A word from clients of the Tolken Centrale

The Tolken Centrale can look back on 25 years of experience and a large and satisfied clientele. Here is a selection of our clients who would like to explain why they are so satisfied, with an introduction by our Senior Account Manager for Interpreters, Matthijs Kooyman.

Matthijs Kooijman about his work as Senior Manager Interpreters at the Tolken Centrale
“One of my tasks is to make sure our clients are provided with the correct interpreters on time. I also make all the necessary technical arrangements. My work at the Tolken Centrale is fascinating, as it affords me a look behind the scenes in the lives of people, companies and organisations. That's mainly because of the special situations in which our interpreters often work. They're deployed in all kinds of places, from companies and prisons to the amusement world and radio and TV. They speak to interesting people and experience weird and wonderful things. That's what makes this work the most fascinating job you can imagine for the Tolken Centrale as a whole."

Concorde assists Parisian metro
Since the takeover of the De Tolken Centrale, a growing number of companies choose a Concorde interpreter. ITBholland, a tour operator for the business market, needed an interpreter for a business discussion between managers of the Parisian metro and the Dutch FNV trade union, last January. Margot Rozema, senior account manager at ITBholland, explains: "In Janaury, we were asked to arrange a visit by a group of Parisian metro managers to Holland. Their programme included a discussion with FNV representatives. Here's the article about Concorde interpreters for ITBholland.

"In such cases, we also provide an interpreter. So I called in the assistance of Concorde's Tolken Centrale. And I must say that it was all a great success. Both our client, the RATP people and we ourselves were very satisfed with the service. The interpreter was a French lady who has been living in Holland for 20 years. At the client's request, the interpreter chose to interpret consecutively, i.e. giving a translation every few sentences rather than continuously. Our guests felt the interpreter explained things well. An interpreter mustn't be too much to the forefront, and this interpreter was perfect."

Successful interpreting for Fortis
Some interpreters really come into their own when things gets exciting. So too did the four Tolken Centrale interpreters called in to assist at the latest shareholder meeting of the Fortis Holding in Utrecht. They were deployed as interpreters for Dutch-English and Dutch-French.

Fortis is undergoing considerable turbulence, and so this meeting was also under pressure of course. However, Fortis was extremely satisfied with the services offered by the Tolken Centrale. Despite the very long meeting and the heated discussions, our interpreters were able to clearly communicate all the contributions correctly and clearly to the participants.

Omara Nahar, press officer at Fortis Holding: "We were extremely happy with the interpreting services by Concorde's Tolken Centrale. The satisfied reactions afterwards were proof of the success. Our shareholders really appreciated the availability of interpreters. The meeting in Utrecht was held in Dutch but there are many French and English speakers. Shareholders have a way of making it known if they're at all dissatisfied. We liked the professional atttitude to their work. A shareholder meeting is hard work for us, and it's helpful to have one less thing to worry about."

World Press Photo interpreted
No less than seven Chinese press photographers won prizes at this year's World Press Photo event in Amsterdam. Our Chinese interpreter supervised the Chinese guests during the ceremony and receptions, which were attended by many foreign colleagues. Sasja de Bie of the World Press Photo was very satisfied with the assistance by the Tolken Centrale. Here's the article on the ‘Tolken Centrale and World Press Photo’.

"The interpreter did a great job during the weekend in which the prizes were awarded. We were particularly delighted with the initiative he took to make life as easy as possible for our guests. The meetings around the awards ceremonies and the exhibiiton in the Old Church are very important for photo journalists. They speak to their colleagues there, but also with agents and press offices. Thanks to the interpreter, they were able to make the most of the opportunity," says Sasja de Bie of the World Press Photo. The award for the best press photo in the world has been held in Amsterdam since 1955. The prize enjoys world-wide fame and has gained the reputation as being the prize to win for a press photographer. This year saw more than 69,268 photos submitted by 5,508 photographers! There were 62 winners in the end, divided among 10 categories. The exhibition of the best, more beautiful, most impressive and most poignant photos in the Old Church attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. The exhibiton is open until 28th June this year. For more information, check out http://www.worldpressphoto.org/