Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to the Week interview, your source for the latest news in the language industry. I'm your host, Eddie Arrieta, and today we'll be interviewing the wonderful Giovanna Carriero Contreras, the chair of the Aaite.
And you will know more about it as we go further into the show. To begin with, for historians, so humans begin speaking much earlier than previously estimated.
We were, or we had thought initially that humans commenced speaking around 200,000 years ago. However, doctor Mittens has found that it is very likely that humans began speaking about two to 1.5 million years go. Now, the reason why they discovered this is happening is because in our brain, we have a section of our brain called the Broca area, or the Broca's area. And what happened to humans is as we started evolving, as language become part of who we are, that part of the brain started becoming bigger, and actually our anatomy started changing, which is very interesting. I'm pretty sure our production team, Mila in particular, is going to really love this because it makes me think that as we evolved and as language became a particular aspect of who we are as human beings, our entire anatomy evolved. So what we say and the words we say has so much power. And about 1.5 million years ago, culture started changing and the way we transfer information started changing because of that. So we have been talking for much longer than expected. Now, you should also know that there are specific sounds that we make that still or are still part of how we talk. I encourage you to go to tVP world.com to check out this story and read more of these details that I'm speaking about. And Philadelphia is happy today. Beyond literacy has gotten an amazing donation of $2 million from billionaire philanthropist Mackenzie Scott. For those who don't know who Mackenzie is, she's Jeff Bezos ex wife, and she is looking actually to spread out $17 billion to 2300 nonprofits around the world for this organization. It came as a surprise, said the CEO, Kimmel proctor, because the largest single donation they have received in the past was about $47,000. Beyond literacy does a lot of work helping adults learn how to read and write and making language a huge part of their day to day lives. And finally, oh, my apologies right before that. This news is in cvsnews.com. And finally, multilingual.com. Last week cover PI Day and we are revealing the origins of the PI symbol. And for those that don't know, PI Day is March 14, 314. And if you looked at our newsletter, you're probably catching up on some of our language jokes which are getting better as we speak.
3500 years of work behind the mathematical constant and we are designated March 14 as the day for some of us who are modern beneficiaries of this knowledge. You can check this story and many more stories multilingual.com and if you're not subscribed to our magazine or our newsletter, go to the magazine, go to the newsletter and let's get some knowledge in your brains around language. Language access, localization, globalization, internationalization and all that fun stuff like Tucker Johnson from Nin C Insights says. And without any further ado, today our guest, Giovanna Carriero Contreras dynamic business solutions architect and operations management executive with proven track record and international language interpreting and translation industry recognition successfully built a thriving linguistics company, orchestrating business startup strategies and tactics tactics business acquisition staff staff recruitment and training and operation management. She's worked in companies like Lionbridge and SD history, has also been a member of the US delegation for ISO, an international organization of standardization, is the founder of Sesco Linguistic Services and is right now the chair of the American association of Interpreters and Translators in Education. I am very happy, thrilled and excited to have with us today. Giovanna Carrera. Giovanna, welcome to the Weekend Review.
[00:04:55] Speaker B: Hi Eddie, I love the way you roll my r's. Carriero Contreras.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: Awesome.
Like I said in my presentation, for everyone who is watching the interview, either live or a recording, please leave your comments and questions on LinkedIn or whatever it is that you're seeing it. Giovanna and I met in vamos juntos in Lima, Peru last week, and my joke was Eddie Arieta la carne asada. I saw it in an ad in the US. I'm not. I didn't come up with that one, but yes, it's like Carne Asada, Carriero Arrieta, Giovanna, how are you these days?
[00:05:34] Speaker B: I'm doing well, coming back from Junto. So it's a completely changing weather in landscape, right? I love the beach, I love the sun. I love the beautiful people that I met. And I'm back to work.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: And this is not the first interview you have experienced this week. So I hear your family is becoming really popular. Why don't you tell us your family stories? What happened with your son?
[00:05:56] Speaker B: My son is a basketball athlete and he's the point guard of a school here in the Colorado area, Smokey Hill High School.
He's the point guard. And he just recently got interviewed because of his participation to the team, but especially because he wrote a children's book.
So it was, it was very, it was a pride, a proud moment for a mom.
[00:06:26] Speaker A: Fantastic. And we are sure he has a bright future. I had the pleasure of meeting him in Lima.
[00:06:32] Speaker B: So he's a different son. It's a different son. It's a different son.
[00:06:36] Speaker A: And you've got bright children. You've got bright, amazing children. Fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing the stories.
[00:06:42] Speaker B: Your family and the one that you met, Francesco, is the one that named the company. Basically, that's why the company is Chesco Linguistic Services.
[00:06:54] Speaker A: Chesco linguistic Services. I won't say Cisco anymore. I'll say, thank you, linguistic services. Giovanna, thank you so much. And today we're going to be talking more about the American association of interpreters and translators in education. What I discover in Lima is that you have an amazing association with amazing events coming up. Why don't you tell us more about the association, a little bit about the history and how did you become the chair of this amazing association?
[00:07:22] Speaker B: Well, you are correct. AAIT is an amazing association. And it started back in 2019. It started back with a call to the country that was launched at the OCDE conference for interpreters and translators. And OCD stands for Orange County Department of Education.
Thanks to a friend in the language field, she called a couple of us and saying, hey, don't you think that interpreting and translation education has gained so much relevance, that deserves a spotlight? And we had already been promoting attention to this field. And so myself, Catherine Allen and Holly Silvestri, the three of us organized a call for a movement during that conference, and that gained a lot of momentum.
The ITE workgroup, the interpreters and translators in education workgroup was created, and 13 of us started brainstorming on what an association could become, how we could get the work started. And as an informal work group, we also created some committees, and a couple of years passed by. It was time to make the leap. And American association of Translators and Interpreters in Education was born as a and Inc. And we are headquartered in Colorado because it's the center, reaching out to everybody. And we have been doing amazing work. I think that we can be proud of the major accomplishments that we have reached in the last year.
[00:09:16] Speaker A: Excellent. And one of the things that really caught my attention was the Con 2024, which is going to happen this year on maybe second to the fourth in Washington, DC. Would you tell us a little bit more about the event? When did you all think about the idea of having the event and the essence of why this is happening.
[00:09:37] Speaker B: So AIT is an organization that works primarily online. Right. Our leadership is all over the country, and so we meet in meetings through on Zoom like everybody else. And we have most of our events online. So the one that you're just showing right now is taking place tomorrow. So there is still a little bit of time to sign up or for those that would like to stay in the course, we're going to talk about advocacy and the ethical guidance. And the advocacy really talks about the very first day of our conference, because we are organizing an advocacy on the hill, on Capitol Hill in person. So everyone is welcome to attend. And. And Bruce Adelson will drive us through the 101 of what we need to know to be successful at what we do. And the other presentation that myself and Carol Alexmacher are going to drive is about how to apply the principles of the codes of ethics that have been published just this recent December.
We have edutalks throughout the day. But you want to know more about the conference and then how is the conference came up to be? I'll tell you, last year we really made a point to wanting to meet everybody. After so many years working remotely. It feels like, did I meet you? Did I meet you in person? Oh, no. It was only on Zoom. And so we pulled it together. We had our first in person conference last year in denver, and we had 140 people traveling from 19 different states. It was awesome. And we are repeating the odds this year. And this year is going to be in Maryland, really next door to washington. And that's what we are going to be spending a couple of days together. So, con everything for us is.edu.edu. Edu.edu workshops.edu talk con the one that you see now is the workshops happening tomorrow. We do it twice a year at least, and we are providing workshops on topics of interest. We're gonna have the edutalk the first week of the month is on Thursdays, and these on about ten months out of the year. And then we're gonna have our in person. And I hope to see you there, eddie, you know, from Columbia, washington, DC. Maybe it's not as good as Columbia, but you know what? The company makes it great.
[00:12:12] Speaker A: No? Eddie workshop.edu workshop. But yes, close enough.
This is the first one. The advocacy and ethical guidance. Mila, if you go low, then is the one that happens every Thursday. This is the edutalk. And both of these events are online, correct?
[00:12:30] Speaker B: It is correct. And let me tell you a little second about the edutalk format, which is more of a gathering information from everyone. We start with a topic of interest and we kind of spend the 1015, 15 minutes led by a presenter. But then we break out in breakout rooms and we actually gather the feedback. Again, remember, we are still a profession on the way to professionalization.
[00:13:01] Speaker A: And those of us that are interested in attending any of these online events, what's the cost of attending the talks or the ed workshops?
[00:13:09] Speaker B: Okay. That's where the membership is really great, right? So for members, the talks are free as a non member is a $5 fee for the workshops. They are at cost. But obviously there is the difference from members to non members and those that attend. As of now, we are still recording our events, online events and they are available to.
The workshop is available for 30 days.
But the edit talk, the part that is about the presenter led part, they are going to be part of our library and yeah, so something are included. Most of them are a very reduced discount. And also what is worth to mention is that we're really trying to make the conference very affordable to everybody. We know that we cannot control fees such as a flight or a hotel, but what we try to work with is keeping the fees of the conference low to the point that people can afford to travel. So I hope to see many, many, many joining us.
[00:14:29] Speaker A: Fantastic. And Mila, if we go below to the actual conference. So this is the Khan. If you hit more information when you are on the website, you'll be able to see the description. So right below the post Mila, where it says more information right there. Yeah. So if you click in there, you all going to see that this is the annual conference now. Annual. And now we have the 2024 and we'll see 2025 as well. This is where you will all be getting together. And you have some sponsors already, like the Academy of Interpretation and Audit Resource group. And you already have a program available for those that are looking to check it out for members. Is of course cheaper to go to the per conference event and then to the conference as well than it is for non members. And you have also information there on the venue. So the college Park Marriott Hotel and Conference center and also the Sonia Sotomayor Middle School. In terms of those that are going to attend and the current members that you have in the association, why don't you tell me a little bit about the spirit and what you will see there once you become a member.
[00:15:39] Speaker B: So it's first of all, those that become member, we really invite them to be part of committees. We really trying to put the message out by saying, we need all hands on back. In other words, when there are few of us, they lead a movement or they lead changes, or the work to be done is so much work for everybody, right? And everybody is too busy to do any extra. But a little bit, little bit of extra shared by many makes the burden lighter for everybody. And the spirit is information. One of the perks that the members have is also the listserv that is only a member benefit. So internally, like any other listserv, right. If you have a question, there are always people that are willing to share their information. But most of everything, I would say that AAIt is a very welcoming and very personable association. And the testimonial to that was the spirit that we saw when we all met in person.
And so the confidence last year was really a testament that we were doing something really good and really right for everybody.
[00:16:56] Speaker A: Thank you so much, Giovanna. So I want to get a bit personal now, and I want to understand, why are you doing this? Why is Giovanna Carriero Contreras doing any of this? Why bother?
[00:17:09] Speaker B: So if someone would ask me, why me? I would say, why not?
Why not? That's what I tell others. So I'm going to give you the same response. I think that if you work in an industry, in a profession, and you're passionate about what you do, and you're even more passionate about the fact that changes should happen to make it better, you cannot just take a passive seat at the table. You need to do it now. For me, the professional identity of interpreters, and I spoke for interpreters, sometimes more than translators, because we are not even the ones that get called as interpreters. We are all translators, right? Oh, here's the translator. Coming has always been at the core of what I've always preached for the past 15 years.
And so when, when AAIt became an association, our first president was Luis Hernandez, and he's now still on the board. He's our communication director of communications, and I was the chair elect, and so I became the chair.
And I think because we have the responsibility to contribute and make changes, because changes don't come alone and don't come overnight.
And I would hope that I could even inspire others to think, yeah, we think that. Okay. I have my family. I have a lot of work. I have a lot of commitments. Eddie, there are very few people that have more commitments than I do. And so I can say that we can still find that little niche that allows us to make the difference. We just have to see where our heart is, and my heart is in this.
[00:18:59] Speaker A: That is great to hear, because as we all know, the conversation in every conference now is AI, AI, AI, AI, AI, AI, AI. And it is reassuring to hear you speak about it. What words could you have for interpreters? And of course, we can include translators into that. But interpreters, because we are seeing a search of solutions that are looking to replace the work that a lot of interpreters do. Just recently we covered the story of Roblox. Translated automatically. Whatever text you put in chat rooms, gaming chat rooms, you can automatically write in your original language, and you can chat with people somewhere else in the world. And their responses, you will see them in your original languages. And the test that's coming is immediate translation of voice. So you will be chatting with someone as you're speaking. They will hear your voice in you in their original languages, and you will hear their voices in your original languages. Many interpreters will feel threatened by this. What words do you have and what are your thoughts around this topic?
[00:20:09] Speaker B: I follow a tagline that was presented years ago at interpreters America technology.
We talked about technology at the time, and now we talk about AI.
We'll quickly replace bad translators and bad interpreters.
They can memorize better than us. I mean, they, AI and technology can memorize better than us, can find linear solutions better than us, but they cannot look at the context, they cannot look at the cultural biases, they cannot look at the cues that we have from what is said before and what is said after. So the trick of being ahead of the AI is to increasing our skills.
And so for those that started the profession, just because we have the gift of bilingualism, AI is telling us it's no longer enough if you want to make a change. And in this case, I say in the school, in the district, for the families, the students that you work with, then you have to notch up your skills, because AI is already good for a bad, to replace a bad interpreter. And translators and translators, you know, whether they were aware of not, they were already working with some sort of AI. I mean, machine translations, the memory, the memory banks, etcetera, all what we have with our translation tools, technology was already there. Did translators disappear? No, they did not. These tools, for those that use them well, were necessary to, or were useful to improve their skills. This is how we should embrace tools driven by AI, not to do our job, but to enhance what we can so that our delivery is better.
[00:22:15] Speaker A: Fantastic. Thank you so much. So we are here with Giovanna Carriero, the chair of the American association of Interpreters and Translators in a missing, I'm missing a part in education.
Of course, of course. Khan is coming May 2 to the fourth in Washington, DC. Make sure that you consider the association to become an ember. Giovanna, any last words for the multilingual audience before we go?
[00:22:45] Speaker B: No, I, yes. It was not a no. It was a yes. Yes. Follow us. Don't forget to sign up for multilingual if you're not a subscriber. But don't forget to become a member of AIT. Also, we are about to release a lot of other tools that can help you in schools. And please, please, please don't forget to email us if you have a questions. A question. And Eddie, thank you so very much for the opportunity. It was great to meet you and great to spend this moment with you.
[00:23:17] Speaker A: Fantastic. Thank you so much, Jovana, for joining us and getting your insights. We are going to be, of course, getting some of the snippets of your insights out on social media. I'm really glad joining us today once again. Thank you, Giovanna Carriero. Thank you, everyone who's joined the week in review. And we'll see you next week with more, with more amazing news. Thank you, Mila, for producing the show. And we'll see you soon. Giovanna. Have a great time. Bye bye.
[00:23:44] Speaker B: Thank you, Eddie. Bye, mila.
