From your National President
This is the last time I address you as National President of AUSIT. As previously announced, I’m stepping down on 30 March 2024. Increased pressures on my legal practice combined with my freelance translator’s practice have left me with little time for anything else. I believe that you, as members of this association, deserve a National President who can lead AUSIT to the best of their abilities. As this is no longer something I can do satisfactorily, I think it’s better for me to step down. This is a sad moment for me, as I thought I would be able to commit until the 37th National Conference, which will take place in Melbourne this November. Alas, it’s not the case. However, ultimately it’s the National Council that leads AUSIT (the National President being one of its 14 members).
When I took office in November 2022, I did it with determination and with the ambition of achieving real change. In these last 15 months we have managed to raise the profile of AUSIT with the courts and legal professionals, and there is now a portal on the AUSIT website to capture your feedback on the implementation of the Recommended National Standards. I am especially proud of having served as a bridge between T&I practitioners and legal professionals. I have enjoyed going around the country meeting many of you. I feel much gratitude for your support, which has manifested recently in emails of concern about the state of my health. I am doing much better, but I need to keep my stress levels in check.
Unfortunately, the time demands of the AUSIT leadership very often go beyond what could be deemed acceptable levels. There is an increasing number of requests for AUSIT to state a position or develop a strategy. This requires time and effort, as well as researching the pros and cons of each measure. I am aware that AUSIT is studying the options for putting more support in place, in order to develop this type of capacity. I applaud this initiative, as I fear that without proper incentives, those AUSIT members who have leadership potential and work full time as T/Is may feel discouraged from serving in the National Council, fearing that AUSIT’s demands on their time would make service incompatible with their work–life balance.
We are in a very interesting time for T&I in this country. At the 36th AUSIT National Conference last year, we had record numbers of participants from government agencies. We carried out a remuneration survey, and we are preparing to update members about a recommended scale of fees.
So, I am optimistic about the future, and want to thank you again for your support. I do hope to continue my involvement with AUSIT in one capacity or another. In particular, I look forward to supporting the Language Divisions that are starting to operate within AUSIT, and also the legal literacy of T/Is who work in this sphere.
J. Angelo Berbotto
AUSIT National President
Callout for members to join new committees …
Have you been thinking of contributing some time to AUSIT, but can’t decide how? Three of our new committees still need more members. All three operate under the direction of the Vice President for Communications and Public Relations (currently Rosario Lázaro Igoa), and a member of each new committee will report to the Communications Committee every second month. Have a look at the committee details below, and if you’re interested, contact Rosario: VP, Comms & PR.
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| Committee | Description | Interactions | Profile of prospective committee members |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website & Directorate Committee | In charge of creating and updating content on the AUSIT website and the AUSIT directorate and advising about changes to it. | Some meetings but mostly email communication amongst committee members. | Interest in IT issues, graphic design, and presentation of information. |
| Social Media Committee | Recycles information from official communications (E-flash, newsletters, In Touch magazine) to spark discussion on social media (LinkedIn, FB, Instagram) with the aim of keeping AUSIT’s content active. Reports back on ideas, comments, etc to Communications and PR VP. Insert and format text, links, and images here.. | Co-ordination by email. With some zoom meetings throughout the year. | Keen user of social media. Ability to update content regularly. |
| Advocacy Committee | Searches for translator and interpreters in the mainstream media and how interpreting and translating are portrayed in the media. Flags issues to the NC so that AUSIT can respond with a press statement. Also monitors if AUSIT’s brand / logo are used by third parties without authorisation. | Some meetings but mostly email communication amongst committee members. | Interest in scanning through newspapers and other media. |
… and branch committees
If you’ve never sat on an AUSIT committee and would like to get involved, joining your local branch committee is a good way to start. All members are welcome to join, and branch committee meetings are held every month.
Some branches currently also have vacancies for specific positions: treasurers are needed for NSW, QLD and SA/NT, so if you have a head for figures, they would love to hear from you. Plus SA/NT needs a Professional Development (PD) Coordinator, to relieve Joe Van Dalen as he’s also the SA/NT’s Branch Chair and NC Delegate.
You can find out more about the responsibilities involved in being a branch committee member or taking on one of the vacant roles here.
You can contact your local branches to join the committee – or to offer to take on a vacant position – here: ACT / NSW / QLD / SANT / TAS / VIC / WA.
BRANCH NEWS
ACT Branch
… as reported by Dave Deck
The ACT branch held a get-together for after-work social drinks on 20 March at the Hellenic Club in Woden.
Five branch members, together with two staff members from NAATI’s national office (who kindly make their office available for branch committee meetings), enjoyed an hour or so of convivial discussions.
The committee plans to schedule more such meetings this year.
VIC Branch
… as reported by Karine Bachelier
AUSIT PD & EVENTS
ACT – Meaning-based Translating & Interpreting (Pt 5) – Equivalence at the textual level (hybrid event) – 16 April 2024
Making correct and valid linguistic choices when translating and interpreting, especially in the ‘pressure-cooker’ environment of interpreting, requires practitioners to have a good understanding of the principles which underlie the transfer of meaning between languages.
This training event is intended to complement some of the issues covered in four previous webinars on Meaning-based Translating and Interpreting.
AUSIT NAT Presents: The AI Toolkit Workshop for Translators and Interpreters (Webinar) – 20 April 2024
Is AI really useful for professional translators and interpreters? The answer is a resounding yes… but the reasons why might surprise you!
AUSIT QLD Presents: “Culture on a Plate” – 21 April 2024
Let’s celebrate our diverse backgrounds and cultures with a flavourful lunch gathering, Northgate Community Hall.
SAVE THE DATE:
AUSIT Queensland is in the process of organising a one-day mini-conference for Saturday, 24 August at the University of Queensland. Further information to come.
EXTERNAL PD & EVENTS
All information below is provided by external organisations. Please register and direct any enquiries to the relevant contact outlined in each announcement, rather than to AUSIT.
Chuchotage Workshop (May 3)
NAATI at Careers Expo in Adelaide (May 10–11)
NAATI at Careers Expo in Brisbane (May 24–25)
5th East Asian Translation Studies Conference (EATS5) (26–28 June) (in-person early bird registration closes 29 April)
NAATI at Careers Expo in Perth (July 24–25)
Sight Translation Workshop (27 July)
Interactional Management Workshop (12 August)
NAATI at Careers Expo in Sydney (August 16–17)
2024 NZSTI Conference (Auckland, 7–8 September)
ASLITA National Conference 2024 (Adelaide, 13–15 September / FYI: ASLIA is now ASLITA)
Translation and Interpreting Forum Olomouc 2024 – Technological Turn in Translator and Interpreter Training (Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic, 10–12 October)
IV International Conference EnTRetextos (23–25 October)
Transibérica 2024 (online conference in Spanish, Portuguese and English, theme: ‘T&I and the evolution of Artificial Intelligence’, 21–22 November)
translatorforum.de is a resource for those translating from the German language. You can find upcoming sessions here.
CALLS FOR PAPERS / PROPOSALS
International Journal of Chinese and English Translation and Interpreting (deadline: 30 April)
New Trends in Translation and Technology’ (NeTTT’2024) (deadline extended to: 30 April)
Article submissions always open for Defence Australia’s Yarning magazine (deadline for July’s ‘English Languages’ edition: 24 May)
Enseigner la langue à travers la traduction; Perspectives franco-italiennes comparées entre Renaissance et Ère numérique (conference, deadline: 31 May)
Translation and Interpreting Forum Olomouc 2024 – Technological Turn in Translator and Interpreter Training (conference, deadline for abstracts: 31 May)
The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, special issue on Training Signed Language Interpreters and Translators, Vol. 19, 2025 (journal, abstract deadline: 20 June)
The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, special issue on Recent Advances in Media Accessibility Education, Vol. 20, 2026 (journal, abstract deadline: 15 July)
IV International Conference EnTRetextos (no deadline provided)
CALLS FOR PARTICIPANTS
Translators (survey: both users and non-users of Generative AI (GenAI), to investigate how many professional translators use these tools, and how they do so.)
A proficient speaker of English as a second language (research project)
An English-language editor w/ experience correcting non-native English (research project)
Audiovisual Translators’ Well-being and Work-life Balance (survey)
Research Project: The efficacy of post-editing machine translation on translation processes and products in translator training (Online Participation)
If you meet the following profile:
1. Native speaker of Mandarin Chinese
2. Completed middle and high school in China
3. Current undergraduate student in Australia
4. Having taken at least one translation course
Click here to find out more and to register your interest.
Research participants needed: Access to hearing services
Interpreters’ and hearing care professionals’ perspectives on engagement with translation & interpreting services by audiologists/audiometrists. Register your interest here.
EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES
Creative Australia’s Translation Fund for Literature
Next application round closes on 9 April 2024.
AAH Medal for Excellence in Translation (biennial)
Applications due to open in April.
AALITRA Translation Awards 2024
Focus language: French. Entries are now open and close 28 May.
JOB KIOSK
NAATI role-players (various languages)
Ethnolink: translators (freelance)
Services Australia (various languages)
The SA Government is advertising for casual interpreters and translators
(Senior) Lecturer with doctorate/PhD – Translation Studies (University of Graz, Austria, deadline: 10 April)
Assistant Professor/Associate Professor/Full Professor in Education/English/Translation and Interpreting (University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China, deadline: 21 April)
Assistant Professor in Translation (Lingnan University, Hong Kong, China, deadline: 4 May)
READING CORNER: interesting books, articles & journals ...
International Journal of Chinese and English Translation & Interpreting
Yarning: the language and culture magazine (published by Defence Australia)
… and a podcast …
Conversations – with AUSIT Excellence Award 2023 winners Amy (Xiaoxing) Wang and Cintia Lee.
… plus AUSIT’s very own In Touch magazine …
The Autumn 2024 issue of In Touch is due out in the first week of April. You will be able to access it here. And in the meantime, why not browse the past issues that you’ll find there – you’ll find plenty of interesting articles, going back 22 years!
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To ensure AUSIT continues to run smoothly through 2024, my fellow members of the NC have asked me, as Immediate Past President, to step into the role of Acting President until the National AGM in November, before which we will take expressions of interest from anyone thinking of taking up the position for the next three-year term. Erika González AUSIT Acting National President |
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Contact AUSIT Secretariat: admin@ausit.org
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