Tomedes Highlights the Value of Translation in Dealing with Global Population Shifts

As a translation agency working with clients around the globe, Tomedes is used to clients asking for support with an enormous range of tasks. Recently, one of our clients–an international NGO that assists refugees around the world–used our translation services to support its work. The client needed support in translating a batch of educational documents from English into simplified Chinese.

Modern Global Challenges: Where Translation Fits in

War, politics, food scarcity and more have caused huge population shifts around the globe in recent years. Many families have been forced to leave the homes they have always known, often with little more than the few possessions that they can carry.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, 89.32 million people had been forcibly displaced as at the end of 2021 as a result of “persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order.” Of those, some 27.1 million were considered to be refugees, while a further 4.6 million were asylum seekers.

Many international organizations are working around the clock to assist these refugees and other displaced people through a wide range of compassionate services and practical aid. Tomedes was delighted to work with one of these organizations, an NGO that helps resettle refugees into different countries and provide them with the foundations for a new life. Given the fact that many refugees don’t speak the language of their new host country when they first arrive, translation can play a huge role in helping them to settle in, both in practical terms and as part of building new social connections and support networks. Refugees often require legal document translation to help sort out their paperwork in their new country. Support with school paperwork, financial documents, healthcare papers, and more is also important.

Our client had a series of documents that it needed translated from English to simplified Chinese. Simplified Chinese refers to the standardized set of Chinese characters that are used in countries including China, Malaysia, and Singapore, which have been promoted in China since the 1950s and 1960s. They were introduced at that time to drive up literacy levels in China–a hugely successful move, which has seen literacy levels rise from below 20% to greater than 99%.

Why Tomedes Was the Right Translation Agency to Help

For this work, our project manager discussed priorities with the client. They needed the translations to be provided swiftly and, of course, to be of the highest quality. Our project manager got to work immediately on sourcing the perfect translator.

Tomedes has spent over 15 years building up a network of language specialists, so we are well placed to meet our clients’ translation needs when it comes to both choice of language and sector specific expertise. In this case, it meant that our English to Chinese translation service was delivered by a native Chinese speaker. She also had experience in the education sector, which positioned her perfectly to undertake the job in question.

A Translation Solution Focused on Quality

All of Tomedes’ translations are provided under the umbrella of our ISO 9001:2015 certification. This meant that the client had immediate assurance as to the quality of our processes, while our commitment to customer service was also obvious from the outset.

As speed was of the essence, we got to work straight away. This is something that has always been a priority for Tomedes; our goal ever since we were founded back in 2007 has been to provide business translation services that not only deliver on the quality front but that fit in with organizations’ pressing timescales.

Our translator worked swiftly through the client’s documents. Through timely liaison with the client (all handled via our project manager, so the client had a single point of contact) she was able to address all queries without delaying the translation output. It was a solution that worked well for the client, who responded to every query quickly in order to keep up the pace of the work.

Translation Success

Positive communication and customer care were at the heart of making this project such a success–along with the outstanding quality of the translated materials, of course. The careful attention that we paid to sourcing the perfect translator certainly helped. Tomedes routinely undertakes translation for academic and educational institutions around the world. This means that we are well versed in the style of language often found in documents for such organizations. That said, we also appreciate that every client’s requirements are unique, which is why our project managers are so meticulous in understanding each client’s particular priorities and pressures.

This client was delighted with the speed and quality of our translation service. With their translations delivered on time, they were free to move ahead with their valuable work, supporting families who have been through immense difficulties to start afresh in a new home.