The Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) is now accepting submissions for its Ninth Annual International Translation Conference. The two-day event is scheduled to take place on March 27 and 28, 2018, and will be hosted by the college at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC). TII welcomes submissions from academics, practitioners and community members who are invested, through theory or practice, in addressing the theme of this year’s conference, which is Translation in the Digital Age: From Translation Tools to Shifting Paradigms.

Submissions of abstracts should be at least 300 words, in either English or Arabic, which are the official languages of the conference. They must also include the applicant’s institutional affiliation, contact information and a short biography of no more than 100 words. The deadline for submission of papers is November 12. Selected attendees will have an opportunity to present their papers at the conference in the course of 20 minutes, and respond to questions posed by their peers and the audience over a 10-minute period.

The thematic areas for the Ninth Annual International Translation Conference include, but are not limited to Arabic translation in the digital age; the role of online translator communities in social and political activism; collaborative translation projects and initiatives; multimedia and hypermedia translation; and translation within the field of digital humanities. The conference also invites applicants to submit papers to explore the evolution of the translation industry, through crowdsourcing and outsourcing, and to examine growing interest in the use of online databases, corpora and machine translation. The papers can also touch on topics such as censorship and manipulation in the digital age, transadaptation and transcreation.

The fields of translation and interpretation act as key builders that enable knowledge transfer between strategic players, paving the way for social development and advancement towards a knowledge-based economy. Rapid progress in digital technologies leads to unparalleled access to information around the world, thus placing emphasis on the field.

Dr. Amal Al Malki, founding dean of CHSS, noted: “Major innovations in technology have greatly influenced the way we communicate in the digital age. The remit of the Ninth Annual International Translation Conference encompasses key areas of advancement, such as the role online translator communities play in social and political activism and collaborative translation projects. 

“As part of the conference, we invite enterprising translators to submit papers exploring the evolving translation market, which is increasingly relying on non-traditional means. The selected attendees will have an opportunity to present their findings at the conference.” Dr. Al Malki added.

The college will also sponsor conference speakers. This will include providing economy flight tickets, accommodation, and transportation to and from the conference only.
Those interested in submitting a proposal for the 2018 conference can do so online at www.tii.qa/9th.