Date: 10th July 2025
Platform: Zoom

The International Young Catholic Students (IYCS) International Secretariat convened a virtual meeting on 10th July 2025 to engage with interpreters, translators, and members from National and Regional Movements, including former collaborators. The meeting aimed to discuss and strengthen the coordination of interpretation and translation services for IYCS events and the translation of essential resources into multiple languages to better serve its global membership.

The discussions highlighted the significant role that interpreters and translators play in ensuring inclusivity, participation, and comprehension across IYCS programmes, events, and documents. Language has always been a barrier in global movements, and IYCS is committed to overcoming this challenge by making its content accessible in various languages. This meeting focused on translating key IYCS resource materials, publications, and communications into French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Italian, and Swahili. These languages reflect the linguistic diversity of the IYCS global community and are essential to reaching broader participation and understanding, especially among grassroots members.

Participants shared reflections on past experiences, challenges encountered during events due to lack of real-time interpretation, and the need for well-coordinated translator teams. It was agreed that translation is not just a technical task but a pastoral and formative responsibility. Making formation materials and thematic documents available in multiple languages will ensure that members across different regions can fully grasp the movement’s vision, mission, and action plans.

Key outcomes of the meeting included:

• Strengthening the pool of committed volunteer interpreters and translators.
• Assigning contact persons for each language group.
• Establishing timelines for the translation of priority documents.
• Exploring technological tools to support interpretation during virtual and hybrid events.
• Ensuring availability of simultaneous interpretation during major IYCS international and regional meetings.

The International Secretariat emphasized that this initiative is not only administrative but foundational to ensuring that all members, regardless of language, can fully participate and benefit from the life and mission of IYCS. The meeting concluded with a renewed spirit of collaboration and a shared commitment to building a multilingual and inclusive movement where every voice is heard and understood.