The European Commission today congratulates the 27 winners of its Juvenes Translatores translation contest.
The Maltese winner is Nathan Anthony Pace from the Junior College who, together with the Lithuanian participant, obtained the highest mark in all the European Union (39 on 40) for a translation from English to Maltese
The participants could choose to translate between any 2 of the EU's official languages. Of the 552 possible language combinations, the budding translators used an impressive 150. Malta took part with six Sixth Form schools with a total of 27 students.
The topic chosen for this year´s contest – ‘Navigating in challenging times – together we are stronger' – turned out to be an accurate reflection of Europe during the past year.
Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn said:
“My congratulations to the students who took up the translation challenge in such difficult circumstances. I also congratulate the teachers, who were determined to organise the contest right in the midst of online teaching. All have demonstrated a true passion for languages and multilingualism.”
Staff translators at the Commission selected 27 winners (one per EU country) from among almost the 2,800 participants across Europe. In addition, 248 students received special mentions for outstanding translations. Even in this case, Maltese students were proportionally numerous, comapared to the rest of the EU, for the amount of special mentions obtained.
The best young translator from each EU country will be invited to an online award ceremony on Friday 2 July 2021. The winners and their teachers will also be able to meet a professional translator from the European Commission, to find out more about translation and languages.
The Commission's Directorate-General for Translation has been organising the Juvenes Translatores (Latin for ‘young translators') contest every year since 2007. Over the years, the contest has become a life-changing experience for many of the participants and winners. Some have decided to study translation at university, and some have gone on to join the Commission as a trainee or even full-time translator.
Background
The goal of Juvenes Translatores is to promote language learning in schools and give young people a taste of what it's like to be a translator. The competition is open to 17-year-old secondary school pupils and takes place at the same time in all participating schools across the EU.
Use of multiple languages to communicate – which of course includes translation – has been an integral part of the EU since it was first created. It was enshrined in the first EU Regulation ever adopted, in 1958. Since then, the number of official EU languages has grown from 4 to 24, as more countries joined.
Details
- Publication date
- 11 March 2021