Call for Consultancy- Translating Supplementary Learning Modules

Terms of Reference

Expression of Interest to translate InSPIRE supplementary learning modules for university media students

Introduction:

Sri Lanka Development Journalists Forum is a well-established national level non-profit and non-governmental organization since 2009 having extensive experience in promoting the role of media in democratization and transformation. SDJF works closely with international media development agencies, local media organisations, universities, civil society organisations, youth and women development movements engaged in promoting democracy and human rights in Sri Lanka.

InSPIRE Project

Incubator Spaces for Promoting Information Rights and Freedom of Expression (InSPIRE) project is being implemented by HELVETAS and Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) with funds from the European Commission (EC).

The project seeks to empower a community of aspiring future media professionals and journalists through the establishment of Incubator Spaces that promote multi-disciplinary learning and capacity building among students in selected three universities in Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna districts. Specific objective of this action is to promote an increased understanding and respect of freedom of expression and information, by empowering a community of youth to creatively express and advocate for the focus areas of gender-sensitive freedom of expression and ethical and socially responsible media expressions, which will ultimately contribute to the enhancement of democracy and human rights in Sri Lanka.

Even though, the media landscape in Sri Lanka has been changing in parallel with the emerging world trends, the future media personnel reading media degree programmes in Sri Lanka are still learning the conventional media as in years, there has been no significant change or improvement made in their syllabus that provides an extremely limited space for them to gain a practical media experience and test their skills.

Output 01 of this project focuses on creating an innovative, socially responsible network of 350 future journalists and media professionals through the selection of Mass Media and Communication students from the Universities of Sri Jayawardanapura, Peradeniya, Jaffna and Batticaloa. Four specialized modules were developed to fill the gaps in the existing university curriculums that will form the core of the capacity development component of the project. University based training will be conducted for network members to increase their capacity and thinking ability and to sensitize them to the identified concepts that can be used later in developing the media products, as per focus areas.

The proposed consultancy will directly contribute towards the Output 01 of this project.

Objective of the consultancy                 

The primary service of this Consultancy is written translation of the following four study modules, which include revision, proofreading, editing/copy-editing, transcription, typesetting, layout and/or interpreting on an on-call basis.

1. Digital Citizenship ( 58 pages)
2. Freedom for Expression ( 52 pages)
3. Right to Information  ( 43 pages)and,
4. Gender in New Media ( 60 pages)

Role of the Consultant

The Consultant is required to provide:

• Accurate text translation of the four modules from English to local languages (Sinhala and Tamil).
• Terminology research to find the closest equivalents for the words used and consult EU/project guides to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of all translations.
• Correct and precise use of the Sinhala and Tamil languages; and rigorous use of terminology, databases and reference documents. The terminology usage should be recognized in Sri Lanka and especially in the selected university culture.
• Revision & Proofreading to ensure full comparison of the original and translated texts, examine the document’s overall coherence, and provide a final check of text for typos, spelling, grammar, punctuation and spacing of the translation.
• Proofreading of final page layouts, if needed.
• Ensure quality and accuracy of the entire document(s) before submitting it back to SDJF.
• The final document(s) must be delivered in both MS Word and PDF as required, with the formatting of the original document. If the translation is edited, leave track changes.

Selection Process

Two consultants will be selected; one person to translate English to Sinhala and another person to translate English to Tamil. Applications will be evaluated technically and points are attributed based on how well the proposal meets the requirements of the Terms of Reference.

The Consultant should provide professional translation from English to Sinhala and Tamil languages ensuring that the translation text is technically, linguistically and grammatically correct, error free and meets high quality standards, without requiring further editing after completion of the translation. Accurate and timely translation should be provided up to the satisfaction of EU standards. Consultant must observe confidentiality, refrain from divulging any information about the content of the text, and return the original of the documents to SDJF after completion of the services.

The SDJF reserves the right to carry out quality control on all work supplied by the Consultant and, after receipt, shall notify in writing of any requested corrections or changes. The Consultant shall correct, at no cost to SDJF/InSPIRE project, any errors, or changes. If an assessment confirms machine translation and/or inadequate quality, the project team reserves the right to refuse payment in full or in part for that specific work assignment. The project team shall provide evidence that the document was machine translated and/or the quality of the specific work assignment is inadequate.

Deliverables

• Four study modules translated into local languages (Sinhala/Tamil)

Translation shall be done within the stipulated deadlines in the work order. Maximum percentage margin of errors per page should not be more than 3 %. The translated modules should be provided to SDJF after completion of the required services via email and in a DVD as a soft copy.

Time Frame of the assignment

The duration of translating shall be 10 days per module.

Payments

After accepting the invoice sent by the consultant and obtaining the appropriate results, SDJF will release the payment to the consultant according to the following schedule.

• 30% of the payment upon signing the contract
• 50% of the payment upon submitting deliverables 01
• 20% of the payment upon finalising the deliverables 01

Qualification and experiences:

• Minimum five years of professional experience in translation and editing including interpretation Service.
• Demonstrated experience in translating professional documents; especially in the areas of Freedom of Expression, Information Rights, Digital Citizenship and Gender and New Media.
• Preferably professional qualification/degree in Social Science, Languages, Law, Media and Communication, Journalism or Law.
• Outstanding translation and editing skills in English and Sinhala/Tamil languages.
• Past work with the EU will be an advantage.
• Proven experience of translation/interpretation services.
• Experience working with international development organizations is desirable;
• Demonstrate effective organizational skills and ability to handle work in an efficient and timely manner.

How to apply:

• CV including the names of at least two contacts for references on similar work undertaken.
• A proposal including the methodology proposed for this assignment preferably including a budget quoted in LKR, in the form of a lump sum covering professional fee
• Sample of at least one work done in similar context.

The above mentioned documents should be emailed to recruitment@Ldjf.org copying to Mr. Mohamed Azad, Program Director azad@Ldjf.org on or before April 30, 2021.

For more information:

Please contact: Christine Weerakoon, Coordinator – 0763953051/ chris@Ldjf.org.