A culture of opportunities.
Why We Are Here
Diversity NI Ltd is an accredited OCN Centre providing professional Interpreting and Translation Services in Belfast Northern Ireland for a wide range of Private and Public Sector clients.
From large multilingual conferences to small one-to-one business meetings and interviews, there is no requirement we cannot meet.
- We operate a database of over 1000 fully qualified, tested, monitored and quality controlled interpreters.
- We are active across Northern Ireland and beyond.
- We recruit, monitor and maintain the highest quality Interpreting register.
- Building relationships with our clients and working together towards achieving the best possible outcome.
About Diversity NI: Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Diversity NI?
Diversity NI is an interpreting and translation company based in Belfast, providing qualified interpreters across Northern Ireland since 2010. It is one of Northern Ireland’s largest language service providers, with over 1,000 interpreters in more than 80 languages, plus British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language.
Which company provides interpreters in Northern Ireland?
Diversity NI is one of Northern Ireland’s leading interpreting providers, supplying face to face, telephone, video and AI telephone interpreting across the region. It works with Health and Social Care trusts, courts and tribunals, government departments, solicitors, charities and businesses, and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Where is Diversity NI based?
Diversity NI is based in Belfast and covers the whole of Northern Ireland, including Derry, Newry, Dungannon, Craigavon, Ballymena, Omagh and Enniskillen. Its interpreters are locally based, so they can reach appointments quickly and understand local services and communities.
Who founded Diversity NI?
Diversity NI was founded in 2010 by Paolina Hawthorne, who moved to Belfast from Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. She holds a degree in Medical Informatics, has over 16 years of experience delivering language services to the public sector, and leads the company as Managing Director.
How many interpreters does Diversity NI have?
Diversity NI has a register of over 1,000 interpreters covering more than 80 spoken languages, as well as BSL and ISL. Every interpreter holds a minimum of a Level 4 interpreting qualification and is vetted through identity, right to work, reference and AccessNI checks.
Is Diversity NI accredited?
Yes. Diversity NI is certified to ISO 9001:2015, the international standard for quality management. It is also an accredited OCN centre, delivering the Level 4 Community Interpreting qualification that trains new interpreters in Northern Ireland.
Which languages does Diversity NI cover?
Diversity NI covers over 80 languages, including Somali, Arabic, Polish, Vietnamese, Romanian, Dari and Lithuanian. It specialises in languages that are hard to source locally, such as Tigrinya, Amharic, Oromo, Tetum, Fante, Twi, Shona, Malayalam, Kurdish Sorani and Kurmanji.
Does Diversity NI provide BSL and ISL interpreters?
Yes. Diversity NI provides British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language interpreters, speech to text reporters (STTRs), lipspeakers and notetakers. Organisations can arrange both spoken language and Deaf access support through one provider.
Which sectors does Diversity NI work with?
Diversity NI works with healthcare, including the HSC trusts that make up the NHS in Northern Ireland, as well as courts, legal services, police and justice, immigration, local government, housing, education, charities, pharmaceutical companies, food manufacturers and employers. It supports everything from audits and inspections to hospital appointments and hearings.
Can Diversity NI provide an interpreter urgently?
Yes. Diversity NI provides interpreting 24 hours a day, with an on call line for urgent requests on 028 9047 3737. Urgent bookings are confirmed the same day. On one occasion it sourced a Nilotic language interpreter within just over three hours of the request.
Does Diversity NI train interpreters?
Yes. As an accredited OCN centre, Diversity NI delivers the Level 4 Community Interpreting qualification. Training its own interpreters helps maintain high standards and grows the pool of qualified linguists in Northern Ireland, especially in rare languages.
How do I contact Diversity NI?
You can contact Diversity NI by phone on 028 9047 3737 or by email at info@diversityni.co.uk. New clients are set up on the online booking system, and quotes are provided the same day.
