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Establishing agreements
- Develop a clear, detailed and comprehensive agreement that defines each partner’s roles and responsibilities with respect to official languages.
- Make sure that all partners are informed of the implications of the agreement.
- Encourage both official language communities to actively participate; for example, by signing a collaborative agreement with key national and local organizations.
- Ensure that the agreements with service providers include language requirements and that those requirements are met.
- Sign agreements with broadcasters that ensure equal media access to the event in both official languages.
Creating a structure
- Create an official languages unit within the organizing committee.
- Determine the roles that each unit within the organizing committee must play with respect to official languages.
- Encourage senior management and staff to commit to both official languages.
- Develop an internal language policy and communicate it to all parties involved.
- Make sure the team, and especially management, has enough people with an understanding of the sensitivities and cultural references of both official language groups.
- Create an official languages advisory committee and include official languages experts and key members of the official language communities.
Designing an effective plan and tracking progress
- Develop a document on the necessary resources and procedures to ensure respect for official languages.
- Determine objectives, expected results and performance indicators.
- Check that priority and sufficient resources are given to official languages, and that all needs in this area are fulfilled.
- Plan measures so that language provisions can be complied with in the event of delays, unforeseen circumstances, changes and emergency situations.
- Report regularly on the state of preparedness in relation to official languages .
Assembling the team
- Determine how many bilingual volunteers and employees are needed.
- Develop a strategy for recruiting bilingual resources.
- Evaluate the language skills of employees and volunteers before hiring them.
- Design a training and awareness program on official languages and the active offer of services.
- Assign bilingual resources strategically to make optimal use of their language skills.
- Find a way to identify bilingual employees and volunteers so that the public can easily recognize them.
Communicating with the public in both official languages
- Make a list of all services to be provided in both languages.
- Determine which service points will require bilingual employees and volunteers.
- Ensure that sufficient human and financial resources are available for translation and interpretation services.
- Early in the planning stage, secure the services of professional translators and interpreters who have experience handling high demand.
- Find the means to ensure translation quality.
- Plan measures to meet translation needs in the event of unforeseen circumstances and emergency situations.
- Ensure that service providers serve the public in both official languages.
- Make sponsors, service providers and provincial and municipal partners aware of the need to serve the public in both official languages.
- Make use of the official language minority media.
Cultural activities
- Develop agreements that define the way in which cultural events are to reflect linguistic duality.
- Ensure that organizers of these events have a good understanding of the specific cultural characteristics of each official language group.
- Ensure that programming for cultural events includes and represents both official language communities.
- Confirm the balance of English and French in the visual and spoken components of the programming.
- Invite artists and performers from the official language minority community to take part in cultural and artistic events.
Quality control
- Tour the venues to make sure everything is ready to receive the public in both official languages.
On your mark, get set, go!
- Provide all visitors and participants with an opportunity to enjoy a bilingual experience.
