Olena Zelenska, Andriy Yermak, Edgars Rinkēvičs and other distinguished guests: our simultaneous interpreter worked at an international conference in Latvia

A hybrid offline and online conference dedicated to the war in Ukraine and Russia’s war crimes against Ukrainian children took place in Latvia on February 1. It united over 400 participants and honorable guests including:

• Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine,
• Edgars Rinkēvičs, the President of the Republic of Latvia,
• Evika Siliņa, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia,
• Andra Levite, the First Lady of the Republic of Latvia (2019-2023),
• Daria Herasymchuk, Advisor and Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Rehabilitation,
• Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, the President of the Republic of Latvia (1999-2007),
• Sandra Kalniete, a Member of the European Parliament,
• Egils Levits, the President of the Republic of Latvia (2019-2023), Special Representative for International Law and State Responsibility,
• Roberts Zīle, Vice President of the European Parliament,
• Kerry Kennedy, the President of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization,
• Shan Patel, Moderator, Senior Adviser on Prosecution of International Crimes at European Union Advisory Mission Ukraine,
• Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Latvia,
• Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Chairman of the Coordination Council of Ukraine for the Protection and Safety of Children as a consultative and advisory body for the President of Ukraine,
• Iryna Suslova, Representative of the Commissioner of Ukraine for the Rights of Children,
• Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Vice President of the Bundestag,
• other Ukrainian, Latvian and international politicians and public figures, as well as a number of Ukrainian children.

Our team had to go through a rigorous selection process back in October 2023 to be commissioned for interpretation from Ukrainian to English and vice versa during this conference. So we were confident of our abilities and of the quality of our simultaneous interpreter’s work. Despite great responsibility and the inevitable risk of stressful situations at such events, she did a great job and worked online via ZOOM for 8 hours.

As you can see, translation is more than just business. We are proud of being able to work at large international events and conferences and to contribute to the crucial mission of throwing limelight on socially important issues that must be brought to the attention of the world.

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