Congratulations to Young Joe, a Korean/English interpreter working in Community and Healthcare settings
Young Joe has become the first in Canada to become a Certified Medical Interpreter. She has worked as an interpreter, primarily in healthcare, for over 10 years and is a passionate advocate of access to healthcare and the professionalization of community and healthcare interpreting. Young Joe founded Bilinguals International as a vehicle to champion the continued professionalization of the profession. She is currently working on a campaign for a Federal e-petition that would be tabled in the House of Commons. She has the full support and backing of MP Jenny Kwan and is working with the local Canadian contingent of CLI and other local businesses and organizations such as The Interpreters’ Lab.
“It is an honour to have obtained this credential. Interpreters that work in community and healthcare settings have been too long excluded on the premise that what we do is not considered professional. As a trained, experienced and professional interpreter, I can comfortably say that interpreters that work in healthcare and community settings have a very challenging job. I hope that the professional interpreters’ organizations, such as STIBC, Critical Link and Bilinguals International, will continue to work closely with each other as key stakeholders to ensure relevancy and applicability in our ongoing pursuit to professionalization of interpreters working in all sectors and settings.”