Do you have native or advanced language skills and are thinking about using them to help the world? Volunteering as a Translator can be a good start, whether you intend to volunteer abroad to expand your network or plan to become a professional translator soon.
There are thousands of organizations out there looking for volunteers, and most of them allow you to perform tasks online, from the comfort of your home.
We’ve searched for opportunities so you can understand if volunteering as a translator is your calling now and find the perfect match for you.
6 benefits of Volunteering as a Translator
There are benefits in both personal and professional growth. It all depends on how you look at volunteering as a highly rewarding experience.
- Training of professional skills
Many people volunteer to gain professional skills. Everyone needs to start somewhere, right?
Volunteering as a translator allows you to practice and refine your language skills regularly. This includes expanding your vocabulary, improving grammar, understanding idiomatic expressions better, and developing cultural sensibility.
It’s also an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and build a nice portfolio. Showing practical experience can open doors to future jobs.
2. Contribute to social causes
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Many project opportunities to volunteer as a translator involve a contribution to social causes: refugees, medical assistance, community integration, entrepreneur development.
It could be very exciting to contribute to making the world a more connected place spreading ideas and information.
You can help individuals and communities access vital information and services that they might otherwise be unable to understand.
This can include translating legal documents, medical information, educational materials, and more. Your work can make a significant difference in people's lives, and that alone is a good motivation.
Besides, demonstrating your ability to handle real-world translation tasks, and your commitment to social causes, can be appealing to potential employers in the future.
Access to a global network of translators
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Imagine working with a multicultural team? Depending on the platform, it can be a reality. Volunteering as a translator gives you access to a global network of translators.
It connects you with other translators, linguists, and professionals from various fields. These connections can lead to mentorship opportunities, job offers, and collaborations.
More important than creating a connection is to cultivate them. Be in touch with your peers, who can be your future colleagues.
- Be up-to-date with trends in the field of translation
Volunteering as a translator can be an opportunity to learn about industry trends.
You’ll be inside the process of translating, involved with researching terminology and concepts, which enhances your knowledge and learning.
Also, it’s a chance to practice the use of AI-integrated systems, diversity of CAT tools that may be part of an organization workflow.
This continuous learning keeps your mind sharp and helps you stay updated with new developments in the languages and subjects you work with.
You also develop skills in research, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
- Exposure to Diverse Topics
Translation work often covers a wide range of subjects: legal, medical, technical, literary, science, environmental issues, human rights, and more.
This variety keeps the work interesting and allows you to learn about different fields and extend your cultural repertoire. Each new project is an opportunity to gain knowledge and expertise.
- Increase your sense of being a citizen of the world
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Translating texts from different cultures and perspectives helps you develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of those cultures.
This can foster empathy and open-mindedness, as you become more aware of the challenges and experiences of people from diverse realities.
Volunteering as a translator can have a far-reaching impact, facilitating communication and understanding between people from different parts of the world.
Whether it's translating humanitarian aid documents, international news, or educational resources, your work contributes to a more connected and informed global community.
Where to find Volunteer Translation Jobs?
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There are many platforms where you can post your availability and receive requests from clients around the globe. Let’s list some of them.
It’s the largest non-profit organization offering translation services in support of humanitarian causes on a global scale.
With a global community of over 100.000 members, they help people in all the continents.
In North America, the organization worked with emergency response agencies in the United States and the Caribbean to translate hurricane preparedness messages into Spanish, Arabic, and Vietnamese, for those affected by devastating storms.
They are engaged with the refugee cause, and have trained over 480 interpreters and translators, and created the first humanitarian interpreter roster in Europe. In South Asia, responding to the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh where over 700.000 refugees are in need of vital information in a language they can understand.
TED Translators is a global community of volunteers who subtitle TED Talks, a series of conferences that inspire ideas across the world.
TED Translators contribute their time, energy, and expertise to help ideas spread more freely. Thanks to them, TED Talks are subtitled in 100+ languages.
It offers many different volunteer positions, including those focused on content creation, marketing, fundraising, communications, translation, research, and administrative support. To start, you need to subscribe to their website.
World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit publishing company, with the mission of engaging people with cultural heritage and improving history education worldwide. Their goal is to translate English articles into other languages, prioritizing English to Spanish, French, German, Russian and Arabic, but they accept translators for all languages.
The main requirements are native-level proficiency in another language, excellent comprehension of the English language. Passion for history is a huge plus.
UN online volunteering comprehends a large list of tasks. There are many vacancies in the communication and language field, including social media, editorial content, web development, design. Translation is part of this list.
Volunteering is already part of the UN, and the translation jobs helps to address more people and reach the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) 17: Partnerships for the goals.
United Nation Volunteers has its own website and you can filter on it the assignment is best for your skills.
The platform connects translators and authors to translate ebooks.
Unlike the other platforms, with Babelcube you may get paid for your translations. That’s because you are entitled to a small percentage of the book sales on your translated version.
Not bad, right? You can practice skills and have a chance to gain some money if the book is published and successful.
Ubuntu, the system responsible for Linux? Exactly! They’re an open source software developer, so their operating system can be used by anyone for free.
Because of this reason, they need volunteers. You can help make the software become accessible to more people.
The non-profit started in the UK but now has volunteers across the globe.
It’s a great chance to connect with a growing network of volunteers that are using their language skills and knowledge to support charities and community groups. Some projects involve volunteers working together in collaborative translation.
They offer advice and guidance to everyone who reaches out for help with languages, translation, and interpreting, which is good to those who are starting.
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