The Linguist

20 The Linguist Vol/60 No/1 2021 thelinguist.uberflip.com FEATURES ranging from linguistic barriers and communication difficulties due to differing time zones to the fact that youth and student volunteers have to consider their schooling and other priorities. Many students have changing schedules, which affects how much time they are able to dedicate to translation. Getting the word out about an emerging organisation and having appropriate outreach are also challenging during a pandemic. Arora explains: "We are engaged with major organisations, such as the UN Environment Programme and Unicef, and they have been helpful with sending our translations all across the globe. We also recently launched our chapter programme, which encourages region-specific climate translation and provides an avenue for direct distribution of materials. There are so many cases of environmental injustice happening in our own communities, and no one knows a community better than those living there. " GOING VIRAL Many students are struggling to find volunteer opportunities due to Covid-19, and Climate Cardinals offers an outlet for this, providing a special opportunity for students to use language skills for an important issue. Social media has played a large role – if not the largest role – in the growth of this organisation. When it was just beginning, Rafad Shlla made a TikTok video to promote it. This 10-second clip went viral, with more than 300,000 views and 40,000 likes, and led to a rapid influx of volunteers. Marketing Director Xitlalli Dawson explains: "Social media is more than funny videos and memes. For many people in my generation, it's how we find out news, how we know about what's going on in the world, and where we refer to in search of opportunities. Social media is a driving factor in advocacy and opens up a platform for people to express their opinions and show the world who they are. For Climate Cardinals, social media has propelled international engagement and been the driving catalyst for the rapid spread of this movement." This is an organisation created to help people, to educate people, an d to inspire the younger generation to make a difference. It gives young people a voice on an issue that normally seems out of their control. As one volunteer put it, the work "has allowed me to use my family's native language in a way I never thought possible. It is so fulfilling to know that I am fighting the climate crisis by helping make this important information available to my family overseas and to many others who otherwise would never know its importance." The information available to support efforts to tackle the climate crisis is not the same in every country, and can often contain bias and inaccuracies due to language differences. Countries all over the world are devastated by pollution, drought and natural disasters, but with the right tools and information they can be helped. The issue has been politicised to an astonishing extent but Climate Cardinals is an apolitical organisation focusing solely on the science and facts related to the environment. Our volunteers and partners are taking important strides to ensure that access to education about the environment is fair and equitable all over the world, regardless of the language you speak. climatecardinals.org CEO John Worne talks to Qualifications Ela Kwasny John Worne: Ela, what were your initial feelings when you started down the road towards taking our qualifications online? Ela Kwasny-Spechko: Honestly? A little trepidation at the challenges of delivering our complicated range of language qualifications online. Our qualifications are written in a variety of complex formats and in many languages, ranging from Arabic to Tigrinya. The big question was how we could assess qualifications designed for face-to-face and pen-and-paper assessment using a combination of relatively new digital platforms, across many languages and unit formats. Some of the languages in which we assess are quite rare and candidates are not all confident and comfortable using IT and emerging digital platforms. JW: We have a contract with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). How did you adapt what you learnt from working with them on Microsoft Teams during the first lockdown? EKS: We have been running online assessments for a number of months and now have in place a fully trained and experienced team of Assessment Associates. We are learning all the time by listening to feedback from interlocutors, assessors and, most importantly, candidates. Candidate experiences enable us to make adjustments to timings, question paper format and guidance materials. We are in the early stages of online assessment and will continue to explore how the functionality of the platforms can be improved and developed. Oral exams can be Exams © SHUTTERSTOCK

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