The FIT Europe #GettingYouUnderstood project is a promotional campaign that aims to highlight the vital role played by professional translators and interpreters (T&I) and to increase awareness of the benefits of this work to society as a whole.
The work of T&I impacts every level and sector of society: private, corporate and public, and every aspect of our lives. However, while we as linguists are more than aware of the benefits that the highly skilled work of professional T&I brings to society, this is unfortunately not the case for many people outside of our narrow, linguistic confines.
Therefore, this project will “spread the word” outside of the language industry, pointing out some of the many areas where translation and interpreting are used: for example, to ensure that the ever-changing information on COVID-19 is accessible to everyone in their own language; to introduce an international audience to other cultures through literary and audiovisual translation; to facilitate international commerce, or to enable communication in crisis settings: without professional translators and interpreters, the world as we know it would be a very different place.
To quote the renowned oil well firefighter, Red Adair: If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.
The promo campaign
The fact that the highly skilled and expert nature of our work is often not recognised, not only affects our standing and value as professionals but also impacts on our earning power.
So, in conjunction with the illustrator/designer @conor_merriman and copywriter Katy Egan FIT Europe has created a promo campaign that consists of the following:
- a hashtag #GettingYouUnderstood
- ten different visuals, each one representing a context we work in (legal, healthcare, audiovisual ….)
- a blurb for each individual context.
The visuals are suitable for use with all media: social media, websites, print, tote bags and even on the side of a double-decker bus!
The hashtag and the text are already available in English and can be translated for use in different countries/regions.
The plan is that these wonderful visuals will be used by the individual members of our FIT Europe associations, who will hopefully distribute them far and wide.
Where can you use it?
Some examples of where the visuals can be disseminated:
- Representative associations for SMEs in your country
- National agency responsible for inward investment
- National agency supporting exporting businesses
- Business lobby groups
- Business networks
- Chambers of commerce
- Existing and prospective clients
- Family, friends
What next?
The first five visuals (healthcare, legal, crisis settings, environmental, audiovisual) have already been distributed to the national FIT Europe T&I associations. The next five (finance, technical, arts & culture, tourism, international institutions) will be made available over the coming weeks.
If you are a member of a T&I association and want to be part of this exciting campaign and contribute to a sustainable professional future for translators and interpreters, please contact your local T&I association for information on the visuals and how to use them.
Wonderful initiative. Can the text be translated into other languages? Who do we submit the translations to? Thank you.
Gio, check your email