AATIA members Esther Diaz, Cristina Helmerichs, and Leonard Sepeda were interviewed for an article in the "Jobs Plus" section of last Sunday's Austin American-Statesman. Read the article online.

Leonard Sepeda interprets for nurse Becca Mielke at Dell Children's Medical Center, photo by Walter Brewer, Austin American-Statesman

The American Translators Association has notified members that in the wake of the Haiti earthquake Translators Without Borders, which works for Doctors Without Borders/Medecins sans frontieres and Medecins du monde, currently has urgent needs for professional-level French-to-English and English-to-French volunteer translators and interpreters. Those working to and from Haitian Kreyol would also be especially valuable. Contact TWB Coordinator Yuliana Hernandez-Anfray for details.

In 382 A.D., Pope Damasus commissioned Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (the legendary St. Jerome) to revise the multiple existing Latin translations of the Old Testament and produce an authorized rendering for the Catholic Church.

Jerome’s decades-long work based on the original Hebrew texts, along with later revisions of the New Testament translations from the Greek, became the basis for the Vulgate Bible.

In 1991, The Public Relations Committee of the International Federation of Translators declared September 30th, the date of St. Jerome’s death in 420 A.D., as International Translation Day.

The AATIA salutes linguists everywhere, and is proud to be among those who help people understand each other.

Michael Blumenthal 
 

Russian Life, in collaboration with the Russian Arts Foundation, Vera Hospice Fund, and the Galina Dursthoff Literary Agency, has published Life Stories, a short story collection of works by nineteen of Russia’s most acclaimed contemporary authors, translated by fourteen prominent American and British translators, including AATIA member Marian Schwartz, who translated "The Storm," by Leonid Yuzefovich, for the anthology.

“This is a truly non-profit collaboration between cultures,” said Publisher Paul E. Richardson. “Russian authors have donated their works, American translators, designers and editors all worked pro bono, and books will be sold worldwide directly to consumers, using the power of the internet and digital publishing to ensure that the maximum return gets back to Vera Hospice Fund. Readers will receive some truly great works of modern Russian literature and at the same time help provide end-of-life care for countless fellow human beings.”

100 percent of the profits from book sales will be donated to the Vera Hospice Fund, a Russian not-for-profit enterprise dedicated to supporting hospice care. Click here to purchase Life Stories.

A call for assistance has been sent out by the Translation and Interpretation Initiative for Iranian Protesters (TIIP):

The wiki is now up that we will use to translate the communications coming out of Iran. For the present time, the only text on the wiki is a page from a samizdat newsletter being distributed among the Iranian protesters called Khyiban (Street). If you would like to help to translate immediately, please go to http://translate4iran.wikispaces.com/Khyaban+4.2 Please recall that you don’t have to be a Farsi translator or even a Farsi bilingual to help!  We desperately need help from English writers, editors, proofreaders, publication relations professionals, techies, geeks, and administrative personnel.

To learn more, click here.

At the July membership meeting AATIA President Michael Blumenthal welcomed Jonathan Cole to the Board of Directors as Interim Director of Finance and thanked outgoing board member Al Favela for his years of service as Finance Director.

Approximately 50 members and guests attended the meeting, which featured Marianne Martinez, International Program Coordinator for the City of Austin, who gave a fascinating presentation on the Sister Cities program housed at the International Center of Austin.  The concept of International Sister Cities, the umbrella program, was first introduced by President Eisenhower to build international relationships and promote global exchange. 

Austin has ten Sister Cities: Adelaide, Australia; Koblenz, Germany; Lima, Peru; Maseru, Lesotho; Oita, Japan; Saltillo, Mexico; Taichung, Taiwan; Xishuangbann, China; Old Orlu, Nigeria; and Gwangmyeong, Korea.

Secretary Julie Nordskog introduced Nominating Committee members Carlota Grimes (Chair), Marco Hansen, and Carolina Modesto. She also encouraged members to contact a committee member or herself in order to run and/or suggest candidates for the 2009 Board of Directors.  The deadline for nominations is August 15.

The final issue of The AATIA Letter is now online. This (July 2008) issue provides advance details about September’s Translation Tools workshop, led by Jost Zetzsche, and AATIA’s July 12 member meeting, which will spotlight Austin’s Sister Cities.

It also contains farewells from regular columnist and cartoonist Tony Beckwith and editor Michael Conner, plus a recap of entries posted on the blog in the period since the previous issue of the newsletter.

The City of Austin will host a Small & Minority Business Resources “Certification 101 Workshop” on Wednesday, July 9th, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., at 625 E. 10th Street, Room 105.

• Find out more about the requirements and benefits of obtaining your Minority-Owned Business Enterprise and/or Women-Owned Business Enterprise Certification (MBE/WBE) through the City of Austin Procurement Program.
• Learn about Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Certification
• Work with the City’s Vendor Registration Department to add or update your information on the Vendor Registration System.

“In addition to becoming certified for City minority and women-owned business procurement opportunities, Small & Minority Business Resources can help businesses with certification as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, used in federal transportation and aviation projects, as well as the Historically Underutilized Business Program, which encompasses the state of Texas procurement opportunities,” said SMBR Director Stephen Elkins.

RSVP to Blender Hill at 512.974.7677.