brugfiguur

English translation: family and community liaison (officer)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Dutch term or phrase:brugfiguur
English translation:family and community liaison (officer)
Entered by: André Linsen

11:49 Mar 26, 2014
Dutch to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Education / Pedagogy / Kansengroepen/migranten
Dutch term or phrase: brugfiguur
I am looking for a fitting term to translate the woord "brugfiguur" in English. A "brugfiguur" is someone who acts as a contact person/mediator/problem solver between two groups of people, who "bridges" the cultural, behavioural, linguistic and/or other differences between these groups so that any misunderstandings may be prevented (or resolved).
I have often used the words contact person and mediator, but this does not always reflect correctly what the "burgfiguur" actually stands for.
André Linsen
Local time: 02:09
family and community liaison (officer)
Explanation:
See the additional context in the discussion entries.

I don't have any problem with "officer" myself, but if you're not keen on it, you could just leave it out.

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Note added at 3 hrs (2014-03-26 15:17:58 GMT)
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Or parent and community liaison:

"As part of a team, the Parent and Community Liaison serves as the connection between the school, home, and community to encourage parent and community involvement in school activities in order to enhance student success and satisfaction."
https://ppephiring.com/jobDesc.asp?JobID=7
Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States
Grading comment
I think this is most fitting in many a context. Thanks.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1liaison officer; liaison
Michael Beijer
4 +1family and community liaison (officer)
philgoddard
4bridge builder
Alexander Schleber (X)


Discussion entries: 8





  

Answers


16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
liaison officer; liaison


Explanation:
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaison_officer

'A liaison officer or LNO is a person that liaises between two organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities. Generally, they are used to achieve the best utilization of resources or employment of services of one organization by another. In the military, liaison officers may coordinate activities to protect units from collateral damage. They also work to achieve mutual understanding or unity of effort among disparate groups.[1] For incident or disaster management, liaison officers serve as the primary contact for agencies responding to the situation. Liaison officers often provide technical or subject matter expertise of their parent organization. Usually an organization embeds liaison officers in other organizations to provide face-to-face coordination.'


    Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaison_officer
Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:09
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 64

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kitty Brussaard: Either this or perhaps "bridge builder" (NL bruggenbouwer), depending on the wider context.
19 mins
  -> Thanks Kitty!

neutral  philgoddard: I think this is too nonspecific - who are they liaising with?
3 hrs
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58 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
bridge builder


Explanation:
"liaison officer" sounds a bit too "official" for me. I would have gone for mediator, but maybe that is not enough in some instances. "bridge builder" seems a good expansion of that term.

Alexander Schleber (X)
Belgium
Local time: 02:09
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
family and community liaison (officer)


Explanation:
See the additional context in the discussion entries.

I don't have any problem with "officer" myself, but if you're not keen on it, you could just leave it out.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2014-03-26 15:17:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or parent and community liaison:

"As part of a team, the Parent and Community Liaison serves as the connection between the school, home, and community to encourage parent and community involvement in school activities in order to enhance student success and satisfaction."
https://ppephiring.com/jobDesc.asp?JobID=7

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
I think this is most fitting in many a context. Thanks.
Notes to answerer
Asker: This does sound good to me.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Michael Beijer: parent/family and community liaison (officer) – both sound good
49 mins
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