (participation
coordonnée par la DG EAC) plusieurs
initiatives sont prévues à cet effet. Le
SCIC sera présent à Lund, en Suède, les 19
et 20 février lors du lancement de l’année
européenne des langues (interprétation,
participation de Marco Benedetti aux
débats, présence dans la zone de
démonstration, etc). Des affichages sont en
cours au CCAB et à DM, d’autres suivront.
A cette même occasion sera rééditée une
nouvelle version de la brochure de
présentation de notre service.
Nominations aux postes vacants de chef
d’unité d’interprétation : Marco
Benedetti a reçu et interviewé les candidats
sélectionnés par le comité de sélection.
Suite à la modification de l’ordre du jour
du CCN du 25 janvier, une nouvelle
réunion est prévue le 2 février. Etant donné
que la procédure est conclue au niveau
interne les nominations pour les unités DA,
ES, FI et IT pourront intervenir au 16
février ou au 1er mars. En ce concerne
l’unité PT un seul candidat s’est présenté
(non nommable dans l’immédiat, puisque
de grade LA6). Dans ces circonstances le
SCIC va redemander la publication de ce
poste, cette fois au niveau
interinstitutionnel.
- 3 -
Cours de langues (3ème niveau) :
différentes alternatives ont été proposées
aux participants aux cours mentionnés qui
souhaitaient compléter leur formation
avant de partir en bourse. Prolongation de
quatre cours, 12 demi-jours de
permanence/étude ou chèques
pédagogiques sont parmi les solutions
choisies après consultation des intéressés.
Essais de télé-inteprétation : Le SCIC a
participé à l’invitation du Parlement
européen aux essais de télé-interprétation
que cette institution a organisé dans le
bâtiment Altiero Spinelli du lundi 22 au
jeudi 25 janvier. D’autres institutions
étaient aussi présentes, notamment le
Conseil. Les essais se basaient sur
l’interprétation « normale », en 11-11,
d’une commission parlementaire, avec,
dans une autre salle proche, une deuxième
équipe d’interprètes recevant le son en
direct et l’image sur trois grands écrans
devant les cabines.
Les cabines étaient aussi équipées de deux
moniteurs TV avec possibilité de
sélectionner l’image prise par des
cameramen se trouvant dans la salle. Les
invités au test, dont le médecin conseil du
P.E., avaient la possibilité d’écouter
simultanément les deux interprétations.
Lors du debriefing, les interprètes ont
rapporté que c’est grâce à leur grand
professionnalisme et à un engagement plus
poussé de la part pour assurer le niveau de
concentration nécessaire de manière
constante que le produit était de qualité, ce
qui a conduit à une sensation de fatigue
accrue.
Des essais comparables ont déjà été tenus
par le SCIC et d’autres se poursuivront car
notre service est décidé à assurer la
maîtrise de l’évolution d’éléments qui sont
fondamentaux pour l’avenir des services
qu’il rend.
Tournoi de football inter DG’s : Paul
Brennan informe qu’ une collecte va être
organisée (l’enveloppe est pour le moment
chez Brigitte Boldrini au DM 1/110, mais

va circuler…). L’argent est destiné à faire
face à des dépenses incontournables,
notamment à l’achat de ballons, dont le
manque a constitué, par le passé, un
handicap majeur à l’entraînement de
l’équipe (mais sur quoi ils frappaient,
alors ? …). Source : Carlos Alegria (Assistant)
Head of Service meets
booths
Marco Benedetti will meet with each
interpreting Unit at 6.30 pm according
to the schedule below :
PO 7.2.01 DM24 00/73
EN 8.2.01 CCAB 0D
EL 12.2.01 DM24 00/73
FR 22.2.01 CCAB 2B
Two meetings have already been held (DE,
SV) and the reaminder have been
scheduled for the first two weeks in March
in rooms that are yet to be confirmed.
Source: Carlos Alegria (Assistant)
Jupp
Hamacher,
Head of Unit
SCIC-B-5
(Conferences)
takes up his post
Jupp Hamacher arrived to take up his
post as Head of Unit SCIC-B-5 on
16.01.01. After this very short period in
office the main targets he identifies for
the near future are:
• a restructuring and reintegration of the
different teams of the division after the
reorganisation of the SCIC in the spirit
already outlined by Marco Benedetti;
• to respond to the given political and
managerial requirements towards the
conference service;
- 4 -
• to strengthen the spirit of a Unit
providing the best service to its
customers;
• to make the management of
•
conferences more rational in the light
of the reform process and
to find the right way and proportion
between in-house and outsourced
conference organisation.
He characterises his management style by
giving emphasis to a harmonious working
atmosphere in the Unit, by, if necessary,
clearly defining the tasks of its members,
by letting them work in the greatest
possible autonomy and by setting up the
smoothest working processes within our
administrative framework.
The new Head of B-5 was born in 1949 in
Neuss, near Düsseldorf in Germany and
studied law at the University of Cologne.
He started his career in 1973 in the
Oberlandesgericht, Cologne, while
teaching part time at his alma mater. He
taught insurance law full-time in 1976-78
and in 1979 moved to Brussels, after a
Commission concours, to work in human
resources management for the ESC.
In 1982, Jupp moved to the Commssion as
Head of Sector for Staff Regulation and
Financial Rights in DG ADMIN. Since
then he has held positions of increasing
responsibility in both operational and
human resources management positions in
a number of Services: DG MARKT, DG
TREN, DG INFSO.
Jupp was first appointed Head of Unit for
Personnel in DG INFSO in 1993, where he
managed human resources and budget
planning for 980 staff. From 1998 until he
joined the SCIC, he was head of a unit
looking at ways to improve human capital
in research.
Jupp is a strong believer in the need to
reconcile work and family life ; in his
spare time, he enjoys music and biking.
Source : Jupp Hamacher, SCICNEWS

Prolongation of
language courses among
first SCIC training
activities in 2001
Elisabeth Egelund, Head of the new
Training and Career Guidance Unit
explains how the current language
courses have been prolonged and
suitable solutions found to prepare the
participants for adding the language
they have been studying.
Last year a number of participants in the
third level language courses experienced
problems related to quality and timing.
Even if nobody had problems all the time
(and some participants were quite satisfied)
the situation still was sufficiently worrying
as to call for imaginative solutions.
Brian Fox, Head of Training Unit at the
time, offered all level 3 students the
possibility of prolonging their training
either by extending the actual course or by
various combinations of study
permanences and chèque pédagogique.
Out of 74 students contacted 41 reacted
and we have been able to find suitable
solutions for most, but in the cases where
the person concerned had already decided
on a bourse in early spring we took that to
mean that he or she was ready and did not
need to top up the previous course.
Four courses continue for 12 half days,
Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish
with a total of 21 participants.
Seven colleagues opted for 12 half days of
study permanence, four wanted a
combination of chèque pédagogique and
study permanence and two went for the
chèque pédagogique.
I am sure this will mean a successful
winding up of the courses and enable
colleagues to add their new languages with
the support they deserve.
- 5 -
I am equally sure that we shall do our
utmost to avoid getting into a similar
situation in the future.
May I finally use this occasion to thank the
other members of the Training Group for
their good work. From 1 December I have
replaced Brian Fox, but Carlota Jovani
(DE), Carmen Von Styp (ES), and Anna
Economides (EN) remain on the commitee.
Terry Clough (EN) has taken my place as
representative of the Heads of
Interpretation Units.
Source: Elisabeth Egelund (B-3)
French Presidency
- a last farewell from the coordinator
"Chers collègues,
La Présidence Française s'est terminée
depuis un mois déjà et c'est le temps qu'il
m'a fallu pour reprendre mes esprits. Il
était grand temps que je remercie tous ceux
qui au SCIC, en cabine et dans les bureaux,
m'ont apporté une aide et un soutien
extrêmement précieux tout au long de ces
six mois.
Merci à tous pour la qualité de votre
travail, votre engagement, et la gentillesse
dont vous avez fait preuve quelles que
soient les circonstances, même lorsque les
conditions de travail étaient
particulièrement difficiles.
Cette présidence restera dans ma mémoire
comme une expérience très enrichissante,
et c'est en grande partie en raison de votre
aide et du grand plaisir que j'ai eu à
travailler avec vous.
Merci à tous.
Source: Paule Susini (A-8-FR)

THE FIFTH SCIC-
UNIVERSITIES
CONFERENCE
“IINTERPRETATIION :: THE
CHANGIING LANDSCAPE”
MONDAY, 5 FEBRUARY 2001
Charlemagne Building - Room S4
09.00 Registration of participants
09.30 Welcome address
by Marco Benedetti
09.45 Opening address
by Philip Lowe ( Chef de Cabinet to
Vice-President Kinnock)
I. Case Studies
10.00 Training to use new technologies
Danica Seleskovitch and Marianne
Lederer (ESIT-Sorbonne)
10.30 Using new Technology to train
Laura Gran ( SSLIMT,Trieste)
11.00 pause café
11.15 Working in another language:
retour training
Jana Rejskova (Charles Univ., Prague)
11.45 Question and Answer session
13.00 déjeuner
II. Forum
14.30 The importance of multilingualism :
the European Year of Languages
Viviane REDING (Commissioner,
Education and Culture)
14.45 Rising to the challenges :
enlargement, multilingualism,
technologies,
Discussion and identification of best
practices
17.15 Summary
17.30 Close of proceedings
Source: Brian Fox (A-1)
- 6 -
Information från
svenska kabinen till
tolkar med passiv
svenska
I samband med det svenska
ordförandeskapet inrättades en
elektronisk brevlåda. Syftet med denna
brevlåda är att delegater och
handläggare vid departementen i
Sverige skall skicka talepunkter och
annan relevant mötesdokumentation dit.
Samma system fungerade utmärkt i den
finska kabinen under det finländska
ordförandeskapet.
Till brevlådan skickas inte bara talepunkter
inför ministerråd, utan även dokumentation
till arbetsgruppsmöten i rådet. Det är dock
långt ifrån alltid som det finns talepunkter
på svenska att tillgå – det varierar från
möte till möte.
Av sekretesskäl har endast fast anställda
svenska tolkar tillgång till brevlådan med
hjälp av sitt personliga lösenord. Vi skriver
sedan ut mötesdokumenten till alla som
arbetar från svenska, både svenska
frilanstolkar med retur och kolleger i andra
kabiner.
Alla svenska fast anställda tolkar har under
ordförandeskapet ett gemensamt ansvar att
se till att våra kolleger som arbetar från
svenska får tillgång till den dokumentation
de behöver.
Systemet är tänkt att fungera på följande
sätt :
Om tjänstemän i den svenska kabinen
arbetar i ett möte, kontrollerar de brevlådan
före mötet, skriver ut talepunkterna och
delar ut dem till alla tolkar med passiv
svenska i samma möte.
(Continued next page)

Om det sitter enbart frilanstolkar i den
svenska kabinen, kan antingen de eller
kolleger i andra kabiner söka upp en
tjänsteman och be om dokumenten. De
svenska frilanstolkarna har fått utförlig
information om hur brevlådesystemet
fungerar.
Vi är också tacksamma om ni hjälper till
att sprida denna information vidare till era
frilanskolleger med passiv svenska.
Ibland får vi dokumenten till brevlådan på
mötesdagen och ibland flera dagar i förväg.
Ni kan dock alltid söka upp tolkarna i den
svenska kabinen och be oss kontrollera
brevlådan. Vi är naturligtvis angelägna om
att våra kolleger med passiv svenska får
tillgång till mötesdokumenten i så god tid
som möjligt, och vi skall göra allt vi kan
för att systemet skall fungera effektivt
under det svenska ordförandeskapet .
Source : Catarina Hultgren (A-12-SV)
« Interpreters are
not slaves, they are
"hired servants." »
« In some countries interpreters are not
appreciated for the service they render.
Pastors who use interpreters and send
them off with, "They are doing it for the
Lord," should apply that same
philosophy to their own labors. Pastors
should think of the ministry of the
interpreter as being vital to the church.
James teaches us a principle that
certainly applies here; If ye fulfil the
royal law according to the scripture, Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do
well: James 2:8. »
The excerpts above and below are taken
from the experienced American missionary
and preacher Bill Burkett’s informative
and, in many cases, valuable contribution
- 7 -
to the literature on how to get the best out
of your interpreter, the
INTERPRETER'S
MANUAL
Valuable Tips For The Host
Pastor,
Interpreters and Guest
Speaker
You may often have wondered how the
Christian churches manage missionary
work in far-flung places. Finally, here is
the (perhaps not totally unexpected)
answer : they use interpreters. Much of
what Bill Burkett has to say could well
have been preached by the SCIC. In spite
of a certain amount of sexism, he is sound
on addressing huge crowds but, as
becomes apparent in his chapter on
interpreting private conversations, he has
obviously never experienced a professional
consecutive interpreter at work. (All bolds
are in the original).
You can find the full text at :
http://www.actsion.com/InterpMan.htm
« The world, according to one
calculation, has been reduced from the
size of a basketball to a mustard seed by
modern means of travel since Jesus’ day.
The ministry of the interpreter has become
more important and plays a much larger
role in world evangelism since modern
travel makes the world more accessible to
evangelists and missionaries. »
« The interpreter is the key to making the
foreign preacher's ministry effective in a
foreign land. There are many ways the
speaker can make the (not so easy as it
may seem) task of the interpreter much
easier and then on the other hand, the
interpreter can degrade the ministry of the
guest speaker or enhance it. »
. . .

« There is nothing more glorious to an
evangelist, or the people he is preaching to,
than to have an interpreter that flows with
him in such a way the speaker can see the
effect of his message being reflected in the
faces of the hearers and the worship of the
people aroused after his voice and thoughts
have been transmitted through another
mind and voice. »
. . .
« This is written to help the experienced
and the inexperienced preacher -
interpreter team that we may have God's
anointing and blessings under the
handicapped conditions of speaking to
people of another language. »
. . .
« The interpreter is the key to your
ministry ! You must have the right
interpreter to achieve God's best. An
anointed preacher with a dead interpreter is
one of the most disheartening experiences
a missionary evangelist can possibly
have! » ….
« The importance of the RIGHT
interpreter cannot be stressed too much!
It can mean the difference between
boredom and Pentecost, between just
another meeting and revival. »
. . .
« There is a big difference between an
interpreter and a translator. The translator
is literally translating, word for word, from
one language into another what he or she
believes to be the closest rendering of the
first language. But, an interpreter is putting
into the native language the meaning of the
foreign speaker so as to make what the
preacher is saying comprehensible to the
hearer. In interpreting it is the flow of
speech that makes listening easier and the
message more effective. »
. . .
« A literal word for word translation is
not the primary objective of interpreting.
Trying to translate a speaker may spoil the
flow of an anointed speaker if the
interpreter is halting and stammering for
the exact translation. »
. . .
- 8 -
« Translating takes knowledge and
concentration.
Interpreting takes the anointing and a
special skill. »
. . .
« The Goal Of A Good Interpreter
So you may be a very good
TRANSLATOR and have a good
vocabulary in your second language, but to
become the best interpreter, make your
goal to flow with the speaker, until the
speaker forgets he is even preaching
through an interpreter. This should be the
goal of every interpreter who is perfecting
his skills and considers interpreting a God
given ministry. »
. . .
« A good interpreter can make something
said in the first language even stronger in
his own language. There is a right time to
do this, But interpreters must beware
that they are never to take away from
the meaning of what the speaker is
saying or control what he is saying by
arbitrarily interpreting the speaker to
say what he (the interpreter) wants him
to say. That is deception and a serious
violation, and especially if that speaker is
inspired by the Holy Spirit. »
Source : Bill Burkett and SCICNEWS
New Technology and
the SCIC
Pepe Esteban waxes lyrical on the new
SCIC Unit B-4 : New Technology for
Conference Interpreting. If you want to
volunteer to take part in the various
SCIC new technology groups, please
print and fill in the form on the B-4 site
on SCICNET.
Dear colleagues,
To SCIC a star is born – or if not a star, a
little unit which shall be called ’New
technologies for interpretation’. Looking
after it is a head of unit who will be

sharing his time between this task and
interpreting in the booth, primarily because
he likes the job but also because it is a
good idea to keep your feet on the ground
and your earphones on your head when
dealing with new technologies.
Together with the issue of enlargement,
new technologies are at the very heart of
the JICS’ priorities. The coming years are
likely to see radical changes in the
interpreting profession.
The new baby will need an extended
family to hold its hand and help it to grow.
Our future lies in our own hands. It is up to
us to stay in control and and not let new
technologies dictate our behaviour to us.
They are and must remain tools of
communication. The best way not to be
submerged by a tidal wave is to go with the
flow or preferably to stay ahead of it by
mastering the subject and even – why not ?
– enjoying the experience.
This embryo could never have come into
being without the appropriate spermatazoa
–in this case, the thematic groups made up
of volunteer interpreters. They fertilised
the egg in the womb of the Descide project
which became the surrogate mother. These
groups will continue to exist within the
unit, with clearly defined mandates and
objectives. I invite you to sign up for these
groups now, using the form below (or by email).
I would also like to hear from
anybody who might wish to become (or
continue as) a ‘chef de file’ for one of
these groups (click here for the form on the
B-4 home page).
I hope to be able to introduce the new baby
to you and answer any questions you have
face to face
• On 8 February at 13.15 h.
in CCAB 3C
or
• on 15 February at 18.30 h.
in CCAB 3C
Source : Pepe Esteban (B-4)
- 9 -
President Prodi and
the vision-thing
‘After Reform: a future strategy for
Europe as a whole’
President Prodi sets out this vision for
Europe on the world stage and her
interaction with her neighbours.
President Romano Prodi’s speech at the
International Bertelsmann Forum ‘Europe
without borders’ in Berlin, 19 January
2001.
…
« Europe cannot be treated as a market
place in which to do horse-trading for the
national benefit – a clearing house to
approach when necessary and to stay away
from when it does not suit. »
…
« Intergovernmentalism is a recipe for
indecision or, at best, for progress based
on the lowest common denominator. It is
also a recipe for mutual distrust between
Member States, in the absence of the
honest broker.
The clear alternative is the Community
system. It is a tried and tested system
based on the delicate balance between the
three main Community institutions –
The Council, the European Parliament and
the Commission. »
…
« The true breadth of the debate about
the future of Europe
Clearly the debate about Europe’s future
goes far beyond the four points set for
2004 in the Nice treaty.
Between today and the 2004 Conference
what we have to decide is nothing less than
the future of our Union.
For many years, we have been content to
say that the Union was something less than
a federation and more than a simple
international organization. Today we have
to encourage a wider debate on

the objectives of the Union, opening it up
to all the players in the political system of
the European Union.
We have to reshape and relaunch the
political and institutional pact on which the
Union is based. For my part, I strongly
believe that the European Union is a Union
of states and peoples. A Union, as our
treaties already say, founded on the
principles of liberal democracy, respect for
human rights, fundamental freedoms and
the rule of law.
Could this debate also deliver an EU
constitution? Does the European Union
need a fully-fledged constitution? This is
the big question.
I personally would reply ‘yes, we need
progressively to arrive at this stage and I
believe the Charter of Fundamental
Rights should be the first part of this
constitutional process’. But this, I repeat,
is a major question that must be discussed
in the overall debate. »
For the full text of President Prodi’s
incisive speech on the future strategy,
covering a wide range of issues, please
see :
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.
ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/01/
14|0|RAPID&lg=EN
Source: Romano Prodi, SN
Commission des
Permanents AIIC
Claude Durand (FR), who represents
the SCIC AIIC-members in the
Association’s Committee for Permanent
Staff and is president of the Committee,
invites you to an information meeting :
Chers collègues ,
comme je m'y étais engagé auprès
des collègues permanents membres de
l'AIIC , je voudrais vous inviter à une
réunion d'information sur les activités de la
- 10 -
Commission des Permanents de l'AIIC ,
après sa dernière réunion annuelle tenue
l'automne dernier au siège de l'OACI à
Montréal . Je serai prêt à répondre à toutes
vos questions sur la CdP et sur l'AIIC en
général .
La réunion se tiendra
mercredi 7 Février 2001 de 13h15
à 14h30 dans la salle CCAB 4/D .
Rubrique
Source : Claude Durand (A-8-FR)
Informatique
Outlook
for Interpreters
- the battle is over -
The SCIC IRM Team is in the process
installing new e-mail software on the 250
SCIC PCs with the login “visite” in
order to remedy the lack of functionality
present in OWA (Outlook Web Access).
The full Outlook 2000 client that is
already used by the administrative
personnel, is in the final phase of testing
and will, if all goes well, be available to
interpreters from Monday 5 February
2001.
From Monday, all public PC’s connected
to the SCIC network with the login ‘visite’
will feature a new icon on the desktop
called ‘StartOLK’. This starts the Outlook
2000 client after having identified the user
through a login and password.
Use of the full Outlook 2000 client from
home on a SCIC portable requires the
installation of this application together
with special communication software.

All interpreters with a portable will be
contacted in the following weeks by our
helpdesk to have the software installed.
OWA can still be used in the future. As it
only needs a browser to work, it can still
be used when a public PC or portable is not
available like while on mission, in a cybercafé
or when connected to the Internet via
a provider. The address to be used is
https://mail.cec.eu.int/exchange.
Source: SCIC IRM Team, SN
Your favourite web sites
on SCICNET
Do you have a favourite web site you
want to share?
Do your kids?
SCIC staff appears to be interested in
practically everything under the sun from
artwork to zymurgy, from the singularity
of the Big Bang to the mathematics of
infinite series.
SCICNET is soon to open an ‘Interesting
Links’ page as the last item under
‘Information’ (bottom of the right-hand
pillar).
If you have a favourite web site you want
to share with colleagues, please email its
URL to the scic.webteam@cec.eu.int
with ‘interesting link’ in the subject line.
Theatre
Measure for Measure
Source: SCIC Webteam
Brussels Shakespeare Society stages the
Bard: Nick Roche (EN) directs ….
As a theatre-goer to name half-a-dozen
Shakespeare plays off the top of his head,
and the chances are he won't mention
Measure for Measure: it isn't one of the
most well-known or regularly performed
examples of his output, and it can't easily
be pigeonholed as either tragedy or
comedy. The result is that over the years it
- 11 -
has settled for mid-table respectability
rather than challenging for championship
honours against Hamlet's Arsenal or
Macbeth's Man U, or even As You Like
It's Chelsea. In its day, however, and in
recent years increasingly so, it proves more
than a match for the so-called big boys and
reveals itself as very much a Play for
Today.
But how can a play that has as its starting
point a death sentence pronounced on a
young nobleman for getting his fiancée
pregnant have any relevance to a blasé,
unshockable 21 st Century audience?
Well, precisely because it is just that, a
starting point, a device to trigger a
sequence of events and encounters which
reveal the full meaning of what it is to be
human, both to us the audience and to the
characters themselves. We see the truth of
the "power corrupts" axiom made flesh,
and reflect again on the observation that
for evil to triumph, all that is necessary is
for good men (and women?) to do nothing.
We sneakingly sympathise and identify
with the forces of evil and wonder why
virtue and goodness do not cast the same
powerful spell upon our imaginations. We
prepare ourselves for a descent into
tragedy and then marvel at Shakespeare's
ingenuity in contriving a happy ending - or
does he? We understand more clearly the
piercing Christian insight that the sweetest
form of revenge is forgiveness.
It is a play to be argued about, that allows
for a multitude of interpretations with
which our cast (featuring Nick Roche,
Maurice Byrne, Sebastian Birch, Jonathon
Sawdon and Rachel Winter Jones in the
principal roles) are currently wrestling in
rehearsal. Every theatrical production is a
voyage of discovery, none more so than a
misunderstood masterpiece written by
Shakespeare when he was at the height of
his powers. If you come to the Tréteaux,
you will see what we have found.

Measure for Measure
is at
Les Tretaux de Bruxelles
159, rue de Laeken
1000 Brussels
from 6 to 10 February at 8 pm
Seat prices : 400, 450 and 500 BEF
Reservations : 02 767 9867
02 660 9928
email: shakesoc2001@yahoo.com
Visit the Brussels Shakespeare
Society website on:
http://homepages.go.com/~tbss1/Shakespe
are.html
Source: Nick Roche (A-5-EN)
Door to D.O.R. (Cont. from p. 1)
Basically, we have two main tasks:
encoding the information in the forms and
making sure they are filled in correctly,
either by following up on errors or
omissions or by answering questions on
the organization of meetings over the
phone. It’s a lot of teamwork, and we are,
naturally, also in constant touch with the
rest of B-1.
IA: So you also function as a help desk for
meeting organizers?
D.O.R.: We often have a lot of explaining
to do: how to send the DOR, which are the
days a request for a meeting is most likely
to succeed, how to describe your
interpretation needs precisely, what to do
when you are late or the parameters
suddenly change…
IA: Don’t you ever receive perfectly filledout
forms?
D.O.R.: We do, oh we do. About once a
month. Seriously, though: there are
generally no errors in forms from DGs that
have lots of meetings and are used to the
intricacies.
- 12 -
Viviane Baretti
I come from near Longwy in
northern France. When I was
19, I moved to Milan and
discovered I was also an
Italian citizen: my father had
never given up his
citizenship, so I now have both
nationalities.
I worked for the municipality of Milan for
8 years in different organizational jobs,
mostly connected with recreational
activities, before moving to Brussels. I
passed a concours in 1989 and started in
the SCIC in the then Programming Unit. I
have also worked in finances, computing,
general affairs, for the Head of Service,
and, since July 2000, for the D.O.R.
When I arrived I had never even seen a
PC, but I was curious and eventually
became part of the bureautique help desk.
Early last year I passed the C to B
concours. I like working in the SCIC: you
really have the possibility to learn a lot. Of
course, you have to be interested if you
want to discover something new.
IA: Then, when you have the form, what
happens?
D.O.R.: We encode the request (number of
participants and languages, special requests
for rooms) in the computer in a piece of
management software called CORAL,
(COnference Room Allocator, developed
in-house in 1993) and take note of needs
such as
• technicians,
• A.I.C. with rare languages (if
there’s a request for, say,
Albanian or Russian, we let
free-lance recruitment know as
soon as the request comes in).
• Video
• Other material or equipment

All orders for equipment noted in CORAL
are checked by the technicians every day
and they make sure that it gets to the right
meeting room in time.
Requests for interpreters from the Council
go directly to programming since their
meeting rooms are not managed by the
SCIC, while meetings in the ESC/CoR and
the many agencies and institutes pass
through the D.O.R. since they concern
missions.
Delphine Kirscht
I just moved to Brussels from
Wavre, (20 km south of
Brussels) where I grew up, and
I started in the SCIC last
November. I finished school
last summer – I have studied
marketing – and was looking for an interim
job to gain some experience in different
fields before choosing in which sector to
settle down.
I like working for the D.O.R.: it is much
more than a secretarial job. You have lots
of contact with people all day. Organising
meetings is naturally not at all like selling
vacuum cleaners or lifestyles. But there is
a lot of explaining to do: many people
think you just pick up the phone and order
a meeting room – like pizza. They don’t
see the whole complex picture and the very
large operation we run.
IA: How far in advance do you need to get
the bookings?
D.O.R.: At least 6 weeks before for
missions and 4 weeks for meetings in
Brussels. In some cases, when it is
uncertain whether we can find the room or
the interpreters necessary, we don’t say
definitively no (or yes) until 2 weeks
before the meeting. If we say no, the DGs
are free to try to get rooms and interpreters
elsewhere, but, of course, then they have to
pay market prices for everything
themselves.
- 13 -
We don’t work like the airlines: we do not
accept over-bookings in the expectation
that somebody will not show or cancel and
that everyone will get a seat. But we do
keep a number of meetings pending for up
to 2 weeks after our preliminary decision.
Bénédicte Naisse
I grew up in the Ardennes, in
Voneche, near Dinant and later
moved to Namur to finish
school. I’ve only lived in
Brussels for six years, but I do
know this neighborhood well.
My first job in 1988 was with a building
contractor which was part of the
consortium that built the Juste Lipse. I
helped order practially every fixture in the
tunnels under rue Belliard.
In 1997 I passed a concours with the Court
of Justice in Luxembourg. But I also sent
my CV to several DGs in Brussels. The
SCIC replied and I started to work in the
D.O.R. right away.
I like the work and the atmosphere. I could
only wish our “customers” would realise
that we deal with all the meetings of all the
DGs: there are many more than just their
“own” meeting.
IA: So does your team actually decide
“who gets what when”?
D.O.R.: Those decisions are finalised in
the weekly arbitrage and rattrapage
meetings chaired by Wolter Witteveen
(Head of B-1) with participation of
Programming (Brussels and missions),
AIC-recruitment, and the D.O.R. This is
where we strike the balance between
demand and available resources in terms of
rooms and interpreters.
IA: That sounds like voodoo to me: how
does it work?
D.O.R.: We meet Monday morning and
settle the meetings for the week starting 4

weeks later. The D.O.R. provides listings
of all requested meetings and programming
arrives with listings of available
interpreters plus further known recruitment
possibilities for each active language.
The D.O.R. goes through the week: we
may have a surplus of rooms and
interpreters on Monday and a shortage of
rooms on Wednesday and Thursday of that
week and also a shortage of interpreters on
Wednesday. So we balance priorities in
terms of locations, language combination,
day of the week and so on. We see, for
example, that some of the Wednesday and
Thursday meetings might be moved to
Monday, while another Wednesday
meeting might not because a big room is
required for the number of participants and
we don’t have any more available on
Monday. In that case, we would suggest a
cut in the language combination.
Tarja Rintanen
I was born in Vaasa on the
west coast of Finland, a
bilingual city (Finnish/
Swedish).
I studied administration and
languages in Helsinki and
lived in that city for a long time before
moving to Tampere in central Finland.
Before the Commission I have always
worked in private industry: my last job in
Finland was with a producer of recovery
boilers and power boilers for the pulp
industry! I did the concours in 1996 and
then didn’t hear from DG ADMIN for a
long time. But in 1997 I came to Brussels,
straight to the SCIC, where I started in
human resources: in 1999, I moved on to
the D.O.R.
I have seen interpreters at work in my own
concours and in a staff meeting but I think
it’s a pity we don’t have more contact. It
would also be valuable, I think, if
interpreters could get a glimpse of our part
of the process: after all, we do sit at the
door into the SCIC.
- 14 -
The end result of the arbitrage is a yes or
no or a suggestion to change dates or
language regime. We then get in touch
with the DGs in question and ask them
what they would prefer.
Some customers would prefer to keep the
meeting open rather than cancelling
outright. In that case, it is picked up for
another two weeks in what we call
rattrapage. But if we do not have the
resources two weeks before, we give them
a definitive no.
Esperanza Baltasar Poyg
I am originally from Zafra in
the far south of Extremadura
in Spain. I have worked for the
Commission in Brussels for
more than 14 years, in DG
REGIO, in DG ADMIN
recruitment, for a cabinet and now the
SCIC.
I studied in Madrid and started my career
in the private sector before joining the
Commission’s information office in
Madrid, where I prepared visits to Brussels
and briefings and information material for
journalists.
I have been with the SCIC for four years,
always in the D.O.R., and I like it a lot:
we’re a very good team. But then, I have
always liked the places I have chosen to go
to. If you ask me if I pine for home, I’d say
not too much: of course I visit my family
and friends in Spain a lot, but I feel right at
home wherever I am.
IA: How do you set the priorities for such
changes or even cancellations?
D.O.R.: In theory, each DG should inform
us of their priorities when they book. If
they have more than one meeting in a week
they establish a ranking of importance. We
always try to move meetings rather than
cancelling. When we do cancel because we
just do not have enough rooms or
interpreters, we look at

• Priorities
• The political context
• Balance between the different DGs
• High Level participation.
If you have a high priority meeting with
lots of participants we do not cancel or
move them. In such cases, we are
sometimes asked many months in advance
if we can provide an accord de principe so
invitations can go out and so on.
Anna Galvano
I moved to Belgium from
Agrigento in Sicily as a
teenager and I have lived in
this country for 30 years. I
used to work in the private
sector, in a small team that
constructed prototypes of circuit boards for
a large electronics company.
I have worked for the Commission since
my concours in 1988, first for Celex, then
DG ECFIN, then social policy in DG
ADMIN, and since 1998 the D.O.R.
Teamwork is really important here: we all
deal with encoding meetings and checking
details with customers, so we have to
maintain flawless lines of communication
within the team too. The paperwork behind
the organization of meetings is massive:
we fill well over a shelf-metre of files per
month.
IA: There seems to be an enormous
amount of modifications all along the
process – on the part of the customers and
after arbitrage. Do you ever lose track?
D.O.R.: We triple check every single
meeting: at encoding, then a control and
finally, in the week before the meetings,
we go through every one of them again just
to make sure that nothing has been
forgotten. Murphy’s Law still applies, of
- 15 -
course, but if the interpreters find
themselves in a meeting an hour before the
delegates arrive or even without any
delegates at all, you can be sure in 99 cases
out of a 100 it is because the customers
changed their plans, but forgot to inform
us. If that happens, we normally contact
them and tell them to get their act together.
IA: How do you like the atmosphere in the
D.O.R.?
D.O.R.: We’re a solid team, super
motivated, and the working atmosphere is
excellent. We even have secret admirers
who send us tokens of their appreciation
from time to time.
Source: Ian Andersen (INFO/WEB/MEDIA)
Easy Readers
(Continued from page 1)
newsletter, with separate entries for
personnel news. ‘SCIC in the press’ and
‘Language News’ contain press cuttings on
the Service and on (EU) language
questions. ‘SCIC on the Radio, TV and
pictures’ and ‘Jargon Watch’ provide
further information not available in the
print system. The ‘EUROPAplus’ gives
you direct links to the most important daily
news sources: Telexpress, Member State
Press Reviews, Sources Say, and
Commission Press cuttings.
Finally the links page gives you access to
language bodies and pages, interpreting
services and associations.
If you receive the newsletter by email but
only wish to look at the electronic version,
you need not download the attachment in
WORD. Simply note the URL for the online
version and delete the email. In that way,
you will keep abreast of when SCICNEWS
is published, but you need not clog up your
phone line with a large file.
Source : SCICNEWS

SCIC JOBS
APPEL A MANIFESTATION
D’INTERET
Following the call for volunteers to help
putting together the interpreters work
programme, published in SCICNEWS 7,
SCIC-B-1 has received 23 “rotateur”
applications. SCIC-B-1 has started
interviewing the candidates. We are almost
through and will keep you posted on the
outcome.
Source: Wolter Witteveen (B-1)
SCIC publishes four assistants
posts (B5/B1) and two
secretarial posts (C5/C1)
Ces postes sont des publications officielles de la
Commission pour lesquelles les procédures
habituelles sont à suivre.
Assistant (B5/B1),
Unité : SCIC-A-1
Description of the post :
The Unit responsible for assistance to
universities and enlargement preparations
needs someone (m/f) to manage a small
grant programme, help with organisation
of conferences/workshops and
administration of university projects. Our
future colleague should be organised and
methodical, good at co-ordinating and
communicating, able to work alone but
also in a team whose working languages
are English and French. Financial
experience is preferable, but appropriate
training can be offered to the right
candidate.
Particular qualifications :
Une bonne connaissance des outils
informatiques ( Word, Excel, Route 400,
Adonis)
Delai : 16.02.01
- 16 -
Assistant (B5/B1),
Unité : SCIC-B-2
Description de la fonction :
L'unité SCIC/B/2 (Administration et
Ressources) recherche un/une collègue
dynamique et flexible, ayant le sens du
travail en équipe, pour assurer, en
coopération avec le responsable de la
cellule financière, les préparations
budgétaires annuelles, la coordination de
l'exécution budgétaire (préparation des
ordres de paiement, des propositions
d'engagement et des ordres de
recouvrement) et le suivi des dossiers
administratifs relatifs aux affaires
budgétaires. Des connaissances d'Excel et
de SINCOM2 constituent un atout.
Qualifications particulières requises
Une bonne connaissance des outils
informatiques ( Word, Excel, Route 400,
Adonis)
Delai : 16.02.01
- 0-
Assistant (B5/B1),
Unité : SCIC-B-4
Description de la fonction :
Notre unité nouvellement créée (SCIC/B/4
Nouvelles technologies pour
l'interprétation) recherche un/une collègue
dynamique et ouvert, ayant de bonnes
connaissances en télécommunications,
informatique et réseaux pour assister le
chef d'unité dans ses tâches d'identification
d'innovations, d'essais et d'exploitation des
développements technologiques
applicables à l'interprétation. Il/elle devrait
maitriser le domaine des communications
multilingues, être capable d'élaborer des
protocols techniques ( établissement de
cahiers des charges, contacts avec le
secteur privé) et être en mesure d'assurer
des tâches de consultance en matière de
nouvelles technologies. La connaissance
des techniques de l'interprétation de
conférence est souhaitable.

Bonnes connaissances en français et en
anglais. " Routine seekers " s'abstenir.
Qualifications particulières requises :
Une bonne connaissance des outils
informatiques ( Word, Excel, Route 400,
Adonis ).
Delai : 16.02.01
- 0-
Assistant (B5/B1),
Unité : SCIC-B-5
Description de la fonction :
Pour l’unité organisation de conférences le
SCIC recherche fonctionnaire chargé de la
gestion financière et budgétaire des
conférences organisées par le SCIC. Le
candidat doit être disposé à travailler au
sein d’une équipe dynamique et souriante
pour assurer la gestion financière dans le
cadre d’une Régie d’avance, de garantir le
soutien administratif et logistique des
collègues et d’assurer la coordination
financière avec les D.G. commanditaires.
Maîtrise des outils informatiques
indispensables.
Qualifications particulières requises :
Une bonne connaissance des outils
informatiques (Word, Excel , Route 400,
Adonis).
Delai : 08.02.01
- 0-
Sécretaire (C5/C1),
Directorate SCIC-A :
Description of the post :
Coordination générale pour les unités
d’interprétation. Le Service Commun
Interprétation Conférences offre un poste
très intéressant pour un(e) candidat(e)
- 17 -
ayant le sens de l’initiative et désireux(se)
d'assumer un travail varié dans le domaine
administratif et de secrétariat. Vu les
nombreux contacts avec les interprétés, un
bon sens des relations humaines constitue
un avantage.
Une ambiance sympathique, dynamique et
jeune règne. Le SCIC attache une grande
importance a la formation et à l’éducation
« tout au long de la vie ».
Qualifications particulières requises :
Une bonne connaissance des outils
informatiques (Word, Excel , Outlook,
Adonis).
Delai : 16.02.01
-0-
Secretary (C5/C1),
Unit SCIC-B-2:
Description of the post :
L'unité " Administration et Ressources"
recherche pour son secteur "paiements des
auxiliaires interprètes de conférence "
un/une collègue motivée et dynamique
pour assurer la vérification des pièces
justificatives et la liquidation des contrats
des auxiliaires interprètes. Les tâches
impliquent de nombreux contacts humains.
Qualifications spécifiques: une aptitude
pour l'informatique, l'esprit d'initiative, le
sens des responsabilités et du travail en
équipe, la rigueur dans l'exécution, la
bonne humeur. Bonnes connaissances du
français et de l'anglais.
Delai : 16.02.01
Source : Marleen Harford (B-2)

Mouvements du personnel durant le mois de janvier
Nous souhaitons bonne continuation et
bonne chance à
LA Yves DEMEYER SCIC-A-8 (FR) Invalidité 31.12.00
Cher Yves,
L'an 2001 commence et tu ne nous accompagneras plus pendant
cette année. J'espère que cette mise en invalidité ne sera que
provisoire et que nous aurons le plaisir, le moment venu, de te
retrouver parmi nous Je sais que d'ici là tu garderas de toutes
manières le contact avec les interprètes et le métier en mettant ta
grande expérience et ton savoir au service de tous ceux qui
souhaitent se lancer dans cette profession que tu as exercée avec
volonté et enthousiasme.
Bien entendu tes passages au CCAB seront fréquents et tu y rencontreras de
nombreux collègues auxquels tu ne compteras pas ton temps. Tu m'as dit que tu serais
à la disposition de tous ceux qui auront besoin de toi et nous pouvons donc compter là
dessus aussi.
Merci pour cette disponibilité, merci aussi pour ce que tu nous as apporté durant
toutes ces années partagées et à bientôt.
Marie-Christine
SCICNEWS is published by SCIC Information/Web/Media. Editor: Ian Andersen. Phone: 5 40 24.
“SCICNEWS” est le bulletin interne du SCIC. Il n’engage pas la Commission.
Contributions: Ian.Andersen@cec.eu.int . Please put « Contribution SN » in subject line and indicate
source/ indiquer dans "subject": Contribution SN et indiquer la source.
Deadline for contributions to SN 10 : Monday 12.02.01 at 15.00
- 18 -