AP | PORTUGAL is certified by ISO23155: national exclusivity, additional responsibility

AP | PORTUGAL is certified by ISO 23155, and is now governed by a total of three international quality standards. This puts AP | PORTUGAL in a unique position in Portugal, combining pioneering spirit, pride and a huge sense of responsibility.

It is with pride and a natural sense of responsibility that AP | PORTUGAL - Tech Language Solutions shares this update, adding international certification ISO 23155 to the standards already included in our commitment to quality: ISO 17100 and ISO 18587.

This good news is an opportunity to mark the pioneering and unique nature of AP | PORTUGAL as a Portuguese company certified by these three international quality standards. 

One step further for our permanent commitment to the national and international market, the qualification and organization of institutions. And also allows us to reinforce not only the importance of international quality standards, but also to highlight the practical role of ISO certification.

The primary and permanent objective of the ISO - International Organization for Standardization - is the promotion and standardization of products and services through a set of standards aimed at constant improvement of quality.

It is not just a label to put on display, it is also a way of acting that aims at continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

Better working conditions and practices

The purpose of any ISO standard is to provide a set of requirements which, if they are properly implemented, ensure that the certified organization is able to provide - in compliance with applicable standards and regulations - products and services capable of meeting customer needs and expectations. Ultimately, the customer is always the one who benefits most from an organization certified by an ISO standard.

Standard 23155 guarantees the best working conditions and practices in conference interpreting.

Mário Júnior, CEO of AP | PORTUGAL: "It helps regulate the market"

Regarding certification by international standard ISO 23155, Mário Júnior, CEO of AP | PORTUGAL - Tech Language Solutions, points out, first of all, that "helps regulate the market, promoting professionalism instead of the amateurism that so often hinders communication in international meetings".

"I hope that this certification will also serve as a recognition of the work of multilingual event managers and conference interpreters who are highly skilled professionals and not always valued", he says, before adding a final note. "We are also certain that ISO Standard 23155 can help major European and State institutions and bodies to adopt quality criteria in their process of requesting and choosing partners for hosting multilingual meetings and symposia".

How important is ISO 23155?

The question makes perfect sense: how important is ISO 23155 certification? The answer lies in the thousands of multilingual conferences and meetings that take place every year around the world with the precious use of simultaneous interpretation. And, as we already know, this number is bound to grow, bearing in mind, as a consequence of the recent pandemic, the increasing use of distance interpretation services, namely conference interpreting services.
The best conference interpreters worldwide guarantee multilingual communication in meetings. Whether high-level, formal or specialised. On any topic you can imagine: international security, vaccination, climate change, diplomacy, humanitarian crises, religion, tourism, artificial intelligence.

It is not, however, a simple task. Therefore, it should only be carried out by qualified professionals and certified companies.

To highlight the specificity of this work, it should be noted that conference interpreters use auditory and visual cues to better understand all kinds of reasoning, especially the most complex kinds, and to be able to transfer them seamlessly from one language to another.
ISO 23155 recognises the heavy cognitive load required of professional interpreters, who are subjected to considerable mental strain. It stresses the importance of teamwork in the booth and the absolute necessity for conference interpreters to communicate visually and orally without obstruction.

There is no doubt that conference interpretation is intellectually demanding work.  It is in this framework of demand and quality that ISO 23155 appeared at the beginning of 2022. It was unanimously approved by the ISO experts representing their respective National Standards Councils.

The role of ISO 23155

What role is reserved for ISO 23155? This certification has the decisive role of indicating to organizations which requirements and recommendations should govern conference interpretation. The recipients are obvious:

• conference interpreters;
• providers of conference interpreting services.

This standard, which was created in 2022, has become even more pertinent in view of the proliferation of online and virtual meetings. Why?

• Because conference interpreters are confronted with an enormous intellectual effort, and it is, therefore, necessary to implement mitigation measures, such as shorter working hours and longer breaks. This allows the cognitive capacity of the interpreter to remain within the limits of human processing capacity.
• Because remote interpreting is an emerging market with very specific technical requirements regarding sound and video quality.
• Because the massification of remote meetings has made it even more important to select an interpreter that many clients will never meet in person.
  
  

The new standard is a huge opportunity. For freelance conference interpreters, consultant interpreters, as well as LSPs

The good news is that the new standard is a huge opportunity. For freelance conference interpreters, consultant interpreters, as well as LSPs. Certification is a sign of excellence and an unquestionable advantage.

The best conference interpreting service providers worldwide will not hesitate to obtain ISO 23155 certification to distinguish themselves in the industry and strengthen their position in national and international competitions. At AP | PORTUGAL - Tech Language Solutions we did not think twice about obtaining the ISO 23155 certification.

A very special thank you

In order to ensure the best working conditions for conference interpreters and promote good practices in the labour market, AP | PORTUGAL, together with our network of national and international interpreters, decided to implement the international quality standard ISO 23155 related to conference interpreting services. Aware of the great challenge ahead of us, we believe that, with everyone's collaboration, we can dignify and elevate this profession that is so
important for all sectors uniting people and eliminating barriers and, by doing so, make a humble contribution to the history of Interpretation in Portugal and in Europe.

The implementation of this international ISO quality standard requires the interaction of the various professional groups, including Audiovisual Technicians. Today, more than ever, we appeal to your active participation in this process, especially with regard to the traceability of procedures. Only with this increase in organization will it be possible to rigorously monitor all the steps of the production cycle and, in parallel, allow periodic external auditing.

Having said this, and on behalf of AP | PORTUGAL, we would like to thank you in advance for your attention, for the path we have been following together and for the close collaboration we want to keep for the future.

We would also like to express our thanks for the words of support and congratulations throughout this certification process from conference interpreters - all of whom are passionate about simultaneous translation - from partner translation companies, professional associations of translators and interpreters and national and international translation company associations, who, through their boards and presidencies, have always expressed their unconditional support.

ABOUT US

AP | PORTUGAL Tech Language Solutions is the expression of service and vision in the areas of translation, interpretation and communication technology services.

With offices in Lisbon and Porto, it is the only Portuguese company certified by both International Quality Standards ISO 17100, ISO 18587 and ISO 23155, and also by DGERT as a training entity. Internationally renowned for its skills in the areas of translation, interpretation, transcription, localization, subtitling and proofreading, the company is also specialized in event and conference management, audiovisual equipment rental, and VRI - Video Remote Interpreting.

The company’s intervention extends to the area of creative content production in any language, allowing AP | PORTUGAL to support companies and organizations through its Copywriting platform, also focusing on text, audio or video solutions based on Artificial Intelligence.

AP PORTUGAL includes the Artiga Center - European Centre for Amplified Events -, a facility which offers all equipment necessary for any type of event, be it hybrid, face-to-face or digital, besides being equipped for face-to-face or digital Team Building activities.

You can also follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.