Another edition of a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) within the area of Interpreting was successfully hosted at ISCAP – P. Porto, from 29 June to 3 July 2026. The programme dedicated to “Legal Interpreting for Mediation” began with a preparatory online meeting on 22 June and brought together students from the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Netherlands, the Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej University in Lublin, Poland, the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia, and the University of Orléans, France, for an intensive week dedicated to legal interpreting, mediation, multilingual communication, and intercultural exchange.
Throughout the week, participants took part in a wide range of lectures, workshops, role-play activities, and practical interpreting exercises. The programme opened with a welcome session and icebreaker activities, followed by lectures and workshops on interpreting basics, interpreting modes and exercises, and the specificities of legal interpreting. Students also explored the use of real legal cases in translation and interpreting training, remote interpreting, mediation in legal contexts, language rights from European and national perspectives, and the role of AI tools in legal interpreting and translation.
One of the highlights of the programme was the opportunity to connect classroom learning with real professional settings through field visits to the Esquadra de Turismo do Porto and the Tribunal Criminal de São João Novo, offering participants valuable insight into institutional contexts where legal and community interpreting may play an important role.
The final day focused on interpreting in a simulated legal setting, allowing students to apply the knowledge and skills developed throughout the week in more practice-oriented scenarios.
This BIP provided a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the ethical, linguistic, cultural, and professional challenges of legal interpreting for mediation. It strengthened the cooperation between partner institutions in a truly multilingual and multicultural academic environment and contributed to a rich intercultural and collaborative experience.
I would like to express my gratitude to our guest speakers and lecturers Anna Daley (University of Orléans, France), Chiara Severi (Unicollege SSML, Mantua, Italy), Catherine Guénin (Professional Mediator, Burges, France), and Natalia Mikshina (Unicollege SSML, Turin, Italy). I am also truly and deeply thankful to the Police Officers Tiago Sampaio, Cláudio Silva and Luís Pereira, and to the State Prosecutor Maria João Taborda for a warm welcome at the Police Station Esquadra do Turismo and the Criminal Court São João Novo, Porto. Lastly, I would like to thank our intern Hadassa Andrade and my colleagues Alexandra Albuquerque, Maria Luísa Verdelho, Paula Almeida, Pedro Duarte, and Yana Baryshnikova from ISCAP - P. Porto.
Marco Furtado - Programme Coordinator, July 2026
