We understand each other – video and telephone interpreting in educational institutions Free service for elementary educational institutions, primary schools and middle schools
Every day in educational institutions, complex and emotionally charged issues such as early support, a child’s development and performance or career decisions are discussed between parents/guardians, pupils and teachers. In the process, linguistic and cultural misunderstandings often occur, and these can have a negative impact on the child’s or young person’s development.
Involving professionally trained interpreters at an early stage can provide a quick and straightforward solution. Clear communication of rights, responsibilities, concerns and requests can help avoid misunderstandings and thus build trust during discussions. This takes some of the pressure off teachers during their working day and helps prevent employees with foreign language skills or children and young people from having to act as interpreters. This means that no one is put under any additional pressure, and the risk of things being interpreted wrongly or incompletely as a result can be avoided.
Funding from the European Social Fund – free service until the end of March 2023
The new video and telephone interpreting service for all elementary educational institutions, primary schools and middle schools provides important support here. Thanks to funding from the European Social Fund, this service is available free of charge to the educational institutions referred to above from April 2021 until the end of March 2023 – even during the summer months – from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.
Languages available
Interpreting services are available in a total of 61 languages. Interpreting in one of the 17 most frequently needed languages (main or ad hoc languages) can be provided within a few minutes. For other languages (secondary languages), an interpreting appointment can be booked within a few days.
17 ad hoc languages
Albanian | Arabic – Modern Standard Arabic1 | Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian | Bulgarian | Czech | Dari | English | Farsi | French | Hungarian | Kurdish – Kurmanji | Polish | Romanian | Russian | Slovak | Spanish | Turkish
1 There are a variety of dialect groups in Arabic. Modern Standard Arabic is often only spoken in large towns and cities. Before asking for an interpreter, it is important to clarify which type of Arabic is spoken and understood by the person concerned.
30 secondary languages
Armenian | Azerbaijani | Bengali | Chechen | Chinese | Dutch | Filipino (Tagalog) | Georgian | Greek | Hebrew | Hindi | Italian | Japanese | Kurdish – Sorani | Kyrgyz | Latvian | Lithuanian | Macedonian | Mongolian | Nepali | Pashto | Portuguese | Punjabi | Sign language (Austrian Sign Language – ÖGS) | Slovenian | Tamil | Thai | Ukrainian | Urdu | Vietnamese
14 African languages and dialects
Amharic | Berber | Fula | Igbo | Kinyarwanda | Kirundi | Kiswaheli | Malinke | Moroccan Arabic | Oromo | Somali | Susu (Mande language) | Tigre | Tigrinya
Results of the 2019/2020 pilot project
From November 2019 to June 2020, the use of video interpreting in kindergartens and schools was successfully tested for the first time in Austria during a pilot project in Vienna and Lower Austria. The very positive feedback prompted the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) to expand the service.
Video tutorials
Video tutorials (only German) showing you how to use the service are available on the platform’s website once you have logged in.
Registration and technical support
If you are interested in using the service, please register directly at bildung@savd.at.
If you have any technical questions, you can contact SAVD Videodolmetschen GmbH’s support service free of charge by phone on +43 1 3321305 or by email at support@savd.at.
Do you have any questions?
A compilation of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) (PDF, 1 MB), only in German
Poster "We understand each other!"
Poster "We understand each other!" (PDF, 209 KB) to display in your institution – print version
The poster (minimum size A3) should be displayed in a place that is clearly visible to the public (in the entrance area of the educational institution) for the duration of the measure.
A wide range of information in German is available to download from the German version of this website.
Information folder for parents and guardians on video and telephone interpreting in educational institutions
German
Other languages
- Albanian (PDF, 157 KB)
- Arabic – Modern Standard Arabic1 (PDF, 179 KB)
- Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (PDF, 156 KB)
- Bulgarian (PDF, 170 KB)
- Czech (PDF, 158 KB)
- Dari (PDF, 189 KB)
- English (PDF, 157 KB)
- French (PDF, 159 KB)
- Hungarian (PDF, 157 KB)
- Kurdish – Kurmanji (PDF, 157 KB)
- Polish (PDF, 158 KB)
- Romanian (PDF, 165 KB)
- Russian (PDF, 172 KB)
- Slovak (PDF, 158 KB)
- Spanish (PDF, 158 KB)
- Turkish (PDF, 155 KB)
Translated welcome letter for educational institutions in German – Ukrainian – Russian
- Welcome letter for elementary educational institutions (Word, 36 KB) (only in German)
- Welcome letter for schools (Word, 48 KB) (only in German)
This programme is funded by the European Social Fund as part of the European Union’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.