Featured Language Impact Story
Last year, CETRA Language Solutions had the pleasure of providing Interpretation services for a global meeting conducted on behalf of an international medical device manufacturer. The meeting spanned 3 full days and covered everything from the board room to the factory floor. The organization, which has ownership in Japan and a U.S. headquarters based in Southern New Jersey, required interpretation for a number of Japanese C-Level executives coming for the meeting. The agenda was ambitious and included corporate presentations, various meetings and social events taking place in Center City Philadelphia, as well as a tour of the manufacturing plant in New Jersey.
To accomplish the task, CETRA put together a strong team of certified professional Japanese interpreters who were skilled linguists and specialized in industry terminology for medical devices. The interpreters worked together to ensure the Japanese delegates understood all of the material presented (including an annual review of the organization’s finances and corporate structure, as well as vision, mission and objectives) and enabled them to present questions and responses to engage and interact with their U.S. and European counterparts. Our interpreters were also on-site for the tour of the manufacturing plant, which while being highly informative, also allowed the US, European and Japan teams networking opportunities.
A core value we were able to bring to the conference was our agility to bridge language and cultural gaps. Since attendees were senior managers coming together from across the globe, we understood the need to not only have top quality communicators, but also as native speakers, that they have the necessary acuity with Japanese culture.
Another major key to the success of this conference was CETRA’s account management. Our interpretation account manager worked tirelessly to coordinate all of the moving parts- scheduling the interpreters, coordinating the interpreting equipment and working with the event venue. We were also able to remain flexible to accommodate the interpreting for additional and sometimes unforeseen client needs (breakfasts, after hours events, transportation, etc.). Our main goal was to provide our client with peace of mind, and verify that all their needs would be taken care of. Beyond just providing communication, we were able to serve as cultural consultants, thereby making certain that the experience was a positive one on all levels for every participant.
Government and Institutional Clients
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Recently CETRA had the pleasure of helping The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom – an independent Federal Government Commission monitoring religious freedom rights – translate their annual report. What may seem like just another project was actually very inspiring as the nature of the report detailed the organization’s work to research religious freedom injustices in countries all around the world, including: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burma, Central African Republic, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan & Vietnam.
“It´s really incredible to work on projects of this magnitude, where we can feel such a great sense of purpose in the work we do.” says CETRA Director of Translation Services, Evan Schapiro. “The USCIRF’s cause is so powerful; it’s an honor to help convey their message to people worldwide.”
CETRA has had a strong working relationship with the USCIRF since 2013 and has begun also translating key reports and articles examining religious freedom injustices and violations into 33 native languages for a journal. We look forward to continuing our partnership to help in communicating the amazing work they are doing on a global scale.
US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
CETRA provided Spanish and French interpretation and accompanying equipment for the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) 15th Annual Conference, held in Colorado Springs, CO on October 28 thru November 1. The conference, whose theme this year is “Thinking Outside the Cell: Reducing the use of imprisonment”, brought together over 500 corrections professionals from 70 countries. CETRA worked with representatives from the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to ensure the conference was a success.
Defense Acquisition University (DAU)
CETRA was selected as one of three awardees under a five-year Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) to provide ASL interpretation and CART services to the Defense Acquisition University (DAU). Approximately 55 assignments (~7000 interpreter hours) per year were equally rotated among the three BPA holders. Provision of services were required in order for hearing disabled students to take resident DAU courses with the same chance of successful completion as a non-disabled student. Locations included (but were not limited to) Aberdeen and California, MD; Chester, Fort Belvoir and Fredericksburg, VA; Columbus and Kettering, OH; Philadelphia, PA; Huntsville, AL; Sterling Heights, MI; and Hill AFB, UT. CETRA has provided ASL services for DAU over the years, and this award enabled CETRA to build on its relationship with DAU in further support of the DAU mission.
Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center, Pacific
CETRA has been awarded a three-year contract to provide ASL interpretation and other forms of visual and voice communication for hearing impaired employees in support of the Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center, Pacific. Interpreting services will be carried out at the SPAWAR Systems Center, Pacific in San Diego, CA and other locations throughout the city for meetings, conferences, seminars, reviews, briefings, training, and escort.
Department of Defense
Army TRADOC CORE G-2, Subcontract with CGI Federal (formerly subcontracted with BAE Systems)
CETRA translates documents and reports for the Army TRADOC’s Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO). These materials concern regional military and security issues and are translated from Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, French, and Somali into English. CETRA’s work for FMSO has included transcription and translation of audio and video materials related to investigations of narcotics and other trafficking operations of illicit materials.
DLITE OEF-A Linguist Support, Mission Essential Personnel (MEP) subcontract
CETRA was awarded this subcontract under Army INSCOM’s Defense Language Interpretation and Translation Enterprise (DLITE). CETRA was selected as a small business teammate for one of the prime contractors. Under DLITE, CETRA IW responsible for identifying, recruiting, and deploying Pashto, Dari, and Farsi linguists.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Foreign Language Interpretation and Translation Services – PRF48
CETRA holds a multi-year Blanket Purchase Agreement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to provide translations in multiple languages. CETRA regularly works with the MA Departments of Public Health, Children and Families, Mental Health, and Motor Vehicles. Under this contract, CETRA has worked with the above-listed departments to deliver projects in Spanish, Creole, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Polish, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin), Thai, Hmong, and Tagalog.
Department of Veterans Affairs
VA-741-11-RQ-0197 – Purchased Care at the Health Administration Center’s (PC HAC) Document Translation Services
CETRA holds a contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide translations for veterans’ medical documents in multiple languages. Languages translated on a regular basis include: Romanian, German, Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Norwegian, Thai, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
University of Maryland
National Foreign Language Center (NFLC)
Translation of Chinese, Croatian, Serbian, and French materials into English for the NFLC’s program for advanced learners of foreign languages working in areas of political importance to the US government. CETRA linguists annotate each text with a glossary. The contract was renewed for a second year and new languages were added, including Arabic, Brahui, Dari, Farsi, Korean, Sindhi, Siraiki, Somali, and Spanish.
Corporate Clients
MKS Instruments
CETRA was commissioned in 2013 to provide website localization services from Korean to English. Because the site was graphics-intensive and much of the text was embedded, we developed a customized solution for the client.
OMT Group
Translation of more than 80 training documents from English into Serbian, Spanish, Czech, French, and Portuguese for a European-based company’s intensive training program. The project consisted of translating more than 70,000 words over a period of one month. (2013)
60 Minutes/CBS News
Korean<>English interpretation for Anderson Cooper’s interview with Shin Dong-hyuk, human rights activist, escaped prisoner, and author of Escape from Camp 14 (2012), in Columbus, Ohio. The interpreted segment was broadcast nationally and then posted on the 60 Minutes website.
Chemonics International
An international development company that partners with local and international organizations to promote social and economic change around the world requested English<>Indonesian interpreters for week-long parliamentary meetings in London, United Kingdom, and the Hague, Netherlands. CETRA interpreters assisted members of the Indonesian Parliament on various meetings with officials from the UK House of Commons, UK National Audit Office, House of Lords, Netherlands Court of Audit, Bureau for Research and Public Expenditure. and Dutch Ministry of Finance.
