Multilingual communications during peak of the COVID-19 pandemic

In February 2023, I informed a KU Leuven (Belgium) research group about multilingual communications during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are the questions from the group and the answers I have provided from the Dutch perspective. Anybody can use this information concerning intellectual property by acknowledgement or proper referencing. Thank you.

NOTE: the below only applies to groups who do not sufficiently master the language of the country of residence. Most of the ethnically diverse populations of The Netherlands master Dutch and therefore, the advice below does not concern them.

How did multilingual communication policies and practices evolve during the COVID pandemic? What communication challenges arose, and how were they met?

Efforts were made to reach various subpopulations through local health agencies and multicultural organisations collaborating with government agencies. Informational materials in Turkish were made accessible to the Turkish community and facilitated by Turkish organisations and Dutch politicians with Turkish backgrounds. The literacy rate among the Turkish population is relatively high, as they all share the modern Turkish language as their lingua franca. The latter made information transfer successful.

When addressing the Moroccan community, challenges were encountered. Although attempts were made to resolve these challenges, they persisted. The population was addressed in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), which is only comprehensible to Arabic literate and/or educated in Morocco. However, this language differs from the main language Moroccans speak. Moroccans speak Maghrebi-Arabic (darija), a non-written dialect, or Tamazight, another non-written language. Content in Tifinagh, the Tamazight writing system, was provided but could NOT be received due to low Tifinagh literacy rates. It is important to consider the multilingual nature of the Moroccan community and the low literacy rates when creating informational materials and to recognise the power of audiovisual communication over written content.

I cannot make any statements about persons with Indonesian, Caribbean, Suriname, Cape Verdian, Somali, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian or Chinese backgrounds.

What role do multilingual volunteers and community organisations play in effectively communicating with CALD communities about the COVID vaccine? How does their role compare to that of professional translators and interpreters?

Volunteers play a crucial role in facilitating or hindering Covid-19 vaccine efforts. Adequate information and understanding of vaccines and vaccination programs is crucial for volunteers, who may need the information translated or simplified to ensure correct vocabulary and comprehension. The "Keep it Simple and Stupid" (KISS) principle should be applied to explain even technical jargon clearly.

Both professional translators and volunteers must be trained and informed about Covid-19 vaccinations to answer questions from society effectively. The "teach the teacher" principle applies to both groups, regardless of whether they are paid or volunteering. However, financial compensation should be provided to volunteers to ensure equity.

How can government work together with community leaders/organisations to build trust with CALD communities?

To gain the trust of CALD communities, governments must establish long-term, trustworthy relationships. The World Health Organization's SAGE [1] group identifies trust as a critical factor in vaccine hesitancy. When trust in authorities is low due to discrimination, ethnic profiling, or negative experiences, vaccine uptake decreases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, community leaders and organisations faced distrust due to the perception that they were bought to disseminate government messages. Establishing and maintaining trust is crucial to prevent similar mistrust during future crises.

[1]  MacDonald, N. E. (2015). Vaccine hesitancy: Definition, scope and determinants. Vaccine, 33(34), 4161-4164.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X15005009?via%3Dihub

How can language and translation policy be adapted to meet the multilingual communication needs of a super diverse city such as Brussels?

Invest in effective audiovisual communication strategies, utilising the TikTok method: concise (less than 1 minute), simple, and visually engaging. Brussels must comprehend its communication preferences and how they process information to reach its diverse population effectively. Different populations may require more explanation, prefer information delivered by relatable individuals, and respond better to a combination of verbal and nonverbal cues.

It is important to note that even within a single population, such as the Moroccan or Congolese, there is heterogeneity and the use of local dialects. Understanding literacy rates in both the native tongue and official languages of Brussels will aid in tailoring communication interventions to reach each population effectively. Unfortunately, a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective in this context.