Suitable lighting
Forward-facing light and a neutral background should be used to ensure a better visibility of the speaker’s features and expressions.
Using the portal
This page provides you with basic info on how can you gain access to the portal and on the recommended good practices and standards for using it.
How to access the booking tool
ENPSIT can grant access to the EU-WEBPSI booking tool to two types of organisations :
- PSI training, certification and provision organisations
- These will need to be recognised as a certifier, provider or association of public service interpreters at a local and/or national level. Should they not be officially recognised (e.g. because of a lack of regulations in their region), they should demonstrate that they subscribe to the same professional and ethical standards as officially recognised organisations.
- Organisations providing public services (e.g. healthcare, education, welfare…)
- These must agree to the platform’s conditions of use.
Do you represent such an organisation and do you wish to use the portal? Contact us.
Interpreters are not granted access individually but must be affiliated with one of these organisations.
Reference material
The EU-WEBPSI portal provides a model of minimal standards for PSI practice, and 8 train-the-trainer modules to accompany the implementation of such standards.
Please refer to these to further increase the quality of PSI services provided via the portal!
Recommended good practises for providing and booking interpreting services via the portal
Using trained interpreters
The interpreting service provider (agency/organisation) should book interpreters who are trained in video-mediated interpreting (VMI) and should be transparent in this regard.
Interpreting service providers should advise clients/end users on the importance of booking interpreters who are trained in VMI.
Confidentiality
The working space in video-interpreted encounters should ensure adequate privacy and confidentiality for the interpreter and the primary participants alike.
All primary participants should ensure that the information shared during the encounter remains confidential and that it is not recorded and / or shared outside the encounter directly or indirectly.
Debriefing and feedback
A consistent debriefing process helps improve the VMI service in the long term; this should also include interpreters’ views.
Duty of care
The meeting organiser’s duty of care towards the interpreter also extends to off-site interpreters – particularly when the assignment is of an emotional/ sensitive nature – i.e., they should facilitate access to mental health support resources for the interpreter, free of charge.
Spatial positioning and seating arrangements
VMI should recreate as much as possible the traditional triadic positioning of participants used during in-person interpreting.
Participants’ seating position should allow them to see the screen easily.
Mutual visibility
The setup should ensure mutual visibility for all participants. When multiple participants are in one location which is separate from that of the interpreter's, the camera should be set in such a way that it allows the interpreter to see an overview of the interaction.
Acoustic requirements
Each person taking part in the meeting should be in the proximity of a working microphone to ensure their voice is heard clearly by remote participants.
If it is not possible or practicable for all participants to wear headsets, they will need to take measures to avoid background noise and echoing which would be detrimental to the interpretation.
A quiet space should be used, further limiting extraneous noises which can distract participants and particularly the interpreters