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Victoria embraces We Speak Translate project

Victoria will work with the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria to train city staff to use Google Translate.
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Victoria councillors have agreed that council and all staff in the community-engagement department should receive the 45-minute We Speak Translate training as soon as possible.

Victoria will work with the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria to train city staff to use Google Translate.

Councillors have agreed that council and all staff in the community-engagement department should receive the 45-minute We Speak Translate training as soon as possible.

The ICA, which provides settlement services to newcomers, wants to train as many people as possible in the Google Translate app, including businesses, community agencies and schools.

The free app works like a digital interpreter, allowing two people who speak different languages to communicate through a smartphone. It can translate spoken sentences or photos of words into more than 100 languages.

Victoria city staff are to report back on the implications of co-ordinating with the ICA to have We Speak Translate training session for all front-line staff.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps will write to other municipalities in the region to inform them of the program.