Saturday, September 30, 2017

Happy International Translation Day 2017!

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

International Translation Day (ITD) has been celebrated since 1953, on September 30th, the day of the Feast of Saint Jerome, under the auspices of the Féderation Internationale des traducteurs (FIT). Using the Catholic Church’s Calendar of Saints, Saint Jerome was selected patron Saint of Translators, as he is purported to have delivered the first complete Latin translation of the Bible, commissioned by Pope Damasus I. Saint Jerome's Latin translation of the Bible, from Greek, became officially known as the Vulgate. It was translated and compiled at the end of the Fourth century AD.


However, this year is special, because earlier during the year, on May 24, 2017, during the 82nd Meeting of the 71st Session of the United Nations, the General Assembly adopted UN resolution 71/288, which deeply recognizes:
"the practical contribution of language professionals, both in conference servicing and in the field, to furthering the cause of the United Nations, including in the maintenance of peace and security, peacekeeping, the promotion of human rights and operational activities for sustainable development,"
and decided on September 30th as International Translation Day, with an invitation to :
"all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations and individuals, to observe International Translation Day, in an appropriate manner and in accordance with national priorities, in order to raise awareness of the importance of professional translation, and stresses that the cost of such activities should be met from voluntary;"
FIT always celebrates International Translation Day (ITD) with a theme. Consonant with the preamble of UN Resolution 71/288, which recognizes that the strength of the world stems from its diversity, the theme selected by FIT, for ITD 2017, is Diversity.

Woohoo! September 30, 2017  is a day of many celebrations!

References
FIT - Féderation Internationale de Traducteurs
FIT - ITD 2017 Translation and Diversity
International Translation Day  
Nominis (Calendar of Saints)
http://nominis.cef.fr/
The British Library - Vulgate Gospels
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/vulgategosp.html
Wikipedia - Pope Damsus I
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Damasus_I

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