Rosetta Stone Classroom: United Nations Staff Union International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

About

The ICTY is a United Nations court of law dealing with war crimes perpetrated during the conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990’s.

Since its inception in 1993, the ICTY has always had a staff union. A constant priority for the staff union has been to create unity and a sense of belonging for all of its members.

Like the ICTY, the union uses English and French as official working languages, while the UN has a further four - Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish. Court hearings and documents are all in “BCS” (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian) regarding war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. Members’ staff postings on foreign assignments and individual personal development requirements highlight the range of reasons for language training.

At a Glance

• Staff Union for ICTY (UNSU-ICTY) – a UN organisation
• Members of this union work in a UN court dealing with war crimes. UN ICTY is headquartered in The Hague Netherlands with field offices located in the former Yugoslavia
• The UNSU-ICTY has approximately 800 members (June, 2009), from more than 80 nationalities with more than 30 native languages
• http://www.ccisua.org/member_home

Challenge

In order to promote the interests of its members, the union sought a language-learning tool that would assist its members in their internationally mobile roles and fit with their working hours. Previous reliance on face-to-face tutorials offered a very limited number of courses and was relatively expensive.

The Staff Union’s members, many who are multi-lingual, represent a wide range of professions, from barristers and building technicians to criminal analysts and interpreters. They have an equally diverse knowledge of languages and span of language needs. Some have a pressing need to learn a new language ahead of an international move, others use new languages to enhance their communication with colleagues, friends or family.

Solution

Rick Cottam, President United Nations Staff Union ICTY, along with a committee, researched various options to support their organisation’s existing language proficiency exams and tutorials, and to suit every member from translators to first-time learners of a second language. Global access was paramount and Rosetta Stone Enterprise was the answer. Members receive a unique log-in to gain access from any internet connection, to any one of the language within the Rosetta Stone portfolio. Managers can monitor progress and shape content.

The Rosetta Stone team worked alongside ICTY union staff to understand the specific requirements of the organisation in order to provide them with the right Rosetta Stone package for their needs.

Rick said: “The thing that took us in the direction of Rosetta Stone was the online availability and the number of languages offered. That and the fact that from day one we were listened to by an account manager who wanted to make this work for our organisation.

“Rosetta Stone was by far the most suitable solution for us because of its accessibility: it’s online, not installed on one computer, and it can be administered remotely.”

Results

Rosetta Stone language learning is now offered to all ICTY staff union members for career and personal development.

As the United Nations has six official languages, it is beneficial for UN staff to be able to take proficiency exams and attend lessons with tutors and use Rosetta Stone at home to amplify their learning.

Rick said: “We have a large percentage of our membership from the conference language field. Most of them have taken up the option of language-learning access through Rosetta Stone. Many of them speak three or four languages already and would then take up a more challenging language.”

Apart from the day-to-day mobility of employees and the ease of access from home, career advancement within the UN can take employees far and wide. Rick said: “The UN is a multilanguage employer. If you want to progress in your career there are many opportunities to work around the globe and it very much helps if you can speak a few languages.”

About Rosetta Stone Ltd

Rosetta Stone is changing the way the world learns languages. Rosetta Stone offers a highly personalised, interactive platform that is acclaimed for its speed and power to unlock the natural language learning ability in everyone. Available in more than 30 languages, the Rosetta Stone language learning solution is used by schools, organisations and millions of individuals in over 150 countries throughout the world.

The company was founded in 1992 on the core beliefs that learning a language should be natural and instinctive, and that interactive technology can powerfully replicate the immersion experience and activate the natural language-learning ability in learners of any age.