Zócalo Public Square Case Study
Chicago Event
August 15, 2025 | Zhou B Art
Center, 1029 W 35th St, Chicago,
IL 60609
New York City Event
October 09, 2025 | BRIC, 647
Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11217
San Diego Event
December 13, 2025 | Bread & Salt,
1955 Julian Ave, San Diego, CA
92113
The objective of this event series was to ensure full accessibility and language inclusion for Spanish-speaking audiences.
Two qualified, professional interpreters delivered comprehensive, real-time simultaneous interpreting services. This ensured bidirectional communication (English-Spanish / Spanish-English, or EN-ES/ES-EN) throughout the entire event, allowing Spanish-speaking attendees to participate in live discussions.
In addition, professional-grade interpreting equipment and on-site coordination services were provided to support a smooth and reliable experience for all participants.
Zócalo’s mission is to connect people to ideas and to each other, hosting vibrant public conversations that explore vital contemporary issues.
The specific events covered in this engagement were:
- “How Is Migration Woven Into America?”
- “What Is the Language of Taste?”
- “Where Does Deportation Come From?”
These titles clearly illustrate the events’ focus on critical, timely topics in the United States, specifically migration, cultural identity through food, and the complexities of deportation policy.
- What is Simultaneous Interpretation?: Simultaneous interpretation is a real-time language service in which interpreters listen to the speaker and deliver the interpretation immediately, allowing audiences to follow the conversation without pauses or delays.
- What is Direct Audio?: “Direct audio” refers to a clean, isolated sound signal traveling straight from the speaker’s microphone into the interpreter’s headset. This signal is free from room reflections, ambient noise, and the latency introduced by certain venue-specific sound systems (or technologies enabling high-quality, low-latency audio streaming).
- Why Does Direct Audio Matter for Interpretation Quality?: Without direct audio, interpreters must rely on the general public address system or the acoustic sound in the room, making it significantly harder to hear the speaker clearly, especially during fast-paced discussions or when audience participation is high. This compromises the interpreter’s ability to maintain focus and deliver the highest possible quality of simultaneous interpreting.
Two interpreters are simultaneously interpreting by speaking into a microphone transmitter and listening to the direct audio feed via headphones/earbuds connected to a laptop.
Challenge: Coordinating Direct Audio
- High-quality simultaneous interpreting requires a direct audio feed, which was requested in advance.
- AV and technical support were managed by different contracted vendors at each event, resulting in varied audio setups.
- This type of multi-vendor coordination is common in large-scale, multi-city events.
- Venue conditions differed by location:
- New York City & San Deiego: Smaller rooms with favorable acoustics allowed interpreters to work effectively without direct audio.
- Chicago: Large, open space with poor acoustics made a direct audio feed essential for accessibility.
Solution: Flexible Service Delivery and Proactive Collaboration
- Interpreters adapted to each environment while maintaining service quality whenever possible.
- In Chicago, the onsite accessibility coordinator:
- Collaborated with the AV vendor, interpreter team, and event coordinator
- Identified and resolved audio access needs prior to event start
- Successfully established a direct audio feed
Zócalo Public Square’s commitment to language access demonstrates what inclusive public programming can and should look like. By prioritizing accessibility across multiple cities and venues, Zócalo ensured that communities were not merely discussed, but fully present in the conversation.
We are grateful for Zócalo’s continued trust in ICS and for the collaborative partnership that made each event successful. This shared dedication to thoughtful planning and meaningful inclusion sets a powerful standard for cultural institutions and public forums nationwide.
Email ICS at info@inclusiveasl.com to explore how we can help make your next event fully accessible.
EVENT CASE STUDY
Inclusive Values in Action
Through professional English–Spanish simultaneous interpretation, Zócalo Public Square turned its commitment to diversity and inclusion into practice. Language access ensured Spanish-speaking attendees could fully engage in real-time discussions, participating as equal contributors rather than passive observers.
Centering Communities and Deepening Engagement
Providing bilingual access welcomed communities into conversations directly connected to their culture and lived experiences. This approach strengthened dialogue, fostered mutual understanding, and avoided the common pitfall of hosting events about communities without including them.
Equipment and Technical Support
ICS provided an integrated, end-to-end interpretation setup using exclusively ICS-owned equipment, including professional-grade transmitters and dedicated audience headsets. This ensured clear, real-time audio delivery for simultaneous interpretation, allowing attendees to fully follow and engage in the conversation in their preferred language. On-site technical support handled equipment setup, testing, and headset distribution, ensuring the system functioned smoothly from start to finish.
A Scalable Model for Inclusive Public Programming
Zócalo’s continued partnership with ICS across three cities and venues demonstrates that meaningful language access is achievable and replicable. These events set a clear benchmark for cultural institutions seeking to align inclusive values with inclusive design.
