STRIVE: Sustainable Translations to Reduce Inequalities and Vaccination hEsitancy

In June 2021, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control warned about “emerging evidence of low COVID-19 vaccination rates in some migrant and ethnic minority groups in the EU/EEA”. The STRIVE project brings together experts in translation, intercultural communication, and crisis management, to investigate cultural and linguistic gaps in the Italian COVID-19 vaccination campaign. The project explores migrant attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine, the (un)availability of translated information about COVID-19, and the organisations that are working to bridge the gaps and include migrants in the vaccination campaign. The project is funded by the British Academy. The project team works with migrants, refugees, NGOs, and health authorities in Rome and in the region of Emilia Romagna, to compare regional approaches to including migrants in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. STRIVE contributes to the achievement of goals set by the World Health Organisation in 2017, concerning the importance of providing people with accurate information in languages that they can understand in a health crisis.