Abalingua, EWC equipment provider.
We at Abalingua are an audiovisual company specialized in simultaneous translation. One of the main kind of events which requires simultaneous translation are the European Works Council (EWC for short). The main purpose of the EWCs is to gather representatives from workers pertaining to different countries in which a multinational company or corporation has business in. It is mandatory by law that companies with over 1,000 workers in any European country, or with over 150 if they operate in at least 2 countries organize this EWCs.
Due to the fact that in these meetings there are representatives from workers in different countries using different languages, and being vital that those representatives understand fully the message that has been conveyed to them, the role that simultaneous interpretation plays in these meetings is crucial.
Abalingua has a department dedicated to EWCs. We have been offering our services in these kind of meetings for many years now. EWC A/V needs could be defined as: many interpreting booths (usually one per country, unless the country shares language with some other European country), a few conference microphones and several digital receivers so that the attendees can receive the translation. Usually, even if the attendees can speak a common language (usually English) they are provided with simultaneous translation to make sure 100% is understood and to avoid future problems caused by linguistic misunderstandings. That’s why EWC setup does usually involve an elevated number of interpreting booths and interpreters. We usually set between 10 and 15 booths (all ISO 4043:2016 compliant) and need at least 2 interpreters per booth. The number of booths will always depend on the number of countries the organizing company has business in in Europe. Also, each attendee needs a digital receiver so that they can clearly receive the translation, and also a conference microphone, in order for them to express their opinion clearly to the rest of the group, and to send a clear audio signal to the interpreters who will be translating anything said during the EWC session in any of the languages present in the room at the moment.
We currently have over 100 conference microphones with the interpretation included, meaning the worker attending the EWC can directly plug a set of earphones on the microphone and hear the interpretation on the language he/she prefers by switching the channel. This does lower the final cost for the client, and is also more comfortable for the attendees, as they don’t have to worry about the digital receiver. The only inconvenient this microphones have is that the worker cannot stand and walk around the room as he could with a digital receiver.
We have also recently purchased several BOSCH DOMO Cameras specific for conferences, which are cameras designed so that they automatically center and focus on the speaker who is using a microphone by detecting which microphone is active, moving then the camera to a predefines position and focusing on the speaker. These cameras are perfect for meetings where there is need for video recording or videocall.
If you’ve ever attended a EWC you know that it is quite common to see cables hanging from the tables the delegates sit at. This is due to the microphones being linked between them by a wire. Abalingua has made an important investment in equipment and purchased 40 state of the art wireless microphones that make any meeting look so much better and professional, without cables hanging. You can check these microphones here.
Apart from booths, receivers, microphones and cameras, EWC organizers also ask us to bring video projectors, screens, TVs (up to 90” in larger rooms), sound system, digital posters, etc. Abalingua has the self-confidence the comes with knowing we are offering only the best equipment in the market.
For any doubt or comment you may have about EWCs, don’t hesitate and drop us a line at clients@abalingua.com or give us a call at +34 934 750 265