Word of Mouth - February 2018

February 2018

Announcements

Happy birthday to us! Global Wordsmiths’ first birthday is February 13. How did that happen? We cannot possibly express enough gratitude to the number of you (yes, YOU) who have encouraged, participated, patronized, contributed and otherwise helped us across this finish line. One year feels like an important milestone, and we are happy. Thank you.

PGH Lab. Global Wordsmiths has been chosen to be a part of PGH Lab’s 2018 Cohort. PGH Lab's goal is to collaborate with local startups to explore new ways to use technologies to make the City of Pittsburgh more efficient, transparent, sustainable, and inclusive. PGH Lab is a City of Pittsburgh Department of Innovation and Performance program that empowers local startups by providing a framework that allows them to test their products and services in the City. First W2 Employees. The widespread use of Independent Contractors in the language services industry leads to high turnover and poor service quality, but more importantly- it does not provide the contractor with job security, access to benefits or upward mobility. While Global Wordsmiths does employ ICs, one of our most important goals is to convert every contractor who wishes to be converted to employee status. In January, our first three translator/interpreters were given employee status. It's a small start, and we can't afford a benefits package yet. But it's a BIG step away from a damaging industry norm and we are PROUD. Language Access Project Launch! The Language Access Project’s second cycle launched on January 15th without a hitch. TWELVE interns from CMU, Pitt and Chatham who speak FIFTEEN languages are working with FIVE Partner Organizations- Just Harvest, Jewish Family and Community Services, BikePGH, Building New Hope and Friends of Farmworkers, to provide these organizations with over SEVEN HUNDRED hours of FREE language translation and interpretation services. We're Pittsburgh Famous! Well, sort of. Check out the great press we received in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette HERE and our recent appearance onPittsburgh Today Live HERE. Have a great month, Mary Jayne

News

UpWardly Global Refugee Integration Report

UpWardly Global released Refugees Contribute: Strategies for Skilled Immigrant Integration in the U.S, a detailed report that draws from public data and their refugee program participants. The report touches on barriers to success in the workforce for refugees, targeted approaches to immigrant inclusion, and policy recommendations.

Language Access Resources

This is a great collection of regularly updated resources, in Multiple Languages and from Various Federal Agencies: https://tinyurl.com/yddm7fkt

Client Spotlight: RoadBotics

RoadBotics provides roadway managers a comprehensive automated visual assessment of their roads. This objective data helps them support their planning and decision-making. A team drives all the roads to be assessed and collects video data from the windshield of a vehicle. Roadbotics’ algorithms are trained to analyze the videos to precisely identify a wide array of important roadway features indicative of damage, including cracks, seals, patches, and potholes. Each road is assigned a damage score by the machine and visualized on an online color-coded map. Roadbotics customers use the RoadBotics assessment tool to make data-driven decisions for everything from planning to maintenance operations within their communities.

Contact: Nikhil Ranga, Product Manager. nikhil@roadbotics.com

Events

Tuesday, 2/6: Switchboard 2018: Activating Our Network | 4:30-6PM, Hill House Kaufmann Center: The Global Switchboard Hub, a digital platform to connect individuals and organizations across Pittsburgh's global engagement landscape has launched! Join for drinks and appetizers to learn more and get involved in 2018. Tuesday, 2/6: Evening with Tarana Burke, founder of #MeToo Movement | 7-9PM, Calvary Episcopal Church: The simple yet courageous #MeToo campaign has emerged as a rallying cry for people everywhere who have survived sexual assault and sexual harassment. Tarana’s powerful and poignant story behind creating what is now an international movement that supports survivors will move, uplift, and inspire you. Monday, 2/12: Educrew Roundtable, Civic Engagement in Public Schools | 7-9PM, Repair The World: Pittsburgh. How well are Pittsburgh's public schools preparing their students to be civically engaged? Join Repair the World Pittsburgh, TeenBloc, ARYSE, Global Minds, 5A Elite Youth Empowerment, APOST, and the World Affairs Council as we examine how well PPS is producing civically engaged graduates! Allyce Pinchback, former Director of Professional Development for Pittsburgh Public Schools, will lend her expertise as our MC for the night. This event is free and open to the public. Thursday, 2/15: Pittsburgh, Let’s Talk About Race | 6-8PM, Union Project. Presented by PublicSource, “Let’s Talk About Race” is a face to face discussion in East Liberty on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, from 6-8 p.m. There will be a guided discussion with a panel featuring Pittsburghers who have been leading the conversation. This event is free and light refreshments will be served. Event partner: Repair the World Pittsburgh Friday, 2/16: The Devil in the Camp, talk by Elizabeth Dunn | 5:00pm, Steinberg Auditorium, CMU. Professor Elizabeth Dunn of Indiana University will be visiting CMU on Friday, February 16. Professor Dunn is an anthropologist who has conducted fieldwork in Poland, Georgia, and Germany focused on humanitarian intervention and global aid practices. Her recent book, No Path Home (Cornell University Press in 2017), paints a moving picture of the ways in which humanitarianism leaves displaced people in limbo, neither in a state of emergency nor able to act as citizens in their home country. 2/06 - 2/17: PA Immigration and Citizenship Coalition Community Navigator Training Series | The Global Switchboard. From February 6-17, PICC will be hosting an in-person training series for Community Navigators. Navigators will receive specialized training to provide quality immigration services for their communities in an empowering and effective ways. The schedule is below- please see the registration page for locations and more details. Interpretation and childcare will be available. Please register and contact Alicia at aliciaquebral@paimmigrant.org with any questions. Saturday, 02/24: OCA Lunar New Year Banquet | 5 - 11:00pm, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral. This will be the second of three Lunar New Year celebrations, and we will once again feature a traditional Mandarin-style banquet dinner, along with a live auction and raffle drawing fundraisers from 5pm-7pm. This important fundraiser helps to support our many programs throughout the year, such as the Free Medical & Dental Clinic, Dragonboat Festival, Uncover Squirrel Hill Night Markets, WPXI Holiday Parade, Youth Leadership Programs and Civic Engagement/Get Out The Vote campaign, just to name a few. We are the only OCA chapter in the country to offer tuition-free traditional Chinese/Lion/Dragon dance classes and Chinese Yo-Yo classes to our young people. Saturday, 02/24: ARS Longa: Cantadle a la Gala | 8-11:00pm, Synod Hall. The Arts Longa Ancient Music Ensemble is composed of 12 musicians who attended music conservatories in Havana and the Superior Institute of Art and dedicates its work to the interpretation, study, and research of different eras and styles of music, from the Middle Ages to the Baroque. The group specializes in Afro-Cuban Baroque Music and will present a program of music written in and around the Viceroyal city of Puebla, Mexico in the 17th and 18th centuries entitled "Cantadle a la Gala"

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