NAT: International Translation Day 2022 - Special ITD Event - Assertiveness Panel Discussion

Registrations CLOSED

Come and join us in celebrating
International Translation Day 2022!

Fellow interpreters, translators, linguists, and language lovers, it’s that time of the year again! International Translation Day (ITD) is coming, and this year’s theme is “A World Without Barriers”.

As usual, AUSIT would like to invite you all to join us in our special ITD celebration – Assertiveness Panel Discussion for interpreters and translators. In today’s world, when even COVID could not stop people from connecting with others in different parts of the globe, who other than interpreters and translators can play a more important role in breaking down the communication barriers and reconnecting people and cultures with one another?

However, working as an interpreter or a translator means that we cannot avoid being exposed to people who have unrealistic expectations about our role all the time. Have you worked with a lawyer who insists everything has to be “translated word for word”? Or a doctor who asks for a complicated medical report to be sight-translated on the spot? How about a speaker who thinks it helpful to read out a highly technical research paper at a hundred miles an hour? Or a client who is offering peanuts for a complicated translation project?

If you ever wondered what can be done to diplomatically manage clients’ expectations, how to decide whether I should give in to clients’ requests, and more importantly, how to ensure our working standards and ethics are not compromised, come and join our highly esteemed panel members for a discussion on how to be assertive with clients and ensure that we help create a world without barriers.


Panelists


Despina Amanatidou is a Certified Interpreter and Translator (English>Greek) who works full time as medical interpreter with many years’ experience in public healthcare settings. Despina has been a member of the AUSIT Victorian/Tasmanian branch committee since 2016. During this time, she has served in various roles such as Communications, Promotions and Public Relations Officer and as Professional Development Coordinator. She currently serves in the AUSIT’s executive board as Vice-president for Events and Professional Development. Despina has had the opportunity to organise many events and conferences for T&Is and among them the first fully online conference in Australia in 2020. Despina has a thorough understanding of all aspects of organising professional development events and is passionate about quality as well as strengthening relationships between the various stakeholders within the T&I industry. Despina is also the Interpreter Relationship Manager for 2M Language Services as well as an academic tutor and research assistant for RMIT university.

Patricia Arguello de Avila Originally from El Salvador and having lived in many other countries, Patricia has always had a special fascination with the English language (her father’s language). She has worked around the world in the T/I and training sector for more than 35 years, which highlights her passion for her trade.  She completed further studies in the USA and worked for the World Bank in Washington, D. C.  In El Salvador she worked for several multinationals until 1982, when she founded the English Language Institute (ELI) in San Salvador, teaching ESL and providing interpreting and translation services and T/I training in the Central American area.  Since moving to Australia in 1990 she has worked for private and government language service providers as well as running her own consultancy as a conference and community interpreter and training program designer; for 10 years she worked alongside scientists and engineers for the CSIRO, which nourished her appetite and curiosity for all things scientific. 
Of conference interpreting she reflects: “Working as an interpreter at a high level of language proficiency allows me to improve my own knowledge of the world we live in, so I’ve never stopped studying and learning new things”. On community interpreting: “Working with real people who need solutions to real-life problems is very rewarding: it adds value to my career and keeps me current in local and world affairs, something I thoroughly enjoy”.

Nicola Thayill (née Savage) is a NAATI-certified French to English translator and French–English conference interpreter based in Melbourne. She holds a Master of Interpreting and Translation Studies from Monash University, and currently tutors translation students in the same program and in translation and interpreting studies at Macquarie University. With professional experience that spans marketing, corporate services, tourism, education, communication and event management, Nicola has been working as a freelance translator and interpreter since 2013.  She is a member of the AUSIT In-Touch editorial committee and has previously served on the AUSIT Vic committee as well as the 2016 mini-conference committee.

Cintia Lee is a NAATI Certified Spanish<>English Interpreter and Translator and holds a degree in English Philology (Linguistics and Translation) from the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain.  Over her extensive career, she has translated and interpreted for large corporations and government agencies, in business, health and legal settings as well as at international conferences, and has accumulated a wealth of experience across a range of community interpreting settings, with a focus on legal and law enforcement.
She has been providing professional interpreting services in criminal, civil and administrative courts and tribunals in Australia since 2011.  She has a strong commitment to delivering high-quality interpretation at all times and to upholding the highest professional and ethical standards. Cintia is also an educator in the field of court interpreting and currently a tutor of translation and interpreting at RMIT. She serves on the NSW Branch Professional Development Committee.

The Zoom link will be sent two (2) days prior to the event. Please ensure your Zoom name is the same as the name that you used to register for this event to ensure you receive a certificate.

ONLY THOSE TO ACTUALLY ATTEND THE full event will receive Certificates of attendance.  Please allow up to two weeks for these to be issued.

Kind regards

AUSIT PD