Our Mission
Where Every Language Finds its Voice.
Our Challenge
Why we Started
New York State took an important step toward expanding language access when Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order No. 26 in 2011, which orders all executive State agencies to translate vital documents into the six most common state languages (“statewide languages of translation”) and to offer interpretation services to individuals in their primary language. However, even after the implementation of the Executive Order, significant language access barriers remain.
Lack of language access is one of the most significant barriers New York’s immigrant communities face when accessing critical State services.
Our Solution
Our Campaigns
1
Develop language services worker-owned cooperatives.
2
Create a Community Legal Interpreter Bank.
Our Story
The Language Justice Collaborative, previously known as the Language Access Coalition, was formed in 2016 to advocate for New York City to update and expand its language access policy. The collaborative includes African Communities Together, Asian American Federation, MASA and the New York Immigration Coalition. Each of our organizations has a long history of advocating for language accessibility for immigrant New Yorkers. The coalition aims to fight particularly for speakers of languages of limited diffusion (LLDs), which include African languages, many Asian languages, and indigenous Latin American languages.
