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Government summits

Every delegation, in its own language, live

Baian provides AI live interpretation for government summits through delegates’ phones. Organisers decide whether certified human interpretation is required. Baian can run alongside interpreters or replace the booth setup where the event permits it.

How far behind the speaker?About 2.4 seconds with Baian. Lower is better.

How often Baian was preferredOver professional translations · English into each language

  • Arabic 58%preferred
  • Hindi 65.5%preferred
  • Korean 61.5%preferred

The line marks 50%: an even split.

Estimates; interpreter timing comes from a separate study. Sources and methods

On their own phones

What do attendees get?

Delegate access
A browser link or QR code
Interpretation plan
AI alone or alongside interpreters
Private meetings
Plan bilateral interpretation separately
Illustration. Attendees see the languages you choose for the event.

Against interpreters

What can’t a booth do?

  • No breaks

    BaianRuns for the whole session.

    InterpretersSwap about every 30 minutes.

  • Doesn’t tire

    BaianNo fatigue, however long it runs.

    InterpretersIn one study, meaning errors rose after 30 minutes.

  • Sentence-by-sentence translation

    BaianBuilt to translate the speech, not summarise it.

    InterpretersIn one study, omitted meaning in 350 of 590 segments.

  • Many languages at once

    BaianSeveral languages from one stage feed.

    InterpretersOne interpreter team per language.

  • A saved transcript

    BaianThe speech and each translation, saved.

    InterpretersSeparate transcription needed.

  • Listen back

    BaianDownload the translated audio afterwards.

    InterpretersOnly if someone records the booth.

For your AV team

Where can the translation go?

Phones, venue screens, your livestream or an existing headset system, all from one stage feed. A transcript is saved afterwards.

Connection guide for AV teams
Your sound deskOne stage feed
  • Audience phonesRead or listen after scanning a QR code.
  • Venue screensLive captions on a projector or LED wall.
  • LivestreamA caption overlay for OBS.
  • Headset systemTranslated audio through an audio interface.
  • TranscriptThe whole session, saved afterwards.

Planning your event

What should you plan for?

Start with the summit’s interpretation requirements

UN Geneva interprets statements made in any of the six official UN languages into the others. Its guidance asks speakers to provide written statements in advance and speak at a pace interpreters can follow. Collect the language needs of your delegations before deciding which audience channels to provide.

UN Geneva occasionally uses whispered interpretation for high-level private bilateral meetings with a very limited audience. Plan these separately from plenary interpretation. The organiser decides whether any part of the summit requires certified human interpretation.

Choose the provision for each delegation

Baian can replace the interpreter team and booth for agreed channels, with delegates using their own phones and headphones. If the summit retains human interpretation, tell each delegation which channels Baian supplies and how delegates should find them.

At Qatar Foundation’s QIYADA in Doha on 25 and 26 September 2026, attendees followed Arabic and English on phones. Baian’s event team confirms that the interpreter booths were taken down and no translation headsets were distributed.

The QIYADA interpretation setup ↗
Include the chair and delegate microphones

Rehearse the chair’s microphone and the microphones delegates will use for questions. Check that an unscripted exchange reaches the translation channel as clearly as a prepared statement. Include diplomatic titles and the names of the delegations in that test.

Follow a change of speaking language

Before the session starts, enable Multiple spoken languages if the chair and delegates use different supported languages. Test a handover from a speech to a question while a reviewer stays on the same audience channel. Agree how the chair will handle any interruption to interpretation during the summit.

Customer story · QIYADA, Doha

Two days. One QR code on the stage screen.

At Qatar Foundation’s QIYADA conference, attendees scanned the code and followed Arabic and English on their own phones. The interpreter booths were taken down.

Dates
25 and 26 Sept 2026
Languages
Arabic, English
Booths
None
Read the story
The QIYADA stage screen showing Baian’s QR code, asking attendees in English and Arabic to scan it for translation

Want to test it with your event?

Tell us your languages, audience size and sound setup. For up to 10,000 listeners at once, we’ll confirm capacity and support before you book.

Discuss your event ↗WhatsApp Explore audience languages →
Sources and methodsChecked 11 October 2026
  • Baian against professional translators (FLoRes)October 2026

    Caption Tool scored above the translators in Hausa, Swahili, Tamil and Urdu (preferred on 67% to 75% of sentences). Baian’s live interpreter had about the same overall quality in Arabic, Hindi and Korean.

  • Live delay13 to 15 October 2026

    Median 2.1 seconds across 53 recordings in 15 languages (1.3 to 2.7 seconds per recording).

  • How quickly words appear13 to 15 October 2026

    Estimated medians: the speaker’s words appear in their own language about 1.0 seconds after they are spoken, and the first translation covering a word about 2.4 seconds after it.

  • European Parliament interpreters2019

    Median 2.69 seconds behind the speaker, across 180 speeches.

  • Interpreters on long turns1998

    About 30 minutes is the recommended turn. Meaning errors rose steadily after 30 minutes on task (pilot study, five professionals).

  • What simultaneous interpreters leave out2024

    Part of the meaning was missing in 350 of 590 speech segments.