SBS language | Community input has been solicited to help SBS shape the future of its radio and language services
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- The review of language services is a process undertaken every five years in accordance with the national census
- The six-week public consultation runs from October 5 to November 12, 2021
- The results of the language services review will be announced in October 2022 and any changes will be implemented by November 2022.
When SBS started in 1975, the multicultural broadcaster only featured eight languages.
These first broadcasts were enough, as the director of audio and linguistic content, David Hua, recalls, to provoke a spontaneous celebration in the streets.
“When a Turkish truck driver heard SBS radio and heard his native language for the first time in Australian media, he actually got out of the truck and danced happily at the crossroads.”
Today, 46 years later, the number of languages ââbroadcast by SBS has grown to over 60 on a range of different platforms.
Serving a multicultural and multilingual Australia
And its main objective remains: to meet the needs of a multicultural and multilingual Australia.
âSBS has a unique ability to reach and connect with diverse Australian communities through its multilingual services, across multiple points of contact,â said David Hua.
âFor over 45 years, we have continued to adapt the way we deliver innovative and meaningful services to communities, and today we do so through radio, online, podcasts and apps in over 60 languages. .
To best do this, SBS conducts a Language Services Review every five years in accordance with the National Census, to ensure that SBS Radio’s services reflect Australia’s rapidly changing and increasingly diverse society.
The results of this year’s national census will be released in June of next year.
David Hua says this will help SBS inform the language services it will provide as the community evolves.
âIt is imperative that SBS keep pace with this development and provide the services we need most for the community we serve. “
The review will encompass SBS’s audio and language offering, including radio, SBS On Demand, podcasting and other digital platforms.
This review will help shape SBS as we turn 50 – David Hua.
Seven new languages ââadded to SBS in 2018
Hakha Chin – mainly spoken in Myanmar’s western region of Chin State – was one of seven new language groups added in 2018 after the last review, along with Mongolian, Kirundi, Tibetan, Karen, Rohingya and Telugu.
Speaking from his Melbourne studio, Haka Chin producer Cung Khukzawn says SBS is their community’s main source where they can get information.
âIt’s pretty amazing to have this good opportunity to broadcast our language on SBS,â he says.
“Most of our parents don’t speak or understand English. They can learn what’s going on in Australia and what’s going on in Australia.”
New and emerging communities
According to Mohammad Al-Khafaji, chief executive of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia, it is essential that the review is directed at new and emerging communities that may have smaller populations.
âSBS is really important for newcomers to Australia, for refugee communities, especially for new and emerging communities,â he says.
“Of course we would like to see more languages ââadded rather than other languages ââremoved and Australia’s cultural diversity is only growing and we hope government funding will match that for SBS to be able to provide languages. additional. “
David Hua also highlights the vital role that SBS’s multilingual services have played during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing critical updates and health information to communities in their preferred language.
For over 45 years, we have continued to adapt the way we deliver innovative and meaningful services to communities – David Hua.
âRegularly updating our linguistic offering allows SBS to better serve larger communities with diverse cultural and linguistic origins,â he says, âas well as offering services to emerging and high-need communities.
The six-week public consultation begins on October 5 and ends on November 12, 2021.
All comments will be taken into account in establishing the final selection criteria, which are expected to be finalized by May 2022, with the revised SBS language services due to be implemented by the end of 2022.
To view preliminary selection criteria and submit comments, visit sbs.com.au/consultation.
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