International Translation Day 2025

 Copyright ® Françoise Herrmann

Today is International Translation Day. A day designed to celebrate the role of translation in “connecting nations and fostering peace, understanding and development,” per the United Nations Resolution 71/288, proclaiming September 30th, International Translation Day, on May 24th, 2017.

Historically, International Translation Day dates back to 1953, when the International Federation of Translators selected September 30th, corresponding to the celebration of the Feast of Saint Jerome, a day in the Catholic liturgical calendar of Saints. This date was selected because Saint Jerome was a multilingual scholar of the 4th century, who was canonized for having first translated the Bible, from the original Hebrew and the Greek (Septuagint) versions, into a unified Latin version. Saint Jerome's more widely accessible Latin version of the Bible is called the Vulgate. During the 16th century, the Council of Trent subsequently proclaimed Saint Jerome's Vulgate the official version of the Bible for the Catholic Church.

The theme that the International Federation of Translators has selected for the year 2025 is Translation, shaping a world you can trust. A theme that relates to the AI shift in the world, and to the role that translators can play to oversee the trustworthy use of new translation technologies.

Cheers then to all translators, interpreters and terminologists! Happy International Translators Day!

References
FIT– Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs – International Federation of Translators.
https://en.fit-ift.org/
UN International Translators Day, Sept 30^th 2025.
https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-translation-day 
UN Resolution 71/288 – May 24^th 2017.
https://docs.un.org/en/A/RES/71/288

International Translation Day 2023

 Copyright ® Françoise Herrmann

September 30th, the Day of the Feast of Saint Jerome (1), is International Translation Day. A day to celebrate translation and raise awareness of the key role that professional translation plays  “in connecting nations and fostering peace, understanding and development”, according to the United Nations Resolution 71/288, proclaiming September 30th International Translation Day, on May 24, 2017. 

Below, the International Federation of Translators’ poster for this year’s celebration, illustrating the 2023 theme Translation unveils the many faces of humanity. 

Poster designed by Marta Saavedra

Note
(1) Saint Jerome, listed in the Catholic Liturgical Calendar, is known to have translated the Old Testament of the Bible from Hebrew to Latin, during the Fourth century AD. His Latin version of the Bible became known as the Vulgate, meaning the “commonly used” version. At the time, a Greek version of the Old Testament also existed, called the Septuagint, which the Pope Damascus I also commissioned Saint Jerome to revise. 

References
Féderation internationale des Traducteurs (FIT)
https://en.fit-ift.org/
United Nations - International Translation Day
https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-translation-day
United Nations Resolution 71/288
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N17/149/29/PDF/N1714929.pdf?OpenElement

International Translation Day 2022

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann 

The theme for the 2022 celebration of International Translation Day (ITD) is: A world without barriers,  Un monde sans barrières, Un mundo sin barreras. A theme expressed for the first time in the three official languages of the International Federation of Translators. Three official langauges, considering that Spanish was just recently voted by the XXII Statutory Congress, meeting in Varadero, Cuba,  on May 31- June 6,  2022, as the third official language of the Federation, together with the original French and English. 

International Translation Day is celebrated on September 30^th, since 1953, when the Federation selected the Day of the Feast of Saint Jerome, from the Catholic Liturgic Calendar of Saints.  Saint Jerome was a multilingual scholar, in the third century AD, who was later canonized for having first translated the Bible from the original Hebrew and the Greek (Septuagint) versions, into a unified Latin version, known as the Vulgate. 

More recently, on May 24, 2017, during the 71st Session of the Unites Nations General Assembly, September 30th was voted International Translation Day. This unanimous decision was set forth in UN Resolution A/RES/71/288, recognizing:

 "The role of translation in connecting nations, and fostering peace, understanding and development."  [UN A/RES/71/288]

This year’s theme celebrates the role of language professionals in building understanding across cultures and lasting peace. The poster, included below, was created by Jose Luis Palido, winner of the International Federation of Translators ITD poster competition. 

References

International Federation of Translators (IFT) - Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT) - Federación Internacional de Traductores (FIT)

https://fit-ift.org/22/welcome-to-fit/ 

International Translation Day (International Federation of Translators)

https://fit-ift.org/22/international-translation-day/

United Nations – International Translation Day 

https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-translation-day 

UN resolution A/RES/71/288 
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/71/288   

Terminology: Granma

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Yacht, guerrilla group, province, park, and daily paper... the term Granma is far more polysemic than you ever imagined.

In Cuba, the location of the International Federation of Translators (IFT) 2022 Congress, Granma is the name of the 60-foot yacht that took Fidel Castro, his brother Raul, Che Guevara, and seventy-nine revolutionaries, on November 25, 1956, on a perilous journey, from Tuxpan, in Veracruz, Mexico, to Playa Las Coloradas, at the southern tip of Cuba. The fighting began on the beach. Of the eighty-two that formed the "Granma group", twelve made it to the Sierra Maestra mountains, where the revolution began as the Granma group gained the trust of the local population, against the Batista regime in place. On January 1, 1959, the revolutionaries entered Havana in triumph, after defeating the Batista army, with the support of all the guerrillas that had formed during three years.

 

The Granma vessel was built in 1943, affectionately named "Granma" as a tribute to the original owner's grandmother. The revolutionaries bought it for the hefty sum of $15,000 USD. It is now housed in a mini glass museum of its own, in a park setting, wedged between the Museum of the Revolution, and the Museum of Fine Arts, in Havana, the capital of Cuba.

The area surrounding the 1956 landing of the Granma is now called the Granma Province, and the actual landing spot is now the Granma National Park (Parque Nacional Desembarco del Granma). Finally, Granma is also the name of the official daily newspaper of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party.

References

International Federation of  Translators (IFT) https://www.fit-ift.org/

Granma https://en.granma.cu/ 

International Translation Day (ITD) 2019

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Today is International Translation Day (ITD).

September 30^th was declared ITD on May 24,2017, when the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 71/288 on The role of language professionals in connecting nations and fostering peace, understanding and development. 

Official FIT ITD 2019 poster

September 30th is also the Day of the Feast of Saint Jerome, in the Catholic Liturgical Calendar. The Feast of Saint Jerome is the day that FIT (the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs / International Federation of Translators) initially selected for ITD, which was celebrated for many years prior to UN recognition. The Day of the Feast of Saint Jerome was selected, because Saint Jerome is known to have provided the first translation of the bible from the Old Testament in Hebrew to Latin, in the 4th century AD. Saint Jerome’s Latin version of the bible is known as The Vulgate (meaning "the commonly used" version of the bible). At that time, during the 4th century AD, a Greek translation of the Old Testament in Hebrew existed. The Greek translation of the Old Testament in Hebrew was called The Septuagint (meaning "the 70" or the version translated by 70 scholars), which Saint Jerome was also commissioned to revise by the Pope Damascus I.

The theme for this year’s celebration of ITD is connected to the celebration of 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL 2019). A year of celebrations launched at the UNESCO, at the beginning of 2019, on January 28, in Paris. IYIL2019 is intended both to raise awareness and to mobilize action on preserving endangered languages, estimated at 40% of the existing 6700 world languages. Indigenous languages support cultures and knowledge systems that are usually marginalized both politically and economically. Thus, in celebrating Indigenous languages as this year’s theme for ITD, the focus is on the capacity for translation both to include speakers of indigenous languages in larger conversations in support of their rights, and to widen access to services and information in indigenous native languages.

Indigenous languages and the people who speak them contribute to the knowledge, wealth and diversity of the global community. For example, indigenous knowledge (IK) in patenting activity is a striking example of both the extent of the indigenous contributions, and how translation might be of specific service to the causes that are being celebrated.

Indigenous knowledge (IK) also termed Traditional Knowledge (TK) is often passed down from one generation to the next in an oral tradition. For the purposes of determining the patentability of an invention, inventors and examiners are required in part to research the prior art of the claimed invention, arising in print. When none of the knowledge is printed, indigenous communities lose their claim to prior art and to a potential invention, plus all the financial and economic advantages that might ensue, after the patent is granted. In Vandana Shiva’s terms, this is more than loss, it is theft or "plunder" (e.g.; Shiva, 2000). 

Accordingly, certain US and European patents (e.g.; US5401504, EP436257) have been revoked, once the prior art was brought in as printed evidence, translated to an official language of the patent-granting agency, for re-examination. Likewise, the archiving of IK has begun at such institutions as India's TKDL (Traditional Knowledge Digital Library) and the UN WIPO TK (Traditional Knowledge) portal, where the IK is also translated to the official languages of the Intellectual Property [IP] Offices, enabling IK databases to be searched for prior art. 

References

History World

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac66

ITD 2019 - FIT - (Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs / International Federation of Translators) 

https://www.fit-ift.org/international-translation-day/

India – TKDL – Traditional Knowledge Digital Library

http://tkdl.res.in/tkdl/langdefault/common/Home.asp?GL=Eng

Saint Jerome 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Jerome

Shiva, V. (2002) Protect or plunder: Understanding Intellectual Property Rights. London, UK: ZED Books. 

UN – ITD – International Translation Day 

https://www.un.org/en/events/translationday/

UN – Resolution 71/288 – May 24, 2017 - The role of professional translation in connecting nations and fostering peace, understanding and development 

https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/71/288

UN- UNESCO –IYIL - 2019 Year of Indigenous languages 

https://en.iyil2019.org/

WIPO – World Intellectual Property Organization – Traditional Knowledge http://www.wipo.int/tk/en/tk/

US5401504 Use of turmeric in wound healing 

EP436257 Method for controlling fungi on plants by the aid of a hydrophobic extracted neem oil 

International Translation Day 2018

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

In 1953, the International Federation of Translators selected September 30th for International Translation Day. The date corresponds to the celebration of the Feast of Saint Jerome, a day in the Catholic liturgical calendar of Saints. Saint Jerome, was a multilingual scholar in the year 340 AD, who was canonized for having first translated the Bible from the original Hebrew and the Greek (Septuagint) versions, into a unified Latin version. Saint Jerome's more widely accessible Latin version of the Bible is called the Vulgate. During the 16th century, the Council of Trent subsequently proclaimed Saint Jerome's Vulgate the official version of the Bible for the Catholic Church. Saint Jerome's Vulgate thus replaced the various and incomplete former Vetus Latina (Old Italic) versions of the Bible, which had used only the Greek Septuagint translations as their source.

International Translation Day is now also officially part of the UN calendar of celebrations. On May 24, 2017, during the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly, September 30th was voted as International Translation Day. This unanimous decision is set forth in UN Resolution A/RES/71/288, recognizing:

 "The role of translation in  connecting nations, and fostering peace, understanding and development."  [UN A/RES/71/288]

This year, International Translation Day celebrates the “promotion of cultural heritage in changing times.” In particular, International Translation Day is celebrating the role of translation in promoting, supporting and safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. The selection of this theme arises in anticipation of the year 2019, during which the UN will be celebrating the International Year of Indigenous Languages of the World.

Happy International Translation Day! 

References
FIT - International Translation Day 2018
http://www.fit-ift.org/international-translation-day/Saint Jerome
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome
UN resolution A/RES/71/288 
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/71/288
UN 2019 International year of Indigenous Languages of the world
https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/news/2018/04/establishment-of-the-steering-committee-for-the-organization-of-the-2019-international-year-of-indigenous-languages/

Happy International Translation Day 2017!

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

International Translation Day (ITD) has been celebrated since 1953, on September 30^th, 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

http://www.fit-ift.org/

FIT - ITD 2017 Translation and Diversity

http://www.fit-ift.org/translation-and-diversity_itd_2017/

International Translation Day  

http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/71/288

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