Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, at all levels of government and in public institutions, language accessibility has been –and continues to be– a major equity issue. With public health updates initially provided only in official languages, in a region where 44% of the population speaks a language other than English or French at home, it is clear that translation work is no longer just a ‘bonus,’ but rather is a necessity in public engagement.
We believe in a healthy, democratic society where all people are empowered to make informed decisions regarding their health and well-being, and have equitable access to resources provided by the institutions intended to serve us.
The Language Access Project (LAP) will address the growing need for cultural competency and language accessibility from all levels of government and public institutions, by sharing knowledge and creating space to build long-term relationships between community experts and institutional staff.
The project advisory committee was convened out of the C19 Response Coalition (c19help.ca), and consists of community leaders and core partner organizations who have been leading translation, interpretation, and public engagement projects with our respective communities. As racialized people, we have first-hand experience in navigating these barriers, whether as intermediaries or as service users.
While our short term aim is to work collaboratively towards better language policy, our hope is that this process will create long lasting relationships between communities and institutions, that extend beyond the end of the project.
Our goal is to support ongoing work highlighting systemic barriers, to increase language accessibility and cultural sensitivity in civic engagement, and to enable full participation for those who face these barriers, through an illustrative toolkit and a Community of Practice.
The Language Access Project is the recipient of the 2023 UBC-Vancouver Public Humanities Hub Public Engagement Award, in partnership with the UBC Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies (ACAM) program.
Current projects:
Project Partners:
- Bảo Vệ Collective
- C19 Response Coalition
- GenConnect
- Sliced Mango Collective
- Tulayan UBC
- Yarrow Intergenerational Society for Justice
- University of British Columbia – Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies (ACAM) Program
Stay tuned for updates on the Language Access Project. Want to get involved? Email us at languageaccess@huafoundation.org.
