The importance of providing quality interpretation services was the focus of the meeting of representatives of institutions and universities from Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Austria and Greece, which took place at METAdrasi’s offices, on Wednesday 18 September 2024, in the framework of the “EU-WEBPSI” project.

This project focuses on addressing the unequal access of refugees and migrants to basic public services across the EU due to the lack of trained interpreters in less widely used languages.

METAdrasi – the only organization in Greece that has designed and implements, since 2010, an organized system of training, certification and coordination of interpretation requests from all over the country – recognizing the importance of interpretation in this context, implements a 300-hour interpreter training program, which includes, among other things, a two-month internship. The aim is to create an innovative European online platform offering remote video interpreting, facilitating access to essential services.

During the meeting, the participants were informed about the progress of the project and participated in an online meeting with Ms Kakosimou, Director of Support of the Asylum Service, who spoke to them about the way the Greek Asylum Service operates. They then visited the Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) in Malakassa, where the Commander, Mr Christou, informed them about the reception and registration process of refugees.

The meeting, among other things, highlighted the necessity of providing quality community interpretation. METAdrasi continues to show its commitment to supporting refugees and migrants, with innovative interventions aimed at improving their reception and integration conditions in Greece.