MCI Australia: Professional Interpreting for a Global Association

The 20th World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) is a meaningful event for the global accounting profession. The international accounting conference represents a chance to engage with visionaries and leaders and to bring their expertise to the world stage. It only occurs every four years and brings together more than 6,000 delegates from over 130 countries to hear world-class speakers and leaders across the finance and business communities.

Overview

The congress, which was spread over four days, saw more than 3,000 attendees. Speakers presented in English, with Interprefy providing seven languages to the audience, who listened to their chosen language on high-quality audio streaming through their smart devices.

There was also a panel discussion where panellists and the audience listened to Mandarin-English professional interpretation, with radio headsets used in combination with smartphones. Working closely with the events agency, MCI Australia, Interprefy provided onsite support before and for the duration of the event.

The Challenge

A world conference with multiple talks in 8 different languages

The project management team had a highly complex event to organise, with numerous talks, discussions and presentations. A lot of careful planning went into ensuring attendees could engage. A key consideration for the events team was to ensure mutual learning and engagement as delegates were expected to come from 130 countries.

The provision of interpreting was required in eight languages, meaning the events team at MCI Australia would have to organise flights, accommodation and visas for 16 interpreters. The team also found it difficult to identify conference-level interpreters with the right language combinations regionally. The prospect of having eight interpreting booths was unattractive as the team needed to use the floor space as intelligently as possible to accommodate so many delegates.

The Approach

A flexible solution using the Interprefy app and radio headsets

Interprefy's Chief Technology Officer visited the venue to establish the exact requirements for this event. Working closely with the project manager, Interprefy came up with a suitable solution.

Congress Rental Network Australia ran the AV for the event. Working closely with Interprefy, the team established a set-up for interpreting to be delivered in eight languages via a combination of the Interprefy app and radio headsets, giving attendees flexibility. Interprefy held extension discussions with MCI Australia to ensure the WiFi network was adequate and secure to run interpreting audio streams across.

Remote Simultaneous Interpretation Case Study - World Congress of Accountants

Photo caption: audience listening to interpretation via receivers and mobile phones

Interprenet, Interprefy's language service provider partner, sourced conference-level interpreters from across the globe, who worked remotely.

Remote Simultaneous Interpretation Case Study - World Congress of Accountants

Photo caption: technology set-up in the back-end.

The Outcome

The congress ran smoothly and event attendees provided extremely positive feedback on the ease of use of the Interprefy app, the quality of the audio, and the high standard of the interpreters.

It was a great, easy service. - Meg Watt, Project Manager, MCI Australia

The congress organisers saved substantially financially and on administration as the AV system was uncomplicated, interpreters did not need to be flown in, and interpreting booths did not need to be hired.

Remote Simultaneous Interpretation Case Study - World Congress of Accountants