They help newcomers from their culture to settle in.
The cultural interpreters mediate in the event of language barriers and solve many a problem.
Because thanks to the same origin, they know where the problem is.
Almost 30 are now in use.
Fürstenfeldbruck -
Two years ago the Brucker Forum brought the cultural interpreters into being.
The aim is to build a bridge between cultures.
The target group are people with a migration background.
Because they are best suited to help people from other countries to arrive and to settle in the new culture.
"There are many offers for people with a migration background to eliminate deficits," says course coordinator Franziska Ege.
They want to use the experience of people who have been here for a long time.
“It's often the little things that make a big difference,” explains Ege.
For example, punctuality, otherwise you will have problems at the job center.
B1 knowledge
Anyone who wants to do voluntary work and has German language skills of category B1 can become a cultural interpreter. The training comprises 40 course units of 45 minutes each. Lecturers of Catholic adult education explain topics such as the school and health system, traffic rules and give tips on how to explain the background correctly. Every cultural interpreter must also carry out a practical project, explains Franziska Ege. The spectrum is wide: one person prepared a healthy snack for the children with a family from his own culture, one looked at traffic signs with a group, another organized an exchange with Christians during Ramadan.
The third course has now completed its training - for the first time in an online training course due to corona.
The group mastered this hurdle with a high level of motivation.
Now the seven graduates received their certificate during a celebration with course coordinator Ege, Kerstin Jäger, managing director of the Brucker Forum, and Mirko Sfeir, integration guide of the district office.
Consultation hours with specialists
Sfeir coordinates the assignments of the 28 cultural interpreters currently in the district. They cover the languages English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, Croatian, Persian, Russian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Macedonian, Bosnian, Serbian, Aramaic, Somali, Esan, Bambara Dari, Farsi, Pashto, Urdu and Hindi. The cultural interpreters accompany people from their cultural area on visits to authorities, doctors and advice centers. They offer consultation hours with specialists, enrich readings, parent cafes, school projects, and offers in multi-generation homes and retirement homes.
The focus is currently shifting towards events and intercultural offers, explains a spokeswoman for the district office.
Examples are intercultural days and the festival of cultures.
Sfeir received around 30 inquiries a month in the past two years.
The response is positive, according to the district administration.
Thanks to the cultural interpreters, deadlocked conversations could be continued and ended amicably.
"Specialist and advice centers as well as day-care centers and schools see this as a great support, especially in discussions with clients and parents that are difficult in terms of language and content." The offer relieves families and individuals.
And the cultural interpreters themselves also take with them self-confidence and a lot of valuable experience from their voluntary work.
The next course
for cultural interpreters starts in March 2022. Information is available from course coordinator Franziska Ege, phone (01 76) 46 77 11 55, email ege@brucker-forum.de.