The Inclusive Orientation Manual, a guide published in 2022 by France’s Ministry of Education, aims to provide tools to the community to improve the care of students with special educational needs. The European Union, representatives of the Ministry, and the European Agency for Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Education, met in Nice in October 2023 to exchange information and first-hand accounts of implementation of the new guidelines in schools. Cultures Connection was there to offer our interpretation service between English and French.
Special Education in French Schools
The French Ministry of Education first proposed its “Inclusive Guidance Manual” in 2021. The goal of this project is to improve the implementation of inclusive education in France. Schools across the nation put into action these guides the following year. While initially targeting principals and teachers, the government has made the Inclusive Guidance Manual accessible to families for the 2023 school-year.
The choice of Nice to discuss the progress of this project was not random. Along with Normandy Academy, the Nice Academy was one of the schools that most widely disseminated the Inclusive Guidance Manual. Thus, on October 10 and 11, representatives of the French and European institutions met with participants from the educational community. At Nice’s Rectorate, participants discussed their personal experiences and views on the implementation of this inclusive model in schools.
Copyright: Cultures Connection.
Simultaneous Interpretation in Service of Special Education
Organizers divides participants into three groups of 15, representing three different sectors of the academic community. All participants are involved in the educational project: school principals, teachers and families.
Organizers also took into account a June 2023 survey, which they had sent to all involved schools in the country. The survey consisted of a series of questions that the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education had written. The same survey was then specially presented to each working group during the meetings.
Meetings consisted of conversation between English and French speakers, requiring 3 professional interpreters and special technological equipment.
With a microphone and 20 headphones, our interpreters were able to translate the presentations from one language to the other without interruption. This allowed those present to able to actively participate. Organizers determined the number of interpreters assigned to the event by taking participant quantity into account.
At the request of the event organizers, Cultures Connection also recorded the meetings, and provided catering and transportation for the participants.
With offices in Nice and much experience hosting projects for international organizations, Cultures Connection was once again present in a place where important decisions were made for the future of society.
