Desanka, 2007 SAF Recipient
REPORT | Serbia 2007
by Desanka Zizic
It was very exciting for me to attend the EFSLI AGM and conference.
For the first time, SAF and EFSLI made it possible for me to really participate in such big event, with all great interpreters’ from Europe. It was an excellent exchange of experience.
For me it was very exciting to present you situation in Serbia and to hear that you all care. That feeling of trust and support has given me a big empowerment to make some progress with my colleagues in Serbia.
The topic of the conference “Setting Quality Standards” was encouraging and a very new experience. The different perspectives about quality standards have opened a new chapter in our professional life. I learnt valuable lessons from presenters and experienced colleagues from Europe, and all this we can use to develop sign language interpreters profession in Serbia.
Big motivation for me and a challenge was that all of you are trying to set a good atmosphere among interpreters and working condition and possibility of life long learning and that you want to share your knowledge with young and less experienced interpreters.
The presenter Ms Barbara Gestbach with presentation “Small but Powerful” has given me a special motivation and it was a new point of view on how we can act, how we can work closely with stakeholders and still be independent association. The way that she presented what you must do to be and stay a member of national association was enlightening for me.
What Ms. Darija Fiser presented (“I know everything”) is closely related to actual situation in Serbia regarding sign language interpreters. It is difficult not to be “exotic” and for the community to accept the fact that SLI profession is as any other. I learned a lot from her presentation.
To be honest, when Mr. Zane Hema sent me an email with papers of National Occupational standards in Interpreting, I thought that I am not a right person to attend this conference…. It was very hard for me to understand what is going on in UK by reading and looking on those 56 pages of document. But from the presentation on “Interpreting Standards – Lessons from the UK Experience” I realized that it takes lots of years of hard working and lots of experience and people to set a document, which will guarantee a quality standard. For my colleagues and me that mean that we have to start now, and that it is a long process to set a quality standard in our country.
Moreover, from all of the workshops, I was just listening all various interpreters’ debate and exchange their opinion gave me strength to be active. It was large impact on me.
Now I feel it is a responsibility of all interpreters from Serbia, and mine personally to improve situation. If you can make it, we can make it as well :0) this is EFSLI’s impact, and of all of you individually, thank you.
Thank you for motivation, for sharing information and for supporting us. I would also like to thank the Organization of Deaf of Belgrade that helped me raise the rest of the funding.
I must thank Swiss Organizing committee for all jobs that they have done. It was an honor to be hosted by such an amazing team.
With enthusiasm, knowledge and experience that I have gained from this event, I will do my best to raise the awareness among stakeholders to establish the National Association of the Serbian Sign Language Interpreters, which would improve the social status of Deaf individuals and Deaf community. The next step would be to set up the sustainable SLI training program. I hope next year the delegate from Serbia will share positive news, and hopefully when we get together, we will become a full member of EFSLI.
Kind Regards
Desanka Zizic
desazizic@gmail.com