Did you know how many Translators and Interpreters associations exist in
Africa?  According to http://www.notisnet.org/resources/links/orgs.html#Africa, no more than . In East Africa, only Tanzania has one:
1. Egyptian Translators Association (EGYTA)

2. Namibian Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI)
 c/o Mr. Helmut Nolting, P.O. Box 21289, Windhoek, Namibia
National Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ethiopia (NATIE)
P.O. Box 15412, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: 251 111 220760
Email: Yissakor Beyene, President

3. Nigerian Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI)
24 Eric Manuel Street, Surulere, Lagos, Mail: P.O. Box 1861, Marina, Lagos, Nigeria

4. South African Translators' Institute/Suid-Afrikaanse Instituut van Vertalers en Tolke (SATI/SAVI)
P.O. Box 1710, Rivonia, 2128, South Africa
Tel/Fax: +27 11 803 2681
email: publications@translators.org.za

5. Tanzanian Translators' Association/Chama cha Wafasari wa Tanzania (CHAWATA)
P.O. Box 35180, University Hill, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Tel: +255 49 192

KITA had rather be no. 6

About TWB & KITA Cocktail meeting

Translators Without Borders (TWB) and Kenya Interpreters and Translators Association (KITA)  are organising a cocktail meeting for Kenyan translators on 8th December 2011 5.30pm at the Nairobi Safari Club (picture right). The event is an interactive session aimed at tacking stock of the challenges translators face in the country and possible ways of tackling these.

Below is more information about the two organisations.

ABOUT TRANSLATORS WITHOUT BORDERS

The TWB team from Paris will comprise of Lori Thicke, Simon Andriesen, and Paula Shannon, Senior Vice President at Lionbridge, the company sponsoring the event.

Translators without Borders (TWB), a U.S. based 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, provides pro bono translation services in support of humanitarian actions around the world. TWB brings together a global community of volunteer translators with hundreds of non-profits via an online translation center powered by ProZ.com. By donating nearly half a million dollars worth of translations each year, Translators without Borders ensures that aid groups working in crisis situations can dedicate more of their resources to caring for people. Because language can be a door that keeps knowledge out, or a window that lets it in, Translators without Borders is also mentoring translators in the developing world to help bridge the ‘language last mile’ for the world’s most disadvantaged people. NGOs in Africa have asked TWB to start translating health and other critical information into local languages.The goal of coming to Kenya is mostly to talk with humanitarian groups, to understand their needs. They also want to meet with translators so to understand their challenges in order to see if there’s something they can help with to help build more translation capacity.

Lionbridge is the leading provider of translation, development and testing solutions that enable clients to create, release, manage and maintain their technology applications and Web content globally. Paula Shannon is the CSO and Senior Vice President at Lionbridge and is responsible for global sales and client teams. As an officer with the company, and having more than 24 years of experience in the industry, she is engaged in charting the strategic direction of the firm and works closely with customers such as Google, Microsoft, Nokia, and others. Paula majored in Languages and Linguistics at McGill University and functions in six languages. She was educated in the US, Belgium and Canada.

Lori Thicke is co-founder and CEO of Lexcelera (Eurotexte Group), the first localization company in France to receive ISO 9001:2000 quality certification. Lori also co-founded Traducteurs sans frontières (1993) and Translators without Borders (2010) to provide pro bono translation services to humanitarian organizations. Lori, who holds an MFA from the University of British Columbia, is a frequent speaker on translation innovation and on the power of translation to unlock knowledge for the ‘other three billion’.

Simon Andriesen is founder and CEO of MediLingua, a linguistic services company based in The Netherlands specializing in pharmaceutical, clinical trial, biomedical, medical technology, and other health-related information. He also manages Leesbaarheidstest.nl, which is a business unit specializing in readability testing of patient information, and is involved in an ongoing project for the Dutch government concerning translation quality of patient information. He coordinates and teaches a series of courses on medical and pharmaceutical translation. He has been part of the translation and localization community since 1980.


ABOUT KENYA INTERPRETERS & TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION (KITA)

 The association has been in existence for about 2 years now

 An active online forum for exchanging views and opinions

 It has achieved in terms of preparing a governing constitution and articles of membership, categories and threshold requirements

 This constitution currently with the registrar of associations awaiting final paperwork.

 Has attracted a strong pool of membership from a wide range of experts: Linguists, Translators, Interpreters and Language Researchers.

 Partnered with well known translation-oriented organizations in Kenya and beyond including: Tamarind Translators, RITs, Sweedish translators etc.

 Has seen a growing number of more than 45 members identify strongly with KITA, which has in turn boosted their CV profiles


2. Aims of KITA

 To be a rallying point for Kenyan translators and interpreters

 To successfully translate in a wide range of Kenyan local languages

 To partner with international organizations in areas of translation and interpretation

 Ensure professional development and welfare of translators and interpreters in Kenya

 Diversify translation and interpretation in line with current localization and theme-based/project activities in the field

 Bench mark for quality

 To regulate activities of translators and interpreters in Kenya

 In the long run explore possibilities of acting as a foundation to facilitate for insurance covering translator’s work

 Guide translators to surmount any arising challenges in their field of work

About TWB

Invitation

KITA – TWB Cocktail meeting

at Nairobi Safari Club

We are delighted to invite you to attend a cocktail meeting between

Translators Without Borders (TWB) team

and

Kenya Interpreters and Translators Association (KITA) members, translators in Kenya

Thursday, 8th December 2011

5.30 pm – 8pm

RSVP by 30 November 2011:

Email: theophanm@gmail.com



KITA MEETING 8 DECEMBER 2011

KITA plans an annual translators and interpreters get-together cocktail  for all registered members on 8th December 2011, evening.
Venue: Nairobi Safari Club.

A team from Translators Without Borders (TWB), Paris, expected to make a presentation about their planned Mentorship programme in Kenya. Details to follow.  The event is sponsored by Lionbridge, one of TWB's partners, whom we thank for this noble gesture. All Kenyan translators and interpreters interested in  attending are welcome.

For planning purposes, advance registration required by 25 November 2011.

Please contact Steering Committee

• Deo Gumba: deogumba@googlemail.com
• Fred Omondi: osanovs@gmail.com 
• Theo Marube: theophanm@gmail.com
• Fatma Zohra : fazohreen@yahoo.com

Preparing for the Inaugural AGM

Following the successful founders meetings held in February and March, the proposed association's application has been submitted for registration.

This will be followed by the inaugural General Assembly slated for the month of August 2010.

Only registered members will atttend the meeting as per the categories defined at the Founders Meeting.

To register, contact the steering committee member Deo Gumba at Regional Interpretation and Translation School.

See you in August! Exact date and venue TBD.

FOLLOWUP MEETING ON THE PROPOSED ASSOCIATION-SATURDAY 20TH MARCH

Following the Founder's Meeting for the proposed Kenya Interpreters and Translators Association (KITA) that was held on 6th February 2010, it was agreed that a follow-up meeting would be held on 20th March 2010 at the same venue.
This is therefore to remind you of this important followup meeting.
Venue: Regional Interpreting and Translation school (RITS), Woodlands Lane, Hurlinghum Shopping Centre

Time: from 11 a.m

See you there!

T&I founding meeting 6 Feb 2010

Founding meeting participants pose for a group snap

Members of the Steering Committee pose with the newly-appointed Review Committee