Annual working meeting of the Joint Committee of the Asia-Pacific Translation and Interpreting Forum held with APTIF Bulletin released

On 22 December 2021, the annual working meeting of the Joint Committee of the Asia-Pacific Translation and Interpreting Forum (APTIF), jointly organised by the APTIF Joint Committee and the Translators Association of China, was held via video link, and the first issue of APTIF Bulletin was released at the meeting. Gao Anming, chair of the APTIF Joint Committee and vice president and editor-in-chief of China International Communications Group (CICG), attended the meeting and delivered an opening speech. Representatives from member organisations of the Joint Committee from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao of China joined those from Indonesia, South Korea, New Zealand and other countries and regions in the Asia-Pacific region at the meeting and made presentations. Yang Ping, council member of the International Federation of Translators (FIT), and Wang Fei, Vice President of the Academy of Translation at China International Communications Group, also participated. The meeting was moderated by Xing Yutang, Executive Director of the APTIF Joint Committee. 

In his speech, Gao Anming said that since the establishment of the APTIF Joint Committee in 2016, it has served as an important platform and a vital link for translation and interpreting (T&I) organisations, universities and professionals in the region to promote exchanges and mutual learning, accelerate the application of technological innovation in T&I, and boost the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific T&I industry. He called on the Joint Committee to continue advancing cultural exchanges and mutual learning through translation and interpreting, optimise the platform offered by APTIF to advance development of the Asia-Pacific T&I community and the industry, promote T&I research and inter-disciplinary development, and actively train translators and interpreters working across languages and cultures, strengthen the cooperation mechanism and work together to build consensus and synergy. He expressed hope that such efforts would promote economic and trade ties, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, mutual learning between civilisations in the region, and development of regional and international undertakings.

Ren Wen, Dean of the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation at Beijing Foreign Studies University, delivered a briefing on preparations for the 10th APTIF session set for June 2022 on behalf of organisers. Elsie Chan (President of Hong Kong Translation Society/HKTS), Indra Listyo (President of Association of Indonesian Translators/HPI), Isabelle Poff-Pencole (National President of New Zealand Society of Translators & Interpreters/NZSTI), Lei Lai Cheng Victoria (President of the Macao Federation of Translators and Interpreters/FTIM), Silhee Jin (President of Korean Association of Translators and Interpreters/KATI) and others attended the meeting representing member organisations of the APTIF Joint Committee. They reviewed work highlights of 2021 and shared plans for 2022, spoke highly of the role played by the APTIF Joint Committee in bringing together the T&I community in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, and shared expectations that the Committee would do more to advance exchanges and cooperation between member organisations and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of translation and interpreting professionals. 

The APTIF Bulletin (English Edition) was released at the meeting. Targeting professionals, managers and others in the Asia-Pacific T&I community, this bulletin aims to address overall development of the profession in this region, promote exchanges, improve professional practice and boost innovation in the Asia-Pacific and wider international T&I community.