World Speaks, June 2026:A Look Back at Language Access Week

A selection of photos from an interpreter training. Students it in a classroom and listen to several different presenter.

A collage of photos from Language Access Week.

Hey Reader,

It’s Leah, World Speaks’ Executive Director, doing a newsletter takeover to talk to you directly after Language Access Week!

want to take a moment and tell you about what an amazing week it was. I was truly blown away by the support.

This is our third Language Access Week, and it felt like it made a real impact. We held two events – Let’s Talk About Cancer with UNMC and the Moroccan Empanada Making Event with the House of Bah Foundation. For the third year in a row, our food event sold out! It’s inspiring to watch people who may not have needed language access services before experience live interpretation and understand what barriers members of our communities face. Because the event is always so popular, we’re planning something even bigger next year. (Watch this space in early spring for more details!)

As I think back to what we experienced, I am reminiscing on the fact that this was the year that our community really embraced Language Access Week. We were so excited to have Mayor John Ewing making the proclamation for the City of Omaha, and then the Omaha City Council hosted the World Speaks team for the reading of the City Council proclamation.

At the heart of Language Access Week is education. This year, over 51,000 people learned about language access through our and our partners' social media channels – it's wild to see something we started just three years ago having such an impact.

Throughout the week, people didn’t just elevate our posts – they educated their own audiences on the importance of language access to their work. If you haven’t seen the incredible posts by CIRA, or the UNO Language Department, Heartland Workers Center, The Samuel L Bak Learning Center, or Survivor Alliance, go take a look at them now! You’ll get to see how language access makes a difference in our neighbors’ lives around the Omaha area.

Finally, thanks to your generosity, we came close to hitting our fundraising goal – we were only $100 off our goal!

Language Access Week doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It happens because of the incredible team at World Speaks, our awesome board, the partners who joined us to tell their stories, our culinary partners House of Bah Foundation, sponsors like Valmont, the Weitz Family Foundation, Emspace + Lovegren, and the Omaha Community Foundation – and YOU.

Thank you so much for supporting World Speaks, and Language Access Week. We appreciate all of you so much.

Language Access Learning

Do you know what CART Captioning is?

CART captioning (short for Communication Access Real-Time) is a less well-known tool for language access, but it has powerful applications. A stenographer (the person you may see in the movies in a courtroom furiously pounding away at a machine resembling a typewriter) can now use specialized software that converts the letters transmitted by the stenography machine into words. The machine can then project or stream the spoken word in text for anyone to see.

The best part? Technology has advanced to the point where a non-English speaker can have a spoken English presentation translated into their native language.

Certified Realtime Captioner Mydge Heaney of ICAN Captions in Omaha describes it simply: CART doesn't just provide access — it creates neighbors. Check out the article she wrote for us on CART Captioning to learn more! Get the article here: LINK.

Good luck to our Community Interpretation Class Cohort!

A look at the Community Interpretation Class from last fall.

Today is a special day – the next cohort of our Community Interpretation class kicks off their first day of learning!

The Community Interpretation class is designed to help bilingual and multilingual individuals start a career in interpretation! Over the next five weeks, they will learn the fundamentals of interpretation, including interpreter ethics, roles, and key techniques – all with hands-on practice!

We can’t wait to share their progress with you over the next 5 weeks!

Language Access in Action

Is your childcare language access friendly? The Elevate Conference, a conference focused exclusively on the business of childcare and organized by the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative, made sure that language access was a priority! The World Speaks team provided Spanish interpretation, ensuring that childcare business owners could fully participate in the conversation. There was also ASL interpretation - which really shows NECC’s commitment to making sure everyone can understand - and be understood.

If you want to see what language access can look like in action, check out these incredible photos from the conference – you can see attendees and the interpreter using our devices in action!

World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day, held on June 20 at the Joslyn, is one of our favorite events! This community event brings together performers, refugee assistance organizations, cultural groups, and medical professionals to highlight the issues facing refugees in our area today.

The World Speaks team not only had a table where we got to share what language access is and its importance in helping refugees, but Paulina, our Programs Manager, also served on the organizing committee this year. We love World Refugee Day - From the food to the conversations to the performances and stories, it is such a beautiful celebration of our community.

Community Corner

Our friends in the community need help! Take a look at the information and happenings our partners are sharing this month.

Part-Time Interpreter Wanted!

The Intercultural Senior Center is seeking a part-time Swahili and French Interpreter. Responsibilities include working closely with Senior Advocacy and other teams, as needed, to establish and nurture daily support for seniors’ well-being. Learn more about this job by clicking this link: LINK - if you know someone, please share with them!

Changes to Medicaid for Non-Citizens

Upcoming changes to Medicaid may affect non-citizens. Our friends at the Omaha Refugee Task Force have compiled information on what we know to date about these changes, and there are also flyers about the changes in 9 different languages, thanks to CIRA. To find them, visit: LINK

GET INVOLVED

Want to join World Speaks in our work? There are four ways you can do so!

Volunteer! We are always looking for native speakers interested in being in-class mentors. We’d love to have you join us this spring!
Donate – Help us get to our goal for Language Access Week! We just need $100 more in donations to hit our $2,000 goal!
Leave us a Review – If you’ve taken a language class, don’t forget to spread the word by leaving us a Google review!
Visit our store for our Superpower wear and encourage Omaha to learn a language and break barriers!