Through interactions initiated in March of this year with the headquarters of the Sphere Project, located in Geneva, Switzerland, the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Federation (FIHF) acquired the rights to translate the Sphere Handbook into the Portuguese language.
Currently having editions in four languages: English, French, Spanish, and Arabic, the Sphere Handbook consists of a fundamental basis of principles for good practices in humanitarian actions; because of this, an edition in the Portuguese language is essential, given the current reality present on the planet.
After the approval by the Sphere Project, the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF), through one of its affiliates, Irdin Editora, immediately started the translation work. “The team is made up of ten translators, two proofreaders, and two coordinators, all of whom are volunteers,” says Evandro, the Irdin coordinator.
Meticulous attention to detail during the translation process of the Sphere Handbook.
The work will happen in stages, according to Evandro’s explanation: “the first phase, which is the translation of the English into Portuguese, has been projected to finish on May 20.” Subsequently, they will complete the bilingual revision, followed by a grammatical revision, diagramming, and then distribution.
“The plan is to have the Handbook available online on the website of the Sphere Projectand on the Irdin Editora website, also having a physically printed version that can be purchased,” adds Evandro.
The translation work is being done smoothly by the whole team, according to what Mauro Rotenberg says, who together with Fádia Maria Gonzalez, revises the translation. “We are learning a lot in every way, because we have a very close collaboration between all the translators, which makes coherent decisions possible regarding the technical management of the entire translation,” he says.
In this sense, the meticulous attention to detail, with a constant mutual consultation among the translators, revisers, and coordinators, guarantees the quality of the final result in the translation of the Sphere Handbook.
Team of translators of the Sphere Handbook in a meeting online.
Fádia considers that “a whole set of agencies in the Portuguese-speaking humanitarian field, active in several countries around the world, is waiting for this translation that the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF) is overseeing.” And she adds: “through this translation into Portuguese, they will be able to be familiar with the Sphere Handbook and technically improve their initiatives.”
For the general manager of the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF), Friar Luciano, the translation of the Sphere Handbook is important because it will allow the humanitarian agencies in Brazil, as well as official organizations such as the Civil Defense, and Firefighters, among others that work with emergencies, to expand their response capacity to areas of humanitarian emergency actions.
“The Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF) will now be a focal point of the Sphere Handbook in Brazil, and with this, we will be able to expand its dissemination to take on initiatives aligned with the Sphere Project, which will allow us to circulate the Sphere Handbook in Brazil and in other countries that speak Portuguese, such as Mozambique, Portugal, Angola, and East Timor,” emphasizes the Friar.
