A United Nations resolution passed in 2017 recognizes International Translation Day (September 30) as the day to pay tribute to the work of language professionals. To commemorate the occasion this year, ATA released a short, animated video to remind the world’s 3.5 billion smartphone users how the work of translators and interpreters directly impacts their daily lives! The video conveys how translators, interpreters, localizers, transcreation experts, proofreaders, editors, and more helped turn a concept into the cell phone we use every day. It was created to help members get the word out to both their professional and personal network—people who may be unfamiliar with what they do—about the importance of the profession and their role in it. The video was shared on ATA’s social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube). It was also made available on Vimeo, where members could download and share it with colleagues and friends on their own social media channels.
Episode 50: The ATA Podcast
In addition to the video, members were invited to listen to a special International Translation Day episode of The ATA Podcast1 Podcast Host Matt Baird interviewed ATA Past President Nick Hartmann for a look back at his career and the translation and interpreting industry—from the days of fax machines and modems in the early 1980s to the current age of specialization and machine translation. ATA’s first episode of The ATA Podcast was broadcast in celebration of International Translation Day on September 30, 2015. So, what could be better than to share the landmark 50th episode on International Translation Day!
Why Tell Your Story?
What better way to create a platform for raising awareness of the translation and interpreting professions than to utilize the power of social media to share what you do with family, friends, clients, and all those people who keep asking, “Can you really make a living doing that?” This volunteer effort was headed by Jamie Hartz and Molly Yurick, who spent countless hours coordinating the details with ATA Director and Public Relations Committee Chair Eve Bodeux, ATA Headquarters, and key volunteers such as Marion Rhodes (ATA’s Instagram guru!).
Let’s Keep the Message Going!
If you missed ATA’s International Translation Day celebration, don’t worry! You can still access and share the video and the podcast to let everyone know what you do! Links to both the video and Episode 50 of The ATA Podcast can be found on ATA’s website: http://bit.ly/ATA-ITD2020.
Notes
- Episode 50 of The ATA Podcast, “International Translation Day 2020: An Interview with Nick Hartmann,” is available at http://bit.ly/ATA-Podcast-ITD2020.