The County of San Diego is home to over 3.3 million individuals, including numerous immigrant and refugee communities who speak multiple languages. More than 500,000 San Diego residents report speaking a language other than English at home and report speaking English "less than very well." The County of San Diego has adopted policies and strategies to outline translation and interpretation requirements and recommendations to meet the needs of diverse communities. Further, the County of San Diego has formed the Translation, Language and Culture Connection (TLCC) internal employee work group, comprised of staff with expertise in the areas of linguistic translation, cultural sensitivity, health equity, community engagement, and communications. The goal is to support efforts to create accurately translated, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and accessible communications. The proposed workshop will include a panel of speakers who will convey the importance of language equity, share strategies, policies, and best practices, and will facilitate a discussion with participants on how organizations can adopt strategies to support language equity.    

Learning Objectives

1. Demonstrate the value and need for linguistically diverse, accurately translated, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, accessible communications.
2. Utilize data to highlight the language diversity and needs in San Diego.
3. Describe internal and external strategies, policies, and best practices to address language diversity and equity.
4. Explore how organizations can engage in and support this work.