We mainly offer support with document translation, for example, translating reports on human rights abuses or funding applications. We also offer language classes. We do not currently offer support with interpreting (real-time oral translation). All of our volunteer opportunities are remote jobs.

We offer language support to any person, group or organization that works in Latin America and that falls within the definition of Human Rights Defender (HRD) in the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, so “individuals or groups who act to promote, protect or strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms through peaceful means”. We do not offer language support in relation to any commercial activity.

We try to give HRDs language support in whatever languages they need. HRDs working in Latin America will often want to translate between Spanish/Portuguese and English. We would also like to be able to offer language support to HRDs who speak indigenous languages and so we are actively recruiting bilingual speakers of indigenous languages and Spanish/Portuguese/English. In addition, we mainly need native English, Spanish and Portuguese speakers to give HRDs language classes.

Volunteers must be a native speaker of the target text language, the language they are translating into, and they must be fluent in the language of the source text, the language they are translating from. For example, a job requesting that a Spanish text be translated into English will be translated by a native English speaker who is fluent in Spanish. We ask that volunteers are honest about their language level and capabilities as a poorly translated text can negatively impact the HRD.

No! We aim to review all translations for quality assurance and so we would also love to hear from monolingual volunteers who can proofread and/or edit documents. We would especially like to hear from volunteers who have experience in the non-profit sector and are familiar with the terminology used. Also, volunteers interested in teaching language classes do not need to speak a second language.

No, we welcome volunteers with no prior experience. To volunteer with us, all you need is to have a love of languages and a desire to support human rights defenders in Latin America.

We want to make volunteering with LAS Translations the best experience possible and we aim to create a community of language activists who are working together to break down language barriers. We want our volunteers to be able to connect with other volunteers around the world, which is why we have a forum. We also provide useful information for volunteers in our Resources section and we have a News section where volunteers will find interesting news articles about languages and human rights. Volunteering is an excellent way for volunteers to use their language skills to support the causes they are passionate about. For volunteers with no prior experience in translation, proofreading/editing and teaching language classes, volunteering is a great way to build new skills and to gain valuable real-life experience. Volunteers who are experienced translators, proofreaders/editors and language teachers can learn new skills like reviewing translations, offer support and guidance to less experienced volunteers in our forum and write articles sharing their experience for our Resources section.

While we aim to offer language classes in whatever languages HRDs wish to learn, the most requested languages for classes are English, Spanish and Portuguese. Each language teaching job will involve teaching one one-hour class a week for four weeks. We provide teaching materials for volunteers to use in class. Classes can have between one and twelve students.

Yes, we give guidance on best practices and advice on the best resources to use. Volunteers can find useful information in the Resources section of the website. We also have a forum for volunteers where they can connect with other language activists and ask their advice if needed. This is a great way to connect and network with other linguists around the world! In addition, we are always available to help volunteers with any problems they may encounter by emailing us at info@lastranslations.org.

You choose the language support you offer based on your skills, interests and availability. There is never any obligation to volunteer and you can be removed from our list of volunteers whenever you wish. In relation to translation or proofreading/editing, you choose when and how often to volunteer. However, in relation to language teaching, we do ask volunteers to commit to giving one one-hour class a week for one month (four hours of language teaching).

This will depend on each individual job and will be set out in the job listing.

Translations must be carried out by our volunteers and not only by a machine translation tool. Volunteers may, however, use a machine-generated translation as a first draft, then check it for accuracy and refine it to sound more natural in a process called post-editing. This is common practice in professional translation today. Volunteers can find more information about post-editing in the Resources section of the website.

At the moment, we do not stipulate that volunteers have to use any particular CAT tool or translation management system but we welcome translators who already use these tools in their own work.

You are not alone when you volunteer with us! We have a forum where you can connect with other language activists and where you can ask for help or advice if you are having a problem. Alternatively, you can email us at info@lastranslations.org and we will be happy to help you.

We understand that sometimes unexpected things happen in life. If you think that you will not be able to complete a job you are working on, we ask that you let us know as soon as possible so we can find a new translator, proofreader/editor or language teacher for the job.

We do not offer payment for the work volunteers carry out. We do suggest that HRDs give volunteers an honorarium payment if they have the funds to do so, however, as we mainly work with individual HRDs, community groups and grassroots organizations it is highly unlikely that they will have the funds to pay volunteers.

Yes! Volunteering is an excellent way to gain experience and to showcase your skills.

For the most part, yes. However, some translations may contain sensitive information which cannot be shared with third parties. These translations cannot be used as examples of your work but we will always flag this on the job listing.

We are happy to give a reference to any volunteer who has completed at least 15 jobs through our website.

We do not believe that we do. Our focus is on offering language support to individual HRDs, community groups and grassroots organizations as these HRDs are unlikely to have funds for paid translation, proofreading/editing or language classes. We believe that without the support of our volunteers, these HRDs would not be able to access the language support they need. We also ask HRDs to give an honorarium payment to our volunteers if they are in funds and can afford to do so as we recognize the value of the work our volunteers do.

We are a community of volunteers working together to offer language support to HRDs in Latin America. We have not yet registered as a non-profit organization, however, this is something we aim to do in the future.

No! When you sign up to volunteer with us, you choose whether or not to receive notifications when a new job is posted. You can choose to only receive notifications when jobs matching your interests are listed. If you change your mind and want to stop receiving notifications, just email us at info@lastranslations.org and we will remove you from our notifications list.

We will never use your information for any purpose outside of our webpage nor will we ever share your information with third parties. You can read our Privacy Policy here.

You can contact us at info@lastranslations.org

Sign up by filling in this form.

Once you have signed up to volunteer, you can apply for jobs through the link on the job listings. You can periodically check the job listings for jobs that interest you. Alternatively, you can choose to receive notifications every time a new job is posted or to only be notified for certain jobs. This allows you to tailor your volunteer experience to your own personal interests. We will let you know if you are the successful applicant as soon as possible after you have applied for a job. If you encounter any problems when working on the job, we are here to support you! You can ask questions and get advice from other volunteers through our forum or you can email us at info@lastranslations.org and we will be happy to help. All translations will be peer reviewed for quality assurance before being returned to the HRD who requested support. If you are volunteering as a language teacher, you commit to teaching one one-hour class each week for four weeks. Again, you can get any support you may need through the forum or by emailing us.