CONFERENCE SERVICES SECTIONS

Interpretation section

The Division of Conference Services has qualified permanent staff interpreters in all six official United Nations languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish). If necessary, the permanent staff team can be supplemented by local or international professional free-lance interpreters approved by the interpretation section and experienced in United Nations meetings.

Services provided

Staff interpreters provide both simultaneous (real-time) and consecutive (note-taking) modes of conference interpretation to the highest UN standards. The team of interpreters provides services in the official UN languages for meetings in Nairobi as well as UN meeting venues the world over.

Administrative procedures

To book the services of the Interpretation Section clients must contact the office of the Chief Interpreter (ext.2433) or the Meetings Planning Unit.Clients must then fill out a meetings request form, detailing specific information about the proposed meeting, such as dates, schedule, venue and contact person.

Requests must be submitted well in advance of the scheduled meeting to ensure proper planning and availability of staff. Please remember that staff interpreters are regularly sent on mission to service meetings at UN HQ and elsewhere.

Clients are reminded that, once an agreement on the provision of interpretation services has been signed,it is considered binding on all parties.Accordingly,under the established regulations, late cancellations or modifications will not exempt the requesting party from payment of services and clients are therefore urged to ensure any such modifications are made well ahead of time.


Conditions of work

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Interpretation work of both kinds (simultaneous and consecutive) involves a high level of stress and fatigue for the interpreter. In order for interpreters to be always able to provide a high quality service,minimum working conditions have been worked out by the professional body, the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC). These conditions are designed to ensure a successful meeting for the client.

• Meeting duration: not more than three hours per session, with a break of not less than 90 minutes between morning and afternoon sessions. Any extension beyond these established working times should be discussed with the Chief Interpreter or Team Leader well in advance, in order to provide for additional capacity.
  
  
• Pre-session documentation: to facilitate preparation by the interpretation team, conference organizers are strongly requested to provide any pre-session documentation,relevant background papers,and other sources of information on the meeting topics well in advance.
  
  
• In-session documents: speeches, presentations, speaking notes or outlines, etc., should be provided to interpreters as soon as they are available, before delivery, whether further modifications are made to the text or not.
  
  
• Contact person: meeting organizers should appoint a contact person to act as liaison with the interpretation Team Leader, to deal with changes to the scheduled programme,to provide in-session documentation,and handle any other matters that arise during the meeting.
  
  
• Equipment: for venues outside UN facilities, meeting organizers are reminded that sound and interpretation equipment as well as suitability of physical premises should be verified with interpretation staff beforehand. ISO standards for interpretation equipment and premises can be obtained from AIIC.
  
  

Contact persons

For any further information,please contact the following:

Mr. Guanrong Shen Acting Chief, Interpretation Section Block CE-206

Tel.: (254 (0) 20) 622433

E-mail: guanrong.shen@unon.org

Ms. Ana Siongok Secretary to the Chief Block CE-205

Tel.: (254 (0) 20)623062

E-mail: ana.siongok@unon.org