SBS has announced it will be streaming live Arabic and Mandarin translations of tonight’s debate between Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese MP.
The People’s Forum will take place 7pm AEST tonight, Wednesday 20 April, with the interpreted streams available on SBS On Demand. The translated forum will be a first for an Australian television network.
SBS director of audio and language content, David Hua, said SBS’s focus is to effectively support Australia’s diverse communities throughout the election and provide an interface between Australia’s leaders, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
“Arabic and Mandarin are two of the largest language groups in Australia. By offering the leaders’ debate in Arabic and Mandarin, we hope to ultimately drive an understanding of the key issues, and enable informed participation in this election,” said Hua.
“We thank Sky News Australia [who will be hosting tonight’s debate] for helping make this possible.”
In addition to live-translating the debate, SBS is making the 2022 Federal Election more accessible for Australian multilingual communities via a series of events and videos providing impartial information about the election, and clear instructions on how to participate
SBS has partnered with the Australian Electoral Commission to produce a series of videos subtitled in over 40 languages, explaining the voting process and which combat election misinformation.
The SBS Election Exchange will also return for 2022, with SBS’s language services hosting a series of community-based events in the lead up to the 2022 Federal Election.
The Election Exchanges will run for three weekends from this Saturday 23 April, across eight locations. Nineteen of SBS Radio’s programs will head into the community to speak with local candidates and community members.
“The SBS Election Exchange enables an independent and informed approach to policies and politicians at a local level,” Hua added.
“This is an important outlet, encouraging culturally and linguistically diverse communities to be a part of the national conversation at a local level, providing the opportunity to drive the agenda and discuss the issues that matter to them.”
The 2022 SBS Election Exchange will commence this Saturday 23 April in Bankstown NSW, and will also visit Hobart, Launceston, Dandenong, Broadmeadows, Wagga Wagga, Eastwood and Ballarat.
These latest initiatives build on SBS’s ongoing commitment to multilingual audiences, including the recent launch of its locally produced TV news services in Arabic and Mandarin, multilingual login and navigation on SBS On Demand, and the upcoming launch of the SBS World Watch TV channel on 23 May.
