Government offices in Timor-Leste have a new way to tackle communications problems in a country with four official and working languages. The Ministry of Planning and Finance now manages and maintains a set of simultaneous translation equipment at its National Directorate of Planning and External Assistance Coordination (NDPEAC).

The specialized equipment is in high demand in Timor-Leste, where meeting participants might speak any of four languages: Tetum, Portuguese, Indonesian, and English. At many workshops and conferences, it is often only possible for speakers and listeners to communicate effectively through simultaneous translation. The NDPEAC equipment allows one language to be translated into the other three by using microphones and headphones that can accommodate up to 40 participants and 165 listeners.
Before the NDPEAC equipment arrived, there were only two sets in the Timor-Leste: one was at the Parliament, where it was often in use; and the other was rented out by a veterans' organization at a high daily rate.

The Ministry took full advantage of its new equipment in August at a high-level workshop exploring ways to involve civil society organizations in development planning. The participants--donor representatives, national and international NGOs, youth and women's organizations, and church representatives--spoke in all four languages.

"It is a great benefit, not just to this directorate and the Ministry of Planning and Finance, but to the whole government of Timor-Leste," said Gastao de Sousa, director of NDPEAC. "One of its most important benefits is that it allows Timorese to be involved directly in discussions at meetings with international participants."

The Directorate's equipment was used for the first time at the government's Development Partners Meeting in May. Soon afterward, the police and the Ministry of Justice also used the equipment at meetings they organized. In July, the Directorate lent the equipment to the government's Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation (CAVR) for its meeting on forced migration and famine. The meeting took the form of a public hearing, and the audience heard from many witnesses using different languages. Among the speakers was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, Timor-Leste's minister of foreign affairs and cooperation. The NDPEAC equipment is already booked for the next Development Partners Meeting in December.

USAID provided the translation equipment, its installation, and maintenance through an in-kind grant of $112,000. Simultaneous translations facilitate the government's work, provide more complete and clearer information about its activities, and encourage increased citizen participation.