I am working with the Tioga Arts Council to celebrate in Owego for the first time a celebration of International Translation Day.

The event will take place on Sunday, September 29 at Riverow Bookshop, 187 Front Street in Owego.

In 2017, The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to recognize the role of translation in transnational communication and understanding and in fostering peace. The same resolution declared September 30 as UN International Translation Day, now celebrated annually around the world. September 30 was chosen for the date because it is the feast of St. Jerome, who is considered the patron saint of translators.

In celebration of 2019, UN International Year of Indigenous Languages, this year’s theme is Translation and Indigenous Languages.

To learn more about UN International Translation Day, visit https://www.fit-ift.org/international-translation-day .

The Tioga Arts Council’s participation in this global event celebrates literary artists from around the world, their works in translation, and the translators who make their works accessible. Participants will read English translations of Bosnian poetry, Italian and German short stories, and contemporary Greek song lyrics. In addition, a musical interlude offers a performance of American songs in Japanese translation.

The mission of the Tioga Arts Council is, in part, to enrich the cultural lives of residents and visitors in Tioga County through education and cultural experiences. International Translation Day is part of the Council’s new initiative to celebrate the literary arts. The Arts Council invites local translators to get involved in planning this event, especially to read their literary translations.

Please get in touch if you have any questions.

Erin


[Note: Proz.com generally refers to this kind of gathering as a "powwow". However, this term is an unfortunate example of cultural appropriation and is rather disrespectful to these spiritual and social gatherings of indigenous peoples of North America. It is especially problematic given the content of this particular event and the associated theme for this year. I contacted Proz.com to let them know my concerns. Through a very prompt and thoughtful reply, I learned that the term was first adapted nearly two decades ago when such concerns about cultural appropriation and disrespect had not yet reached mainstream consciousness, and that the concern had been raised before. I also learned that Proz.com had written about the origins of the word in its site documentation (https://help.proz.com/where-does-the-word-powwow-come-from) and that the discussion continues internally, but the term remains as such for now due to the difficulty of making such system-wide changes on the platform. I was also informed that I could choose to use another word in this description, so have chosen "gathering" instead. This note is to avoid confusion and indicate there is a consciousness within the Proz.com community about the usage of this term. Hopefully that will eventually result in a change.]