f i t

February 2010

flash

FIT Executive Committee meeting February 2010 The FIT Executive Committee (EC) met in Johannesburg at the invitation of the South African Translators Institute (SATI) on 6 and 7 February 2010. One observer from SATI attended part of the meeting. Advertising in FIT media A policy on advertising in the various FIT media was finalized. A media kit will be circulated among potential advertisers. FIT communication and interaction Various aspects for improving the content of the FIT Website were discussed, including how regional centres should be accommodated. A new column will contain news reflecting FITs cooperation with UNESCO and a page will be developed where various partner associations will introduce themselves and advertise events. FIT will expand its interaction with a range of international and regional organizations, in some cases through mutual membership and in others through a sharing of news, publications and events. FIT corporate identity The Federations logo has been registered for protection within the European Union. Translation of FIT documentation The volume of translation required by FIT is growing with its increase in communication with members. It has therefore been decided to offer French and English translators from member associations the opportunity to volunteer their services to assist FIT, in the same way that those serving on Council and the FIT committees volunteer their time and expertise. A pool of translators will be established and a coordinator appointed to organize translations for the FIT website, messages to members and related documentation. We hope that members will help us to improve FITs service in this way. Benefits for FIT ID card-holders The first tangible benefit linked to holding a FIT ID card is being negotiated a discount on language-related titles from a major publisher. Details will be made available in the near future. Further benefits will be added as they are negotiated. International Translation Day FIT is exploring, with UNESCO's help, how to feature ITD on the list of UN days of international observance. The theme for ITD 2010 is Translation Quality for a Variety of Voices. A press release will be made available shortly. FIT visibility FIT President Marion Boers and Secretary General Frans De Laet represented FIT at the CIUTI Forum held in Geneva on 28 and 29 January. The event was attended by several hundred representatives of the T&I profession and many interesting papers were presented. In addition, the FIT representatives were able to meet their counterparts from other organizations and raise FITs profile considerably.

FIT Flash February 2010

Committees and regional centres Four committees submitted their programmes of work for approval by the Council. The programmes will be published on the committee pages on the website in due course. Additional members have been proposed for some committees. The Latin American and European regional centres continue with their work. A regional centre covering Asia, Oceania and North America is being considered. EULITA FIT has followed the establishment of EULITA (European Legal Interpreters and Translators Association) and remains abreast of their activities. The president of the transitional Executive Committee is former FIT secretary general and committee chair Liese Katschinka. 2011 FIT World Congress The final logo for the congress in San Francisco was presented to the EC and will be released together with the congress theme in March. The open congress takes place from 1 to 4 August 2011 and the first announcement and call for papers will be made at the end of March. FIT representation at forthcoming events (FebruaryMay 2010) 1820 March 2010: ATA Translation Company Division Mid-Year Conference Scottsdale, Arizona, USA http://www.ata-tcd.com/ (FIT representative: Jiri Stejskal) 1819 March 2010 : EU SCIC-Universities Conference Brussels, Belgium (FIT representative: Patricia Alarcon) 1316 April 2010: LISA Forum USA San Francisco Bay Area, USA (FIT representative: Jiri Stejskal) 1012 May 2010: GALA conference: The language of Business The Business of Language Prague, Czech Republic (FIT representative: Jiri Stejskal) 1216 May 2010: Fifth Latin American Congress of Translation and Interpretation, organised by the Colegio de Traductores Pblicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Argentina (FIT representative: Frans De Laet) FIT events The FITLit Committee is organizing an event at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, on 19 November 2010 with the title World literature francophonie Jean Genet and censorship in literary translation. Meetings The EC and Council will meet in Moscow, Russia, between 27 and 29 May 2010.

Happy New Year Happy Year of the Tiger

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF TRANSLATORS

Editors: Marion Boers Frans De Laet Sheryl Hinkkanen Miriam Lee Vronique St-Pierre FIT Flash February 2010 Please distribute widely 2