The City of San Antonio provides simultaneous, multi-language transparency for residents

Get the PDF

Many governments now provide both live- and on-demand meeting video webcasts — but the residents of San Antonio, Texas had a need for advanced accessibility.

The City of San Antonio, founded 300 years ago by a Spanish expedition from Mexico, is now the second-largest city in Texas. Nearly 42% of San Antonio residents speak Spanish at home; of those, almost 30% are not fluent in English. With over 70 public meetings per year, the City wanted to make sure they were providing those citizens the opportunity to engage with their local government.

Location

San Antonio, TX, United States

Population

1.529 million

Products

Swagit Video

Modules

Multi-Language Translation, Multi-Destination Streaming, Closed Captioning, Search by Spoken Word

The Need

“For the purpose of increased transparency, the City of San Antonio chose to simultaneously broadcast their live meetings in both English and Spanish, with closed captioning on the English feed,” said David Owusu, Director of Streaming Media at Swagit Productions, LLC. “The City set a goal for process innovation, and we had their solution.”

City-of-San-Antonio-City-Council-Chambers-300x200

The Solution

San Antonio uses Swagit video to broadcasts their government meetings in two simultaneous streams - one in English and one in Spanish.

Using Swagit’s EASE™ encoders and streaming services, the City now broadcasts their live video feed for government meetings in two simultaneous streams.

Each stream uses the same HD video. However, the primary stream includes the meeting’s live audio feed as well as closed captioning in English, and the secondary stream replaces the broadcast audio with a live Spanish voiceover translation. On-demand Spanish-language meeting videos are paired with meeting agendas in Spanish as well.

In addition, through Swagit’s advanced technology, residents can search captions for key words spoken during the meeting.

Multi-destination Streaming

The City broadcasts their meetings live in San Antonio on TVSA, which is available on Spectrum Cable digital channel 21/99, Grande channel 20, Uverse channel 99, and online.

San Antonio’s programming can be viewed on the City’s municipal channel or from any device that is connected to the internet at www.sanantonio.gov/TVSA/liveontheweb.

San Antonio TVSA City Council and Public Meetings

The Benefit

An award-winning solution

In June 2018, the City of San Antonio received its seventh All-America City Award by the National Civic League for the City’s work in promoting equity through inclusive civic engagement. “This award exemplifies the welcoming spirit of San Antonio, where all residents, regardless of their ethnicity, language and age, feel welcomed by and engaged with their local government,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.

The City continues to ensure both English- and Spanish-speaking resident inclusiveness and engagement by implementing Swagit’s solutions. Initiatives like this are a testament to the City’s core values: embracing innovation that is driven by continuous improvement.

It’s a great honor to receive the All-America City Award again this year, which serves as a testament of our commitment to making San Antonio an inclusive city and the progress we’ve made increasing civic engagement.”

Sheryl Sculley City Manager, City of San Antonio, TX

About Swagit by Rock Solid Technology

In a world where local government staff is stretched thin, trying to accomplish a never-ending list of responsibilities, an increasing number of municipalities are offloading infrequent, but highly technical tasks to trusted partners.

Swagit hands-free video streaming takes the production work of sharing public meetings and events off of your plate, and places it in the hands of professionals.

More from Rock Solid

Webinar The American Rescue Plan (ARPA) and Technology Solutions

For over a year, local government has stepped up to support communities through the pandemic. Now, the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, is here to provide local governments with much-needed funding to lay the foundation for a strong and equitable recovery.

Webinar What Citizens Want From Local Government Digital Services

Thought leaders from GovTech and ELGL cover findings from the What Citizens Want research report and share strategies for how your local government can become an omnichannel organization in this on-demand webinar.

eBook Hybrid Meetings: How the Pandemic has Affected Public Meetings

In a recent survey, we asked city officials from across the country about how virtual meetings have impacted resident engagement throughout the pandemic, and whether they plan to evolve toward a hybrid approach as in-person restrictions are lifted. This new ebook has all the answers, and you're going to want to read this data.