Glossary
Association of Translators-Editors-Proofreaders (SMED)
Professional association founded in 2009 representing employees and freelancers (but not employers) in the field of translation, editing, proofreading, and subtitling. Further information: www.smed.gr/p/about-us.html
Centre for Literary Translation (CTL)
The Centre for Literary Translation [FR Centre de la traduction littéraire – CTL] operated at the French Institute of Athens from 1986 to 2001. The founding members of the Centre for Literary Translation of the French Institute were Pavlos Zannas, Titos Patrikios and Filippos Drakontaidis, among others, while the teaching staff included Eleni Zerva, George Xenarios, etc. The Centre ran a two-year Literary Translation Programme from and into French. The programme did not include theoretical courses, but practice in literary translation under the supervision of eminent Greek and French translators. At the end of the programme an optional thesis was foreseen.
European Centre for the Translation of Literature and Human Sciences (EKEMEL)
The European Centre for the Translation of Literature and Human Sciences (EKEMEL) operated from 2001 to 2012 and was a non-profit organization sponsored by the National Book Centre (EKEBI), which, in turn, is a legal entity under private law (NPEI), which, since its establishment in 1994 and until today, has been under the Ministry of Culture. The aim of the EKEMEL was to promote a new generation of translators and to contribute to improving the quality of literary translation and human sciences. At EKEMEL operated the Centre for Literary Translation Studies that offered two-year courses in literary translation, initially from and into English, French, German and subsequently from and into Italian and Spanish, seminars in translation from Russian, Arabic, Turkish and Catalan into Greek and thematic seminars in subjects related to translation. Seminars in literary translation from English, French and German were also held from time to time in Thessaloniki, while the two-year literary translation course was also offered for some time as a distance-learning course. Alongside the training of translators, the EKEMEL, in cooperation with foreign educational institutes (Hellenic American Union, Goethe Institute, Cervantes Institute and Italian Institute of Education), awarded the Literary Translation Prizes for literary translations from English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
European Council of Associations of Literary Translators (CEATL)
The European Council of Associations of Literary Translators [FR Conseil Européen Associations Traducteurs Littéraires – CEATL] was founded in 1993 and is an international non-profit organisation based in Belgium. Its members are literary translators’ associations from European and other countries. Further information: www.ceatl.eu
Panhellenic Association of Professional Translators Graduates of the Ionian University (PEEMPIP)
Scientific association based in Corfu that was founded in 2004 by graduates of the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation, and Interpreting of the Ionian University. Further information: www.peempip.gr/en
Panhellenic Association of Translators (PEM)
The oldest professional association of translators in Greece, founded in 1963. Its members include professional translators and interpreters from a wide range of different backgrounds and employment statuses. Further information: www.pem.gr/?lang=en
The Translation Festival has been held in the framework of the Thessaloniki International Book Fair (TIBF) from 2016 until the present (since 2021 is renamed to Translators Festival) and aims to bring translators to the foreground and to promote their work and role in communication between cultures and in shaping the global literary scene.
It is the battle of two translators who translate the same original text in front of and with the participation of the audience. The audience is invited to judge and compare the two versions. The first Translation Slam in Greece took place on the initiative of the Panhellenic Association of Professional Translators Graduates of the Ionian University (PEEMPIP) on 10 May 2015, in the framework of the 12th Thessaloniki International Book Fair (TIBF): Konstantinos Palaeologos and Nikos Pratsinis competed against each other, with Kleopatra Elaiotriviari as moderator. Since then, various Translation Slams have been held all over Greece.
World Translation Day is celebrated every year on 30 September, the day of the death in 420 AD of the theologian and translator St. Jerome. World Translation Day was established in 1991 by the International Federation of Translators [FR Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs – FIT] and was officially recognised by the UN in a resolution 26 years later, in May 2017.