During our educational journey as students in the interpretation section, we were bestowed with the privilege of encountering distinguished interpreters, gaining invaluable insights from the wealth of experiences they have amassed over their professional careers. In a particularly enlightening episode last February, we had the opportunity to meet Ms. Prisca Chaoui, a permanent interpreter at the United Nations Office in Geneva, during a comprehensive three-day-seminar.

During our time together, Ms. Chaoui taught us valuable lessons aimed at improving our interpretation skills. For the fledgling first-year students grappling with the intricacies of notetaking, she provided great insight on how to make notes clearer and more to the point. As for the second-year students who found it difficult to work in the booth with texts, she graciously extended her expertise, offering invaluable tips and facilitating hands-on practice. Despite the brevity of our interactions—limited to three sessions, we all noticed some improvement in our interpretation techniques.

In addition to the pedagogical aspect of the seminar, Ms. Chaoui provided great insight into the daily life of a United Nations interpreter. She was open, cheerful, and willing to answer each of our questions in vivid detail. By the end of the seminar, we had acquired a markedly clearer comprehension of the multifaceted role of an interpreter within the United Nations milieu. We are grateful to Ms. Chaoui for sharing her reservoir of knowledge and expertise, and we can only hope to follow in her footsteps one day.

 Hala Debs

M4 Interpretation