Tag: philosophy
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Spotting Ethical-Washing in the Translation Industry: Lessons from Greenwashing

By Fardous Bahbouh, Researcher & Consultant on Labour Rights, Public Policy, and the Political Economy of the Translation Industry Greenwashing is a well-established concept in environmental and corporate debates. It describes situations in which companies market themselves as ethically or environmentally responsible while their actual practices fall short. Classic examples include Volkswagen’s “clean diesel” scandal…
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Good Translation Jobs Require Good Translation Companies: Why This Simple Logic Is Often Obscured — and Why Universities Must Remain Independent

By Fardous Bahbouh, Researcher & Consultant on Labour Rights, Public Policy, and the Political Economy of the Translation Industry Seriously, what comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “Better Together”? No, not the love song by Jack Johnson.Not the campaign for keeping Scotland in the UK.Not the UK’s debates to stay in the…
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Universities Must Learn from the Epstein Scandals: Do Your Damn Due Diligence and Protect Whistle-blowers

By Fardous Bahbouh, Researcher & Consultant on Labour Rights, Public Policy, and the Political Economy of the Translation Industry We all know it: the system is wrecked, but that should never stop us from trying to fix it. Maybe nothing can ever measure up to the horror those girls and young women lived through. The…
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Confronting Critical Blind Spots in Sustainability Discourse in Translation Studies: Advancing Ethical Labour Practices and Critiquing Profit-Driven Models

By Fardous Bahbouh, Researcher & Consultant on Labour Rights, Public Policy, and the Political Economy of the Translation Industry Introduction: Sustainability has become a widely endorsed and positively charged concept across translation industry studies, professional discourse, and policy debates. Yet closer examination reveals a paradox: while sustainability is frequently invoked, it is often operationalised through…
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The Problem with Challenging Structural Problems: Confronting multiple Stakeholders and Navigating Emotional and Professional Risks

By Fardous Bahbouh, Researcher & Consultant on Labour Rights, Public Policy, and the Political Economy of the Translation Industry As I approach the completion of my research on inequality and the almost non-existent labour rights in outsourced public service interpreting, I have reached a difficult but important realisation: researching systemic problems can be lonely, emotionally…
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Why Are Translators’ Rights Always Said to Be “Discussed Elsewhere”? Institutional Alignment with Commercial Interests as an Ethical and Strategic Failure

By Fardous Bahbouh, Researcher & Consultant on Labour Rights, Public Policy, and the Political Economy of the Translation Industry Translators’ and interpreters’ labour rights are often framed as merely a matter of low rates and consistently displaced in collaborations with commercial interests under the pretext of being out of scope or better addressed “elsewhere,” in…
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What Is the Real Cost of Outsourcing? My Letter to the House of Lords Public Services Committee

By Fardous Bahbouh, Researcher & Consultant on Labour Rights, Public Policy, and the Political Economy of the Translation Industry Dear Baroness Morris, I am truly grateful to you and the members of the Public Services Committee for your recent report on interpreting services in the courts. Your inquiry came at a critical time for justice—for…
