Speaker
Description
This study examines interpreting services during the INSARAG Accreditation Exercises, with participation from AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Türkiye). Situated in the context of crisis interpreting and the participatory turn in Translation Studies, these UN-organized exercises serve as evaluations to measure the operational capacities, coordination skills, and compliance of international search-and-rescue teams with global standards. As crisis simulations, they enhance preparedness for both rescue professionals and interpreters, who serve as crucial intermediaries in multilingual crisis communication. In this analysis, interpreters are seen as active co-participants who co-construct meaning, navigate cultural and ethical complexities, and foster trust. The researcher draws on 25 years of crisis interpreting experience, including training in search-and-rescue and interpreter education, embodying the dual roles of practitioner and analyst.
Utilizing a qualitative autoethnographic approach enriched by participatory principles, the study examines three INSARAG processes from 2010 to 2025, relying on field experiences, reflexive journals, and collaborative interactions. Data analysis reveals both personal and institutional dimensions, showing a shift from individual witnessing to collective, team-based resilience. Interpreter profiles emerged as technical transmitters, cultural mediators, and reflective researchers.
Findings illustrate that interpreters' roles in the exercises create anticipatory spaces for rehearsing ethical dilemmas and coordination practices. By documenting AFAD's experiences, the study contributes insights to crisis interpreting, asserting that INSARAG exercises function as both qualification tests and participatory laboratories for preparedness, demanding reflexivity, ethical sensitivity, teamwork, and self-care to strengthen interpreters and institutions in crisis communication.
| Keywords | crisis interpreting, participatory approach, autoethnography, INSARAG, reflexivity. |
|---|---|
| ranakahraman@gmail.com |