Zwickau Language and cultural mediation service

Who are we?

The Zwickau Language and Cultural Mediation Service provides a pool of volunteer language and cultural mediators to support people with little knowledge of German and local institutions through oral and written language mediation services.

The Zwickau Language and Cultural Mediation Service is an integrative measure of the City of Zwickau in cooperation with Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau - University of Applied Sciences. The aim is to offer language and cultural mediation services for a variety of life and everyday situations in the City of Zwickau and the district of Zwickau in order to avoid misunderstandings and improve social participation.

What are language and cultural mediators?

Language and cultural mediators are volunteers of the Zwickau Language and Cultural Mediation Service who provide oral or written language mediation services. In addition, they can help to avoid misunderstandings between different cultures that can arise within the language mediation situations.

What can language and cultural mediators achieve?

• The volunteers of the pool
• sustainably improve integration work through cultural knowledge and language skills,
• avoid frustration, resignation and isolation when dealing with authorities and institutions, which can be caused by language and cultural barriers
• make consulting processes and times more efficient and safer for institutions and clients,
• and promote cultural opening and civic involvement in the Zwickau region.

What do we offer?

• Oral language mediation services:
• Authorities/offices and public institutions
• Social clubs/associations
• Schools and childcare facilities
• Healthcare facilities
• Other counselling advisory meetings
• Written language mediation services:
• Documents/ forms
• Notices/ information brochures
• Trained volunteers who are committed to confidentiality and impartiality
• Professional coordination and placement of suitable volunteers

What don't we offer?

The volunteers cannot take on tasks that can only be performed by sworn interpreters and translators. This includes, for example, assignments with the police, courts and notaries as well as the translation of certificates and deeds.

Services are currently offered in the following languages:

Albanian, Arabic, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Dari, English, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Kurdish-Kurmanji, Punjabi, Pashtun, Persian / Farsi, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Tigrin, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese

The range of languages listed is continuously updated.

How is a request made?

If you require a language and culture mediator for an oral language mediation service, please fill out the request form at least 3 working days before the desired assignment, sign it and send it by e-mail or fax. Please observe the guidelines for the use of the Language and Cultural Mediation Service. By signing the request form, you accept the attached guidelines.

We will gladly help you by phone or during the opening hours in our office!

What costs are incurred?

• Oral language mediation services:
• €10.00 per assignment per hour or part thereof; in addition, a flat-rate mileage allowance of €0.30 per kilometre to and from the place of assignment may apply if the assignment takes place outside the municipality where the volunteer lives
• Written language mediation services:
• €10.00 per hour or part thereof

After each completed assignment of an oral language mediation service, a certificate must be completed on site with the volunteer. This document, to be signed by both parties, is presented by the language and cultural mediators and forwarded to the Language and Cultural Mediation Service.

Would you like to use the oral and written language mediation services of the Zwickau Language and Cultural Mediation Service several times?

Ask by phone or e-mail about the possibility of a multiple use agreement!

An offer by the City of Zwickau in cooperation with Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau - University of Applied Sciences and the district of Zwickau.

Supported by the Free State of Saxony within the framework of the Integrative Measures State Programme.

This measure is co-financed with tax revenues on the basis of the budget adopted by the members of the Saxon state parliament.