We’ve been asking a question. “Could a local community with bilingual residents come together to volunteer their language skills to welcome and assist visitors or newcomers?” We believe that if a community had a way to identify their own linguistic talent, it could serve to meet the needs of tourists, local speakers of other languages, and displaced refugees.
When we learned that the 2022 World Athletic Championships would be in Eugene, Oregon, we were excited to have a chance to test our theory. #Oregon22 was held at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field from July 15-24th and the Global Seal Experience and its Global Guides were ready.
It was the first time the global event was held in the United States and #Oregon22 featured record-breaking performances by world-class athletes representing 179 countries, 29 of which won at least one Gold Medal! The event boasted 146,033 in person attendees and a global television audience of over 1 billion, making it the most watched world track and field championship on record. The Global Seal of Biliteracy was there to support attendees to the event in partnership with the local community and Eugene-based Avant Assessment. Together, we identified, tested and certified Global Guides in 30 different languages to welcome the world to Eugene. Global Seal Experience-Eugene provided free language services at the airport, at the Riverfront Fest, and via text through a web-based app.
14-year-old South Eugene High School freshman-to-be and Global Guide Lily Yao, received TWO “Functional Fluency” Global Seal of Biliteracy certificates, one in Spanish and the second in Chinese. When she was interviewed by local CBS television affiliate KVAL, she shared, “It’s great! I’m usually just learning Spanish in class or speaking Mandarin at home. But instead, I have this opportunity to help people and introduce them to our city. Also, I get this great opportunity to learn about other cultures.”
“They ask me about Eugene, what’s here,” said Graceiela Diaz, describing her Global Guide experience to ABC television affiliate KEZI. Graceiela, who was born in Mexico, but has spent 35 years in the United States, was certified by the Global Seal in Spanish. “I told them about what we have. Rivers, hiking, finding lots of outdoor activities, a lot of good local restaurants, beer and ciders.” Diaz learned about the Global Guide opportunity from a professor at Lane Community College. She said through the first five days of the games she had met people from Mexico, Spain, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Guatemala.
For communities looking to better serve their residents or to expand their reach and explore new markets, identifying local linguistic talent and multilingual services is one way to attract and interact with both the local population as well as international companies.
“Language skills open doors and create opportunity,” says Global Seal of Biliteracy Executive Director Linda Egnatz. “Our goal is to make the Global Seal of Biliteracy a key career credential in Oregon and around the world. Language skills, especially in the medical, law enforcement, and public service industries, are essential, and can drastically improve the health and cultural richness of our community.”
The Global Seal of Biliteracy offers a unique collaborative community partnership to provide live language interpreting services for tourists, refugees or immigrant newcomers, or for a special event like our recent collaboration with the 2022 World Athletic Championships held in Eugene, Oregon. At the core of this experience is the ability for local bilingual residents to volunteer their language skills to assist visitors or newcomers in their language through either face-to-face support or an app-based text chat.
The Global Seal Experience includes partnering with a community to identify, test, and certify local bilinguals with one of three levels of language certification. Global Seal will also collaborate with the local community to design other supporting resources to connect non-English speakers to language services, transportation, medical assistance, local restaurants and shops, recreational opportunities, community resources, events, and maps.
To learn more about the Global Seal Experience at #Oregon22, or to inquire about bringing the Global Seal Experience to your community, check out our webpage at theglobalseal.com/experience.