Experts discuss role of translation in spreading awareness of pandemic

E PERTS discussed the role of translation in spreading awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic at a seminar organised by the Qatari Literature Initiative, in cooperation with the Department of English Literature and Linguistics at Qatar University.

The seminar coincided with the International Translation Day and was held via the Webex app on Tuesday. The seminar aimed to shed light on the role of translators in supporting the efforts of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management to raise awareness about and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The seminar also discussed the official translation policies and practices regarding social media and presented an indepth analysis of communication challenges in Qatar. The speakers also introduced new perspectives on translation training during crisis.

The speakers were: Ibrahim Sultan Al Hashemi, secretary of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management Dr Khaled Al Shahari, Dr Rizwan Ahmed and Dr Dhyiaa Borresly from Qatar University and Dr Sarah Hillman from Texas A M University in Qatar. The seminar was moderated by Ms Hind Ibrahim ourob, member of the Qatari Literature Initiative.

In his speech, Ibrahim Sultan Al Hashemi addressed the first theme ‘Translation in the context of public policies in Qatar during the COVID-19 pandemic’. He stressed that translation is an important tool for communication and that Qatar is now in dire need of translation services, especially in view of the recent increase in expat population related to preparations for World Cup 2020.

Hashemi said that one of the most important principles of communication during the COVID-19 crisis is transparency, and Qatar has maintained complete transparency during the pandemic.

He continued, As the subject concerns public health, everyone has the right to access correct medical information and know the latest decisions. Here translation is important to be able to reach the largest possible segment of society.

Dr Khaled Al Shahari addressed the theme ‘Official policies and practices in the translation of COVID-19 related material on social media in Qatar’. He focused on two main topics: the importance of policies adopted by Qatar Government during the current crisis regarding delivery of basic information to residents who are non-Arabic speakers, and the use of social media by government institutions in Qatar to communicate basic information related to COVID-19 to residents who are non-Arabic speakers.

Dr Rizwan Ahmed focused on the third theme ‘Communication challenges in multilingual societies: Qatar as a model’. He presented a joint research paper with Dr Sarah Hillman. The project examined the communication strategies used to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Qatar with a focus on using languages of nonArab communities.