Climate Justice > Language Justice
Language Justice
More than 1 out of 3 people in the counties of Ventura and Santa Barbara are part of a household that speaks a language other than English at home. In the cities of Guadalupe, Santa Maria, Oxnard, and Santa Paula, more than 60 percent of all people speak a language other than English at home.
Multilingual events and materials are critical to building a more equitable and inclusive climate action movement that advances social, racial, economic, and environmental justice. There is a long history of underrepresentation and marginalization for non-English speakers in the U.S. This has contributed to a lack of reliable information about climate change that is available in Spanish and indigenous languages and dialects, such as Mixtec, that are spoken by a large population of migrant workers in our region.
HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION
Participate
Help us deliver high-quality interpretation at events by following these best practices:
Speak slowly to allow interpreters to follow along
Please try to use only one language when speaking so we can have consistent interpretation
Develop relationships
Help us reach more diverse audiences by introducing CEC and our work to the communities and networks you belong to. Here are a few resources that share about CEC’s work:
WHAT CEC IS DOING
CEC’s multilingual events use best practices for translation and provide expert interpretation. We work with CEC’s Community Ambassadors and skilled translators to improve language access for our events and programs, so more people can participate and create community-centered solutions to the climate crisis across multiple languages. We invite you to connect with us regarding language access needs that CEC could help address.