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Meet ITD 2022 Team

Translation Commons gratefully acknowledges the generous contributions of the multiple parties that came together to produce the 30 September 2022 celebration of the International Translation Day with the online event “A World Without Barriers: Translation and Interpretation in Indigenous Languages”. 

We thank all participants, all contributors, all supporters, and all attendees, and we hope that the shared experience, knowledge, and inspiration gained from this event will carry all stakeholders forward in their work in Indigenous languages. 

Our special thanks go out to the following teams and individuals:

UNESCO Team

• Dr Irmgarda Kasinskaite-Buddeberg, Advisor for Communication and Information, UNESCO 
• Ms Fernanda Vilar-Denardi, Consultant for Partnerships and Communication, UNESCO
• Ms Eva Hachem, Consultant for Partnerships and Communication, UNESCO
• Ms Nekane Sagredo-Aranda, Consultant for Partnerships and Communication, UNESCO
• And other colleagues from UNESCO 

A kind thank-you to our partners on the UNESCO team for partnering with Translation Commons to create this event to mark the launch of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, and to raise awareness and share knowledge about the work of translation in Indigenous languages, the tireless and challenging work that is often unseen and under-appreciated.

Dr. Alan Melby, Language Terminology/Translation and Acquisition Consortium President

• Infrastructure support
• Monitoring and hosting of the whole event
• Serving as presenter
A kind thank-you to Alan for providing the Zoom platform for the panels and presentations, for hosting and monitoring the event with us, and for being one of the presenters. Your technical support has allowed the program to stream online to countless viewers.

University of Hyderabad Team

• Dr Siva Prasad Rambhatla, Honorary Professor, Center for Digital Learning, Training and Resources, University of Hyderabad
• Professor Prabhakar Rao Jandhyala, Director, India Center for Excellence in Information Ethics, University of Hyderabad

A kind thank-you to Siva and Prabhakar for establishing the University of Hyderabad as a partner to Translation Commons for the event. Thank you for co-developing with TC the thematic program for the event. Thank you for reaching out to your networks to recruit speakers with subject-area experience on the various themes of the event. Thank you for moderating the panels for the first half of the event. Your partnership has been a bulwark in both the planning and the execution of the event.

Translation Commons Volunteers

The truly awesome Translation Commons volunteers have put in the tireless behind-the-scenes work to handle the nuts and bolts, branding, endless detail, and coordination that is necessary to produce an event such as this one. This represents months of work, coordination, patience, and a sense of humor! These may be some of the least visible volunteers in an online event, but they are the most important, and we thank all of them!

  • Leonidas Pappas, event coordinator, event hosting, branding, social media
  • Steve Reiling, social media
  • Ricardo de Camargo, graphics
  • Liuyi Melanie Yang, web developer, maintenance  
  • Asa Cullen, speaker coordinator, translator and subtitler
  • Aparna Jorapur, event coordinator, Zoom hosting
  • Reshma Mohan, event coordinator
  • Suvarna Singh, event coordinator
  • Xinxin Huang, event and video coordinator, event hosting
  • Yunfan Jiang, event coordinator
  • Yutong Du, event coordinator  
  • Philip Stewart, event coordinator
  • Jordan Christ, event coordinator

Session Presenters

  • Ms Jeannette Stewart, Founder Translation Commons, (USA)
  • Mr Dev Kumar, Chairperson, Indigenous Television (Nepal)
  • Ms Dorothy Gordon, Chair, UNESCO Information for All Programme (Ghana)
  • Dr Irmgarda Kasinskaite-Buddeberg, Advisor for Communication and Information, UNESCO 
  • Dr Siva Prasad Rambhatla, Honorary Professor in the Center for Digital Learning, University of Hyderabad (India)
  • Dr Niladri Sekhar Dash, Professor and Head, Indian Statistical Institute (India)
  • Dr Parameswari Krishnamurthy, Assistant Professor, University of Hyderabad (India)
  • Dr Avni Khatri,  Panjab University, Department of Anthropology
  • Dr Saumya Sharma, Freelance Researcher with Canvas (India)
  • Dr Udaya Narayana Singh, Professor, Amity University Haryana, Gurgaon (India)
  • Mr Hero Patrianto, Language Office of Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Indonesia)
  • Dr Jandhyala Prabhakar Rao, Professor of Linguistics, University of Hyderabad (India)
  • Ms Aluki Kotierk, President, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc – Co-chair of Global Task Force for IDIL (Canada)
  • Ms Agnes Bardon, Editor in Chief of the UNESCO Courier, UNESCO
  • Ms Zeynep Varoglu, Programme Specialist, Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO
  • Mr Hector Santaella Barrera, Association of Professionalism Indigenous Interpreters (Mexico)
  • Alison Rodriguez, President, International Federation of Translators (Australia)
  • Ms Alfreda Gasparillo Pineda, Rights of women, indigenous interpreters NÁHUATL (Mexico)
  • Mr Ubaldo Pedro Mariscal, Legal And Indigenous Interpreter of MAZATECO (Mexico)
  • Mr Akxan, Musician, Manchu singer (People’s Republic of China)
  • Mr Lucio Bagnulo, Head of Translation and Language Strategy, Amnesty International (Spain)
  • Ms Thel Morgan, Translation Bureau, Government of Canada (Canada)
  • Mr Kevin Lewis, Indigenous Freelance Interpreter and Translator, Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation (Canada)
  • Dr Guo Wei, Lecturer, Hebei Normal University for Nationalities (People’s Republic of China)
  • Mr Ravi Rebbapragada, Executive Director, Samata (India)
  • Mr Tex Texin, Globalization Architect, Board of Advisors Translation Commons (USA)
  • Dr Sue Ellen Wright, Emerita Professor Kent State University, Board of Advisors Translation Commons (USA)
  • Dr Nicasio Martínez Miguel, Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca (Mexico)
  • Ms Tina Wellman, University nuxełhot’įne thaaɁehots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills (Canada)
  • Dr Alan Melby, Professor Emeritus Brigham Young University and President of LTAC Global (USA)
  • Dr Kutz Arrieta, Linguist at Google, Board of Advisors Translation Commons (USA)
  • Mr Roy Boney, Jr., Language Program Manager, Cherokee Nation (USA)

Interpreters to Hector Santaella Barrera:

  • ​​Ibeth Serrano Carrera 
  • Kelly Varguez 

Video translation and subtitles

  • Andrew Morris, Spanish into English
  • Asa Cullen, Chinese into English

Translation Commons Advisory Board

  • Jeannette Stewart
  • Craig Cornelius
  • Julie Anderson 
  • Sue Ellen Wright
  • Debbie Anderson
  • Tex Texin
  • Kutz Arrieta
  • Craig Cummings
  • Alan Stewart

It has been our sincere pleasure to produce this event with all of you! Thank you for your hard work and thoughtful participation to raise awareness of the importance of professional translation and the challenges specific to Indigenous languages in this field.