Cooperation between the Public Authorities and Migrant Communities in Multilingual COVID-19 Communication in Finland

Abstract

This article analyses the role of cooperation between the public authorities and migrant communities in multilingual communication on COVID-19 in Greater Helsinki, Finland. It focuses on the multilingual communication efforts of the three largest municipalities in the region (Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa), a public health authority (the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare THL) and the Finnish Red Cross. The article concentrates on the way cooperation with migrant communities and associations shaped and informed these communication efforts. Moreover, it seeks to identify the benefits and challenges of such cooperation. The article draws on Translation Studies research on community translation (public service translation), combining it with relevant studies from other fields such as social sciences and migration studies. In community translation, cooperation with migrant communities is regarded as essential for ensuring the quality and effectiveness of the translated communication. The analysis was based on interview data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results demonstrated the importance of cooperation for communicating information on COVID-19 to migrant communities. Nonetheless, the findings also revealed challenges in, for example, managing social risks for migrants cooperating with the public authorities.