We are a co-operative of independent conference interpreters with an office in Amsterdam. Our language service was the first of its kind in the Netherlands when it was founded more than four decades ago. All Congrestolken interpreters (see below) are members of the International Association of Conference Interpreters, AIIC. In addition to our members, we work with an extensive global network of more than 2900 AIIC interpreters.
Congrestolken provides interpreters who are academically trained and work at the highest international and national level (UN, EU, national governments).
Notes on language classification according to AIIC:
A language: The interpreter’s native language into which they interpret from all their working languages (also called an active language.)
B language: A language that the interpreter masters at near-native level and into which they interpret, but usually not from all their working languages (active language.)
C language: A language from which the interpreter interprets into their A (native) language. This is a passive language, i.e. the interpreter does not work into this language.
Examples: An interpreter with an A-C-C-C language combination works from three passive languages into their native language, but does not interpret back into any of these languages.
An interpreter with an A-B combination works back and forth between their mother tongue and a foreign language.
An interpreter with an A-B-C-C combination works back and forth between their native language and one foreign language and has two more working languages from which they interpret into their native language but not the other way round.
Anne-Kathrin Langenkamp
Conference interpretation degree from the University of Heidelberg, Germany
German (A), French (C), English (C), Dutch (C), Swedish (C), Italian(C)
European Commission and Council, European Parliament, European Patent Office
Astrid van der Putten
Post graduate diploma in Conference Interpreting Techniques, Polytechnic of Central London, Institute of Linguists, London, International Law at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
English (A), German (C), French (C), Dutch (C)
European Commission, European Court of Justice, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, European Patent Office, multinationals, Council of Europe, European works councils
Birte Priebe
Conference interpretation degree from the University of Heidelberg, Germany; MA in Eastern European Studies from the Free University of Berlin
German (A), English (B), Dutch (C), French (C), Danish (C), Russian (C)
Ministry of Transport and Urban Affairs, Berlin; European Commission, Council and Parliament, European Court of Justice, Eurojust, political foundations, private companies in Germany and the Netherlands, works councils, multinationals
Christa Schröder
Conference interpretation degree from the University of Mainz, Germersheim, Germany
German (A), French (C), Dutch (C), English (C)
European Commission and Council, European Parliament, Dutch ministries, multinationals
Christina Reis
Conference interpretation degree from the University of Heidelberg, Germany
Spanish (A), German (C), English (C), French (C)
European Commission and European Council, International Criminal Court (ICC), Europol, Eurojust, trade unions, multinationals, ministries, works councils
Eva Bodor
Conference interpretation degree from the University of Vienna, Austria; Law studies at the University of Amsterdam
German (A), Dutch (C), English (C), Hungarian (C)
European Commission and European Parliament, European Court of Justice, Dutch, German and Hungarian ministries, law firms
German and Hungarian examiner at the Dutch Institute for Court Interpreters and Legal Translators
Hildo Bos
Degree in Russian Language and Literature from the University of Amsterdam, Cambridge Conference Interpretation Course
Dutch (A), Russian (B), English (B)
Dutch ministries, World Bank, European Commission and Council, Europol, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Sworn interpreter
Inge Piket
Conference interpretation degree from the University of Heidelberg, Germany
German (A), Dutch (C), English (C), French (C), Italian (C)
European Commission and Council, European Parliament, Europol, Eurojust
Irina van Erkel
Degree from the University of Foreign Languages (Moscow), various interpretation-oriented courses (KIT, legal interpretation, Cambridge Conference Interpretation Course).
Russian (A), English (B), Dutch (B)
Various government institutions, Euratom, Europol, Eurojust, NATO, GasUnie, Shell and P&O
Jeff Lewis
B.A. Honours in French and German, M.A. in German
English (A), French (C), German (C), Dutch (C)
International law, financial meetings and organised crime (e.g. at the International Court of Justice, shareholders’ meetings and Eurojust)
Lee K. Mitzman
Harvard University, Georgetown University (conference interpretation), AIIC French immersion courses
English (A), Dutch (B), French (C)
Law and finance (court hearings, depositions, shareholders’ meetings), government ministries, European Commission, Council of Europe, United Nations, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, European Patent Office, Eurojust
Sworn, translator of scientific books and texts
Madeleine Schalken
European Studies at the University of Amsterdam and the Institut des Hautes Etudes Européennes in Strasbourg. Cambridge Conference Interpretation Course, European Commission translation traineeship
French (A), Dutch (A), English (C)
Ministries, Europol, Eurojust, multinationals
Sworn, financial and legal translations
Manuela Degenkolb
Interpretation and translation degree from Humboldt University in Berlin, Cambridge Conference Interpretation Course
German (A), English (B), Dutch (C), French (C)
Europol, Eurojust, Permanent Court of Arbitration, European Patent Office
Maria Grazia Grossi Tordoir
Interpretation at the Scuola per Interpreti e Traduttori in Florence, Italy, Master in Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Milan, Italy
Italian (A), French (B), English (C), Spanish (C)
Europol, Eurojust, Council of Europe
Mariette Cassé-Kamper
French language and literature at Utrecht University, interpretation traineeship at the European Commission
Dutch (A), French (C), English (C), Italian (C), German (C), Swedish (C)
European Commission and Council, European Parliament, European Court of Justice, Europol, Eurojust, multinationals
Marina Lavoie
Translation and interpretation degree from the University of Montreal, Canada
French (A), English (B), Italian (C), Serbian (C), Croatian (C), Bosnian (C)
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, staff interpreter from 2000-2014 (ICTY), International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), International Court of Justice (ICJ), Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), Rome-based UN agencies, Eurojust, Dutch Ministries
Patricia Heintz
Interpretation at the Institut Supérieur de Traducteurs et Interprètes, Brussels
French (A), German (C), English (C), Dutch (C), Spanish (C), Portuguese (C)
European Commission and Council, European Court of Justice, European Patent Office, International Criminal Court, Europol
Ricarda Gras
German, English and Dutch at the universities of Bonn, Cologne and Nijmegen, state-certified interpreter for Dutch and English, IHK Düsseldorf, Germany
German (A), English (B), Dutch (B)
Dutch and German ministries, law firms, multinationals
Sybelle van Hal-Bock
Dutch, Spanish and English interpretation at the Institut Libre Marie Haps, Brussels
Dutch (A), English (B), Spanish (B)
Dutch government ministries, Eurojust, law firms, patent cases, shareholders’ meetings, various multinationals, UEFA, FIFA (WC 2010, Johannesburg)
Sworn interpreter
Toby Screech
European Commission interpretation traineeship
English (A), Dutch (C), German (C), French (C)
European Commission and Council, European Patent Office, International Court of Justice, International Court of the Law of the Sea, Eurojust, Europol, Dutch ministries and courts, shareholders’ meetings of multinationals
Ute E. Sachs-Haanen
Sprachen- und Dolmetscher-Institut, Munich, Germany (state-certified German-English translator), Georgetown University, Washington D.C. (Certificate of Proficiency in Spanish and English Translation, Certificate of Proficiency as Conference Interpreter)
Spanish (A), English (B), German C, Dutch (C)
U.S. Department of State, World Bank, Organization of American States (OAS), Panamerican Health Organization, European Commission and Council, International Criminal Court, Europol
Véronique Chatterjee-Mars
Post-graduate Diploma in Interpreting techniques at The Polytechnic of Central London
French (A), English (C), Spanish (C), Portuguese (C),
UN, European Commission, International Court of Justice, International Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia, International Criminal Court