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Program offered in partnership with Centre for Access to Football in Europe
The Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), in partnership with the Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFE), recently hosted a commentary training program to enhance the match-day experience for partially sighted and blind fans.
The training focused on aspects of audio-descriptive commentary (ADC). This is an inclusive service that enables partially sighted and blind fans to fully enjoy live matches inside the stadium alongside their fellow supporters. Since CAFE introduced ADC at UEFA EURO 2012, many clubs have implemented the service at their stadiums.
CAFE collaborated with TII to deliver the intensive training program and to prepare participants who are looking to commentate in Arabic or English, describing the on-pitch action and significant visual information. The aspiring commentators will have the opportunity to provide their audio-described commentary services at the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021TM kicking off at Al Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor on November 30, and at the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
TII is housed at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) at HBKU, and extends professional audiovisual translation services through its Translation and Training Center.
Nada Al-Mahmeed, Director of the Translation and Training Center, commented: “Inclusivity and accessibility are integral to our mission at CHSS. We were delighted to collaborate with an organization such as CAFE. Through the training program, we can help Qatar achieve its goal of ensuring an inclusive and accessible environment at the FIFA World Cup and other major events. Our efforts at CHSS have always been geared to educating engaged professionals and researchers who will contribute towards a more inclusive society by making information, entertainment, culture, as well as sports, accessible to all.”
CAFE uses ‘total access’ as a focus for harnessing the power of sport to act as a catalyst for disability-inclusive change in wider society, working with stakeholders across the game to use the power of football to improve access and inclusion.
Joanna Deagle, Managing Director at CAFE, said: “We were very pleased to partner with TII to implement ADC for sporting events in Qatar. At CAFE, we actively explore every element of the match day experience from all accessibility angles, and we enjoyed working with TII to create a legacy of improved access and inclusion for all disabled people in Qatar. The availability of high-quality ADC at the FIFA Arab Cup 2021 and 2022 FIFA World Cup is an important step towards our shared goal of TotalAccess and tournaments that are accessible, inclusive, and welcoming for all.”
The Translation and Interpreting Institute helps deliver a suite of graduate programs in translation and interpreting which prepare qualified graduates for the professional and scholarly worlds. For more information, please visit www.tii.qa