Hybrid multilingual interpreting for the conference of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
- i. Context
- In October 2017, Mexico hosted the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a high-level meeting that brought together business leaders, international bodies and government representatives to discuss the issue of sustainability, innovation and economic development. The agenda included keynote speeches, panel discussions, and strategic sessions featuring international participants throughout the day.
Given the global character of the event and the diversity of the participants, it was indispensable to offer simultaneous interpreting in Spanish, English, Chinese and Japanese, ensuring fluid and accurate communication in all sessions. - ii. Challenges
- The client proposed a significant challenge: to provide an interpreting service at the highest linguistic and technical level, while optimizing the costs associated with transfers, accommodation and per diems.
This required finding specialized interpreters in language combinations that are relatively unusual in Mexico—including Japanese and Chinese—without compromising the quality of service or operational coordination of the event. - iii. Solutions
- CM Idiomas designed an innovative hybrid model that combined international talent with logistical efficiency:
- 1. A team of interpreters was formed based in Mexico, the US and Japan.
- 2. The interpreters specializing in Japanese worked from a remote interpreting booth in Japan.
- 3. The Japanese booth operated in a bi-directional mode and connected to the event systems as if it were physically on location.
- 4. The audience listened to the interpretation using the standard event equipment, without being aware of the operational difference.
- 5. The rest of the interpreters could take relay* interpreting from the Japanese booth, maintaining the standard dynamic of multilingual simultaneous interpreting.
- This model ensured that the best available profiles provided interpreting for each language combination, regardless of their geographical location.
- iv. Benefits
- 1. Significant reduction in costs of flights, accommodation and per diems
- 2. Access to highly specialized interpreters in each language.
- 3. Operational continuity and quality equivalent to a fully in-person set-up.
- 4. Greater flexibility in integrating international teams.
- 5. Implementation of a robust technological solution that set precedents for future events.
- 6. Based on this experience, CM Idiomas has replicated this hybrid system in multiple international projects.
- 7. In 2026, for example, we were asked to prepare a Swedish-Spanish interpreting service for a high-level meeting, bringing together talent from Sweden and Spain using this same approach.
- This project marked a turning point in how we approach simultaneous interpretation for global events. By combining international talent with technological solutions, CM Idiomas demonstrated that it is possible to optimize resources without sacrificing quality.
- Today, this model—designed before the rise of remote interpreting driven by the COVID-19 pandemic—is part of our standard portfolio of services and represents one of the most effective strategies for providing specialized, flexible, and innovative language coverage at high-level international meetings.
- * Relay: an interpreting technique in which an interpreter translates on the basis of another interpreted language (for example, from Japanese to English) when they don’t work directly from the original language.
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