So the long-awaited final countdown is over and the launch event is now behind us! Earlier this week (Wednesday 21st June) with VMA GROUP, I hosted Lost in Translation, the launch event for the NNC Network -a community designed for non-native internal comms professionals. As a Modern Languages and Translation graduate, I was thrilled to work alongside the IC professional and native Spaniard Coco Garcia Acevedo to establish a community of talented multilinguists working in the world of Internal Comms. The evening was full of lively chatter with drinks in-hand overlooking the city from the beautiful Hanover Communications offices on Southwark Bridge.
What Did You Miss?
Designed as a ‘fireside chat’, I interviewed Coco about her experiences as a non-native English speaker working in internal communications. After Coco’s opening, the discussion moved to set-backs faced as a non-native, cultural differences in the UK working culture, and finally offering advice to those earlier on in their UK-based IC career. As a brand new network initiative, it was interesting to gauge the room; it soon became apparent that many aspects of conversation resonated with the audience. Notably, one participant also highlighted the cultural differences in education value. He stressed that within their native country, comms-specific academic achievement is almost a prerequisite to getting on the job ladder – this is arguably very different in the UK market. I was also curious to speak to some of the network members who perhaps haven’t faced ‘setbacks’ as non-natives. Whilst the chat between Coco and I was perhaps less relatable, they undoubtedly left with a greater understanding of other people’s experiences.
But, What Was the Point?
So, we succeeded in the launch event, but why create such community? As a native English speaker having studied foreign languages and translation in an academic context, I was all too familiar with the phrase ‘everyone speaks English’… you may have seen my blog post from earlier on this year! Admittedly, yes, English is the language of the business world, but I also think it is important to celebrate and recognise the assets that multilinguists can bring to the table. I am keen to highlight that knowledge of another language is more than mere words and I want to be an advocate for the multilingual talent in the Internal Comms market.
Hasta la Vista...?
With summer in full-swing and holiday mode (almost) activated, we will be hosting an informal meet and greet on the 17th August (time and location TBC). This will be a great opportunity for you all to continue your conversations and to welcome those who couldn’t make the launch to come and say ‘hello’. Moving into the Autumn and into next year, I have lots of exciting ideas and will welcome other thoughts from you – it’s important to stress that this network is a work-in-progress.
Thank You/Merci/Gracias/Danke/Obrigado/Tak (+ 7094 of the Other Languages Spoken Across the World!)
I wanted to say a big thank you to Hanover Communications and Charlotte Crosby for hosting us again, also to Coco Garcia Acevedo and finally, to everyone who joined and regular attendees to VMA GROUP events – these things don’t work without the attendees!
I hope to see you all next time, and in the meantime, maybe I ought to redownload Duolingo!
Written by: Anna Newsome, Recruitment Consultant, Internal Communications
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