MCIS’ Social Purpose
To uphold the human right to be informed, heard and understood.
MCIS’ Social Benefit Initiatives Fund
MCIS’ Social Benefits Initiative (SBI) Fund was created in 2016 with the objective to provide free language services to individuals and small organizations without the relevant funding for the purpose of creating intentional social impact. Social impact, a significant, positive change that addresses pressing social challenges, is a deliberate commitment to an identified set of actions and activities (e.g. programs, services or advocacy) that create positive social outcomes by reducing inequalities. Our commitment and strategies around advocating for improved access to critical information and services inclusive of health, employment, civic, legal and political rights, focus on two key areas:
- With language advocacy programs and initiatives, we promote language rights as human rights and are primarily interested in:
- Growing the seed of the provincial celebration of Language Advocacy Day we helped to get off the ground with the Language Access Coalition of Canada (LACC) locally, coast to coast to coast, and
- Collaborating on language access research and information sharing globally as one of the proud co-founders of the Global Coalition for Language Rights contributing to and shaping the language justice movement worldwide.
- With the provision of free or subsidized language services we learn about the systemic issues and language access gaps while creating innovative and more equitable language solutions. For example, whenever we notice large incoming migration movements to Canada or anticipate surges of non-funded requests, we respond by opening designated and targeted reach out through our free Humanitarian Help channels (please open a new page by copying the top text on this page https://www.mcislanguages.com/advocacy) to capture them by creating Interpreter cohorts (e.g. Syrian, Rohingya and Afghani Community Interpreters cohorts) and connect with language professionals on the ground.
Here are additional examples of projects initiated or supported by the MCIS Social Benefits Fund 2016 – 2022:
- Healing Voices, Interpreting for Survivors of Trauma
- Our Language Rights Conference/ Language Advocacy Day 2022
- Our Language Rights Conference/ Language Advocacy Day 2021
- Homelessness Connect 2018-2022
- Covid-19 Help Fund 2019-2021 users’ stories (and multilingual resources)
- Pop-up Translation Clinic (@ The 519)
- Language Justice Series – Psiphon/ Localization Lab
- Language Advocacy on the Periphery Series
- Supporting language rights of LGBTQ asylum seekers and Ontario migrant workers
- Hackathons:
- unConference:
How MCIS Social Purpose Thrives

Interested to find out more?
- FIND OUT if you or your organization is eligible for free services!
- JOIN the Language Advocacy Day 2023 (#LAD23) coalition!
- COLLABORATE! Are you interested in language rights, advocacy, or partnerships, and you have an idea to share – contact us and subscribe to Our Language Rights Newsletter monthly!