This is the first of a two part episode in which Dr Dan Fisher talks with Sawsan Abdelghany and Adam Williamson on their work on ESOL interpretation in asylum appeals. In this part, Sawsan and Dan are interviewing Adam.

Adam Williamson is a freelance translator and interpreter based in Paris, where he works with English, Spanish and French. He began his interpreting career in the asylum system in Glasgow, where he encountered a variety of challenging circumstances and ethically compromising situations for which he felt his interpreter training had not fully prepared him. These experiences led him to complete an MPhil by research at the University of Glasgow, under the supervision of the UNESCO RILA team. Chiefly drawing on participant observation and interviews, his study looks at the mismatch between the expectations of interpreters in the asylum context and the reality on the ground. The research also includes a series of recommendations which will feed into the third iteration of the Scottish Government’s New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy.

For the full transcript, please go to https://bit.ly/thesoundsofintegration

The Sounds of Integration

Adam Williamson on interpretation in the UK asylum system

E65 - Adam Williamson on interpretation in the UK asylum system

Welcome to the podcast series of the UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts (RILA) at the University of Glasgow. 

We bring you sounds to make you think about integration, languages, culture, society and identity. A collection of academic musings, poetry, lesser heard voices and personal stories for you to enjoy and expand you horizons with. In short: a podcast for everyone with stories from the world, about the world, released fortnightly.

We work in collaboration with Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network (GRAMNet) and its partners. Together, our aim is to promote creative, practical multilingual action for change at all levels of society to build capacity in research and action focused on fostering cultural expressions of heritage and diversity with displaced peoples, and academic freedom for those at risk.

Please subscribe to get notified of new episodes coming out! Full show notes can be found on the University of Glasgow's UNESCO RILA pages: bit.ly/thesoundsofintegration

E65 - Adam Williamson on interpretation in the UK asylum system

Unesco RILA