Events and Language Access Initiatives
Harm Reduction 101: The Basics
This session is hosted by The Works, Toronto Public Health and presents an introduction to harm reduction theory and practices.
Session topics include:
- Definition and core principles of harm reduction
- History of harm reduction and drug laws in Canada
- Impacts of stigma associated with drug use
- Importance of non-judgmental and anti-stigma practices
Session takes place March 22, 2023, 5 pm – 8 pm on Zoom. For more information: languages@accessalliance.ca
Interpreter Debriefs
What is Debriefing?
Join other community interpreters to share experiences of, and strategies for, professionally challenging and/or emotionally distressing aspects of your work as an interpreter.
Sessions take place every other Wednesday from 5 pm to 6pm on the following dates:
January 11, 25
February 8, 22
March 8, 22
April 5, 19
May 3, 17, 31
June 14, 28
Contact languages@accessalliance.ca for the zoom link.
Real Steps to Language Access in Health Systems: A Panel Discussion
Wednesday, October 6, 2021, 1:00 – 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (Canada and US)
Access Alliance Language Services invites you to join our panel discussion on Real Steps to Language Access in Health Systems. Following the release of our report “Investing in Language Access to Optimize Health System Performance”, we have brought together a panel of experts to talk about what’s working now and how we can leverage those successes and implement best practices across health systems.
Our panelists will be discussing actions, sharing strategies and best practices. The goal of the event is to contribute to the conversation on language access and to provide various stakeholders with tools to realize the calls to action.
Please join us as we explore what each of us can do to promote language access in health care systems in our own context.
Our esteemed panelists:
- Doly Begum, MPP for Scarborough Southwest and the Provincial Critic on Citizenship, Foreign Credentials and Immigration Services
- Lola Bendana, Director at Multi-Languages Corporation, Member and Past-President of the Canadian Language Industry Association of Canada (CLIA)
- Nishi Kumar, Program Evaluator and Policy Analyst focused on health equity and the social determinants of health
- Dr. Aitor Montes Lasarte, Family Doctor, Basque Country
- Angela Sasso, Founder and Director of The Interpreter’s Lab, a program of Shifting Pictures, President of Critical Link International.
Read the literature review, Investing in Language Access to Optimize Health System Performance here.
Recording of panel discussion, Wednesday October 6, 2021
Slide Deck from panel discussion
Community Interpreting in Canada: An information session for Afghan Interpreters and language assistants
Wednesday, September 29, 2021, 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (Canada and US)
Access Alliance Language Services is hosting an information session for newly arrived Afghan interpreters, language assistants, and their support networks to provide an overview of the community interpreting landscape in Canada.
Please join us to hear about interpreter associations, accreditation/certification frameworks, training options, ILSAT/CILISAT, national standards, role of the CI, trends of on-site/remote, as well as initiatives from across the country relevant to interpreting and language support.
Meeting materials