An organizer of an international translators’ conference being held in Powell River is encouraging anyone interested in learning more about why learning languages is powerful to attend.
Zuzana Kulhánková, a professional translator, has been working since last spring to organize the event scheduled for September 12 to 15 at Beach Gardens Resort and Marina. The Powell River conference was inspired by a similar one she helped organize while living in Czech Republic in 2001.
Kulhánková is excited to have translators, interpreters and language teachers from around the world, both as presenters and as participants, attend the event. Keynote speaker at the conference is João Roque Dias, who Kulhánková said is considered to be “the guru of technical translation worldwide. His presentations are funny and entertaining because he’s able to make technical manuals fun,” she said. “He’s that good.”
Translators from as far away as Portugal and Venezuela will be presenting at the conference, as well as Americans from Michigan, Idaho and Colorado. Closer to home, Canadians from Metro Vancouver, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island will attend, in addition to those travelling from Quebec and Ontario.
The conference will open on Thursday September 12 with a banquet at the Beach Gardens, which Kulhánková said would be a great opportunity for people to meet the out-of-town visitors.
While the conference sessions are specifically designed for working translators and interpreters, Kulhánková said that the sessions might also be of interest to language teachers or students.
“It’ll be a good opportunity to meet some interesting people,” she said, “and find out why it’s a good idea to learn languages.”
Kulhánková added that just through knowing two or three languages really well, “you can have a profession you can practice anywhere in the world—even Powell River.”
She said that the conference is a good opportunity for anyone interested in learning more about translating. “People are travelling from far away to listen to these speakers,” she said.
Tickets for the opening banquet will be sold until September 4. For more information about the conference or how to register, readers can visit the event website.
