Bolivian team localises Sphere in Practice online course

By Juan José Dorado J., Sphere trainer

Working together with a team of disaster risk specialists, we ensured that ‘Esfera en la Practica’ (the Spanish version of the course) is not just a translation of the English version. Everyone in the team used the opportunity to refresh their knowledge of Sphere and to use their experience and expertise to improve the materials for the target audience: humanitarian actors in Latin American contexts who will apply the knowledge acquired from the course for frontline operations, to develop policies and to advocate for quality and accountability in humanitarian action.

To ensure quality, we engaged a translator, a translation assistant and a team of experts [see below], many of whom are certified as experts in disaster risk management by the Bolivian Ministry of Education under the International System of Certification of Capacities. These experts each took the lead for one of the five modules in the course, supported by a technician. They were joined by a professional in graphic design, communications and corporate social responsibility to develop new audio-visual elements.

Each module was localised by the translation team in coordination with the lead expert for that module. Then there was a series of meetings involving the whole team to fine-tune and expand some elements and to harmonise content across the course. After a final check, the localised storyboards were passed to Sphere’s content developers. The Alpha and Beta versions were subsequently proofread by members of the team.

One of the most interesting challenges was coordination between the translation team – who were selected for their Sphere knowledge – and the specialists: having to agree, between them, language which simultaneously preserves the key messages of Sphere in the English version while being relevant and understandable to Hispanic risk management professionals and other humanitarian actors.

Completing this project is a great achievement for APGRD and for all those involved. Each member of the team feels a sense of satisfaction and a deep sense of pride – as professionals and representatives of Bolivia – for having contributed to this product which will be used for training thousands of people in the years to come.

There are no words to describe how proud we are with the important result achieved. We thank Sphere for having trusted us with this task in the certainty of having exceeded their expectations.

The Association of Professionals in Disaster Risk Management – Bolivia (APGRD) was engaged by Sphere to localise Sphere in Practice for the Hispanophone Sphere community. The Sphere team is grateful to Juan José and his team for undertaking this project with great enthusiasm.

Sphere in Practice is freely available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

Bolivian Sphere in Practice localisation team

Top row from left to right:

• Juan José Dorado J.: Senior specialist in management for risk reduction and disaster response, consultant, Sphere trainer, and general coordinator of the team.
• Colonel DIM Edwin Iván Suaznabar Ledezma: Army officer, systems engineer, and expert advisor to the team.
• Jorge Antonio Terán: Doctor and expert advisor to the team.
• Edgar Tamayo C.: Tour operator and translation assistant for the team.
• Sarah Gutiérrez Barzola: Surgeon, dentist, specialist in public health and expert advisor to the team.

Bottom row from left to right:

• María Claudia Lanza: Consultant in Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the fields of health, education, gender, governance and interculturality; and expert advisor to the team.
• Juan Antonio Robles: Nurse, instructor, rescuer, paramedic, firefighter, and expert advisor to the team.
• José Carlos Marzluf Loza: Technician in occupational risk prevention and expert advisor to the team.
• Stephanie Alejandra Marzluf Quiroz, MSc.: Graphic designer for the team with a degree in Graphic design and visual communication; and a Master’s in communication management and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).