Image by Sovanna Pouv/Boston Globe
04/24/2019
Boston Globe
By Annika Hom
In an effort to welcome its large immigrant community to the ballot box, Lowell has rebooted a $10,000 grant project to disseminate City Council meeting information in Spanish and Khmer, the language of Cambodia.
The Lowell City Council Interpretation Project was developed by the city of Lowell, Working Cities Lowell Initiative, and Lowell TeleMedia Center (LTC) to educate the city’s Latino and Cambodian population on civic issues preceding the city’s election this fall.
One Khmer- and one Spanish-speaking translator review City Council summaries and record an audio version of what happened in their respective languages. LTC then broadcasts the audio on two local cable channels and posts them on Youtube two days after the meeting.
Sovanna Pouv, the executive director of the city’s Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, noted that language can isolate residents from political decisions that affect them.
“Khmer Americans have been living in this city for such a long time, about four decades,” Pouv said. “It’s about time something like the City Council meetings are being interpreted.”
According to the US Census’ 2013-2017 American Community Survey, 44 percent of Lowell’s residents speak a language other than English. Forty-four percent of those speaking Spanish and 56 percent of those speaking Asian and Pacific Island languages said they spoke English less than “very well.”
Working Cities Lowell decided specific programs should be implemented to include its diverse community. With existing ties to the city’s Cambodian population, the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association located the Khmer translator, Tooch Van. The Lowell TeleMedia Center found the Spanish translator, Maria Jose Orgeira.
Shaun McCarthy, the initiative director of the Working Cities Lowell Initiative, said he hopes the project makes bilingual residents feel informed enough to vote in the city’s 2019 election. Ballots will be provided in English, Spanish, and Khmer.
“Translation is a huge thing and we’ve been pushing from day one,” McCarthy said. “We want to have our partners include our residents in decision-making because they are the ones who are being served.”