Seven additional languages to come including Arabic, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, and Vietnamese

PHILADELPHIA –  The Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) and the Office of Immigrant Affairs (OIA) announced today the launch of the Translation Services Expansion project, the City’s latest effort to improve language access on the City’s website, phila.gov, with Spanish and Chinese translations now available. Seven additional languages will be added later this year, including Arabic, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, and Vietnamese.

“Ensuring fair and equal language access for immigrants and non-English speakers has always been a priority for this administration. It is an essential part of providing meaningful and quality service to all Philadelphians, especially, as one of the most diverse cities in the nation,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “This commitment has made Philadelphia a leader in bridging the language access gap and overcoming equity barriers. I am proud of the progress we have made and excited to take another step forward in our efforts to be the best and most welcoming place to live.”

Nearly a quarter of Philadelphia residents speak a language other than English at home, making language accessibility essential to providing services. As of 2021, the percentage of Philadelphians identifying as Hispanic or Asian had nearly doubled over the previous 20 years, while the percentage of foreign-born residents increased to 15 percent.

The Translation Services Expansion project is partially funded by the Operations Transformation Fund (OTF), which provides funds for City initiatives prioritizing equity and accessibility. This project comes shortly after the City announced the release of the Language Service Usage Dashboard, an interactive tool that illustrates the preferred language services used by residents when accessing City programs, and an important milestone in the City’s efforts to understand the language landscape in Philadelphia.

“We want to make sure Philadelphians who are non-English speakers can easily access our City services, programs, and any information they need as residents,” said Tumar Alexander, Managing Director for the City of Philadelphia. “The expansion will help us deliver on our commitment to become more inclusive and help our immigrant communities make Philadelphia their home.”

“We are proud to be a city that warmly embraces all people no matter what language they speak,” said Amy Eusebio, Executive Director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs. “Language diversity adds to the beauty of our city, and it is our goal, as a Certified Welcoming City, to ensure that Philadelphians with diverse languages feel welcome and at ease using City services.”

As part of the pre-work to translate the website, OIA conducted community outreach by hosting focus groups at local libraries and engaging ESL learners, university scholars, newcomers at the City’s Welcoming Center, nonprofit organizations such as Taller Puertorriqueño, the Northeast Philadelphia Chinese Association, First Haitian Church of God of Philadelphia, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, and the African Family Health Health Organization (AFAHO), as well as other members of the public.

“More than delivering a translated website, this project is about an innovative process for website translation,” said Maria Giraldo Gallo, Director of Language Access Programs for the Office of Immigrant Affairs. “We set up systems that are receptive to the community’s input and that encourage continuous improvement, interoffice collaboration, and quality control for our translation providers.”

The OIT team worked closely with OIA and linguists from a translation vendor to identify a translation method using a combination of digital tools and resident feedback. New features on the site include a new language navigation bar and will streamline the request for translation to the City’s language access providers, resulting in higher quality and a more consistent translation than with the free version of Google Translate.

“The new features streamline the request for translation to the City’s language access providers, allowing for quality upgrades or revisions directly from the vendor,” says Karissa Demi, Director of Software Engineering for the Office of Innovation and Technology. “This project enables content creators on phila.gov to automatically have a large majority of their content translated with no additional effort on their part, saving the city time and money in posting translations for digital content.”

Community engagement and resident feedback are essential to the creation and ongoing improvement of language accessibility on the City’s website phila.gov. Residents may submit feedback online via this form.

More information about the Translation Services Expansion project is available online.

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About the Office of Innovation and Technology 
The Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) drives the City’s technology strategy and creates innovative solutions to make government services more efficient and transparent. OIT manages major technology projects for the City and encourages municipal employees and the public to engage with technology in useful ways. For more information about OIT, visit their website and follow @PHLInnovation on Twitter and Instagram.

About the Office of Immigrant Affairs
The mission of the Office of Immigrant Affairs (OIA) is to promote the well-being of Philadelphia’s immigrant communities by recommending and developing policies and programs, which in turn provide opportunity and access to services. OIA helps facilitate the successful inclusion of immigrants into the civic, economic, and cultural life of the city and highlights the essential role that immigrants have played and continue to play in our city. For more information about OIA, visit their website and follow @PhillyOIA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.