Due to international and internal migration as well as local ethnic diversity most societies worldwide have a wealth of different languages at their disposal. 

Nevertheless, patients who do not speak the same language as their health care provider are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to accessing healthcare services and ensuring adequate treatment quality. Health care providers often rely on family members or cleaning staff as interpreters or have to resort to machine translation.

Despite these challenges for patients as well as health care providers worldwide, most health facilities and systems lack standardized approaches to interpreting services, multilingual orientation, or policies that address linguistic diversity comprehensively.

This conference brings together researchers from various disciplines, health care providers, artists and experts from various fields to discuss advantages and limitations of current approaches from multiple perspectives and to present new ways of providing communication besides languages barriers. 

The varied programme includes lectures, seven workshops, a best practice pitch session and a panel discussion. The Berlin Center for Global Engagement (BCGE) at Berlin University Alliance (BUA) was asked to contribute to a workshop on "Partnership with the Global South: Challenges and Options." Dr Sarah Wessel from the BCGE together with Prof Leslie Swartz, Stellenbosch University, and Dr Lily N. A. Kpobi, University of Ghana, will facilitate the workshop.

By linking research, clinical experience, and stakeholders’ expertise the conference intends to develop sustainable solutions to improve health equity and to strengthen global health systems.

26 + 27 June 2026, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany