improving government service delivery to minority ethnic ... - NCCRI

“ …the four As that the previous Rapporteur in Education in the United Nations
elucidated when she was considering education for minorities and for migrants, that
education needs to be Acceptable to minorities, it needs to be Available, it needs to be
Appropriate and it needs to be Accessible.” 257
At the conference the heterogeneity of minority ethnic communities was discussed.
“ I think it’s OK to have a number of organisations representing the same community as
indeed there are four or five organisations representing Travellers, or you have four or
five organisations representing the Chinese community… it’s OK to have a multitude
of organisations because that was made earlier on that ethnic minorities are not a
homogenous group, they are varying needs and concerns within those communities,
so it’s perfectly valid to have a number of different groups representing different
perspectives and different concerns within those communities.” 258
Examples of community consultation good practice guides from Scotland are provided in this report and it is
important that proper consultation strategies are developed in each jurisdiction. In some cases there appears
to be a lack of understanding for the need to consult differently with different groups in society, taking into
account cultural background. Many people will not be represented through the main NGOs, social partnerships
and other structures; how they can be reached and how consultation should be carried out and resourced
requires further attention.
257_Conference Key Note
Speaker, Anastasia Crickley,
Chair of the European
Monitoring Centre on
Racism and Xenophobia,
OSCE Special Rapporteur
on Racism and Chair of
the National Consultative
Committee on Racism and
Interculturalism (NCCRI).
258_Martin Collins,
Assistant Director, Pavee
Point Travellers Centre,
Ireland, speaking at the
conference.
259_Interpreting refers
to verbal communication,
translating refers to the
translation of written
documents.
260_Adapted from the
Australian Translating
and Interpreting Service
website: www.immi.gov.au/
tis/index.htm
Effective communication is essential in improving service provision
Language barriers have emerged repeatedly in this research, predominantly from service providers but also
from NGOs and people from minority ethnic groups. Clients should have access to a professional (preferably
accredited) interpreters and translators: 259
-
-
-
-
-
to ensure accurate communication between people of different languages while taking into account cultural
sensitivities and confidentiality;
because it is well known that in times of crisis or in traumatic or emotionally-charged situations, secondlanguage
competency may decrease dramatically;
as effective professional practice is dependent upon the worker’s ability to understand the client’s situation,
through verbal and non-verbal communication;
because some interpreting requires specific technical terminology, which is a specialised skill; and
because people have right to equality in service delivery and interpreters are an important tool in allowing
people who do not speak English well to achieve that right. 260
Some proactive steps have been taken by service providers, resulting in an improved level of interpreting and
translating, for example the Regional Interpreting Service in Northern Ireland. The Scottish research indicates
a level of awareness of the need for interpreting and translating and has some interesting initiatives, such as
the translation of standard letters into 15 languages by Glasgow City Council’s Education Department. In the
Republic of Ireland however, provision of interpreting and translating services is piecemeal and depends on the
individual service provider; sometimes interpreters are simply not used and there are little or no standards in
place, casting doubt on the quality of service when interpreters and translators are used.