Improving the Quality of Legal Interpreter Training and the Recruitment of Interpreters through Intensive Orientation Courses and the Implementation of a Register: the LEGAII project at the University of Bologna”

Abstract

This paper describes two strands of the LEGAII project (Legal Interpreting in Italy: Training, Accreditation and the Implementation of a National Register), a project that was initiated over a decade ago by this author at the Department of Foreign Modern Languages (now LILEC) at the University of Bologna (also collaborating with the University of Palermo) as an attempt to identify the enormous gaps in the provision of language and interpreting services for migrants in the realm of public services, to suggest possible but also realistic avenues of change taking account especially of budget and structural constraints, to create constructive bonds of collaboration between the University and the local institutions in Bologna, and to implement training and other activities that can effectively improve access to public services for migrants and the quality of the services that enable this access in our local area.