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Government organizations are chartered with serving the needs of their constituents at the local, state, and national level. Most governments have a diverse community of residents that often speak a different first language than the language used for both community meetings and internal meetings. This includes city council meetings, employee training, county / state planning sessions, and much more. Language barriers lead to lower engagement and comprehension.
In order to increase civic engagement and provide an inclusive community, it is important to be able to speak to everyone in their preferred language. They want to participate in community meetings to stay abreast of current events and have a voice in government decisions, but are often restricted due to language barriers. For example, most government entities in the US run their meetings and events in English - and do not get the level of civic engagement they want. This same issue happens in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Japan, and dozens of countries around the world every day.
There are three primary options for addressing the language barrier at government meetings.
1. Do Nothing
The most common solution is to do nothing. While this is the cheapest and least time consuming option in the short term, there are significant long term costs when residents are unable to understand community meetings and do not attend or fully engage.
2. Use Human Translators
Human translators have been used for years and are a common option for government meetings and events around the world. Human interpretation is a good option for large, complex events which are planned months in advance and supported by large budgets and teams to coordinate all of the logistics. But the time and cost of offering human interpretation often makes this option not viable for most government organizations.
3. Use Live AI Translation and Captioning
A fast-growing option is AI translation. These tech solutions are powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and hosted in a secure cloud infrastructure, removing the need for human interpreters and special equipment. AI translation is being implemented across a wide range of government meetings.
For more information, visit the Translation Software section of this website.
Step 1
The audio mixer from the government room is connected to a tablet or laptop which is used to log into the AI translation and captioning system. This helps ensure the AI system receives high quality sound input.
Step 2
The presenter(s) speak in their preferred languages during the government meetings. The AI-powered government translation system can manage participants speaking in multiple languages.
Step 3
The system uses AI technology to transcribe and translate the spoken content into the preferred languages for each participant. AI systems can process and translate speech simultaneously into dozens of languages.
The caption output is displayed in real time. The translation software is capable of understanding different dialects and accents, so you can feel confident that the translation will be accurate and understood by all attendees.
Step 4
Attendees can read along with captions or listen with their ear buds in their preferred language on their own computer or mobile device. Attendees access the translation and captions by scanning a QR code with their phone or visiting a URL from their computer.
Attendees can be either in person or attend virtually via Zoom, Teams, or another meeting platform. The captions can also be displayed in multiple languages on monitors positioned around the room so both government officials and attendees can see them.
To learn how we can make your meetings more inclusive and engaging, schedule a demo.
To see examples of Wordly Government Translation in action, visit City Council Translation.
Wordly makes it easy to buy a package customized to meet your needs. You can start small to make budgeting and purchase approvals easier, and add more hours over time. A sample package is outlined below:
