Thereareindustrystandardsforjustabouteverythinginside—thelighting, theaircirculation, thesoundproofing, howcomfortablethechairsare, but a copyofthatstandardcosts 96 Swissfrancsforsomereason, sowe'regonnalivewithoutthedetails.
Toavoidmuddlingthingstoomuch, theUNonlyallowsonemiddlemanlanguagewhentheygointo a relaysystem, sowhileyoucouldhearwordsthatwentfromArabictoEnglishtoSpanish, theywouldn't giveyou a liveinterpretationthathadgonefromArabicto
Funfact, freelanceinterpretersattheUNmake a devilish $666 a day, which I knowbecause I readtheUNandtheInterpretersAssociation 34-pageFreelanceEmploymentAgreementforfun, and I didn't evenhavetoforkover 96 Swissfrancsfortheprivilege.
From 1984 to 1985—theonlyyearforwhich I couldfindthestat I wanted—theUNspent a totalof $78 millionUSdollarsoninterpretation, equivalenttoover $235 milliontoday.
They'llknowthesubjectmatterandnichejargontheymaycomeacross, plustheygetadvancedcopiesofthedocumentsattendeeswillhave, andsometimeseven a copyofthespeechespeopleareplanningtodeliver.