Translating multiple languages for an awareness campaign

Translation students at London Met have translated the web pages of a national HIV awareness campaign to provide information to people whose first language isn’t English.

Date: 29 May 2018

Students from Translation BA and Translation MA were given the opportunity to translate pages on PrEPster, a website set up by a volunteer group of London-based HIV prevention activists who seek to promote the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an anti-HIV pill.

Dr Piero Toto, senior lecturer in Translation at London Met said: “The benefits to our students are three-fold. First, they get experience of working on a real-world, rather than fictional project; second, they get direct feedback on their translations - including the chance to better understanding of lay-person's terminology about sex, gender and sexuality; and finally, they get to know more about PrEP, HIV and sexual health by working on this project!”

Dr Will Nutland, co-founder of PrEPster said: “We know that many people who could benefit from PrEP do not have English as a first language. These translations will assist more people in understanding and navigating the different ways of getting PrEP.”

Marc Thompson, co-founder of PrEPster said: “PrEP provision in the UK shines a light on the existing inequalities around access to HIV and sexual health services. By providing this information across a range of languages, we can ensure that more people know about PrEP and can benefit from it.”

Liudmila Tomanek, Karolina Rozkosz and Jagoda Zega, who are all Translation MA students, were commissioned to translate subtitles for a PrEP awareness video in 2017.

Information on the England PrEP IMPACT Trial, plus details of how to buy PrEP online legally and safely from the UK, is now available in Brazilian Portuguese, French, Italian, Polish, Russian and Spanish. All the translated pages can be found on the PrEPster website.

Image credit: PrEPster