Netherlands hosted the 16th efsli AGM & Conference

Over 250 sign language interpreters from 30 countries attended

An impression of efsli 2008 can be found online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujBZ3Rutau8

From 12 - 14 September more than 250 sign language interpreters from 30 countries  participated in the 2008 European conference for sign language interpreters.

The three-day event was hosted by the Dutch Association of Sign Language Interpreters (NBTG) and will take place in Voorschoten, the Netherlands.

Participants from all across Europe, including Lithuania,  Malta, and the Ukraine, shared their experiences and expertise. Interpreter training programs, deaf and deafblind users of interpreting services, and related organisations in the field are bringing their input to the conference.

The conference theme Third Language Interpreting highlighted two topics: third-language interpreting and relay interpreting. Third-language interpreting means interpreting from and to a language that is not the interpreter’s mother tongue. Relay interpreting concerns the use of an additional go-between interpreter in an interpreting setting.

The presenters were from the Council of Europe, the University of Geneva, Stockholm University, University of Trieste, the University of Sussex, and the Hogeschool Utrecht in the Netherlands.

The European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters (efsli) unites more than 20 national sign language interpreting organizations. Efsli is aiming towards further recognition and insight into the challenging aspects involved in sign language interpreting, such as interpreting into a third language or relay interpreting.