Languages in the GICHD – International solutions for international use

As an international organisation, the GICHD staff has many different languages, which we often use in delivery of our services to mine action. Among our small staff, we can count 15 different languages, in addition to widely used English, – Arabic, French, Spanish, and Russian are only a few. We use these languages in a number of ways in our daily work. Examples include the Francophone programme within the GICHD which works with all French-speaking mine-affected countries, providing knowledge and input  through French language workshops, publications and support. The Bibliomines project, gathering and making all French language MA-related material available, is of particular importance to the Francophone MA community.

The Information Management team delivers support to programmes in Albanian, Russian, French and Spanish. An excellent example of this is the Information Management for the support of Mine Action regional workshop, specifically aimed at IMSMA^NG administrators, scheduled for October in Colombia and to be delivered in Spanish.

The GICHD has committed to ongoing French translation of the IMAS standards, in conjunction with CPADD in Benin. Other informal IMAS translations are also available. Our range of publications are currently available in 12 different languages, through our own translations and partner organisations’ efforts. The key structure of our website is also available in French and Spanish.

These activities reflect the considerable investment that the GICHD has made over the years, and continues to make, in ensuring that those working within mine action have access to relevant knowledge as easily as possible.