PEM in FIT
The Panhellenic Association of Translators (PEM) has been a member of the International Federation of Translators (FIT-IFT) since 1969. It also participates in FIT Europe, FIT’s regional centre in Europe. Members of PEM have been elected to positions on the Boards of both FIT Mundus and FIT Europe.
About FIT
The Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT)/ International Federation of Translators (IFT) was founded in 1951 by Pierre-François Caillé. Its HQ are in Paris and it operates under the aegis of UNESCO.
FIT is an NGO, with more than 100 professional associations as members. It represents the interests of around 80,000 translators, terminologists, interpreters and representatives of numerous other language professions via associations in more than 55 countries.
It currently has three regional centres (North America, Latin America and Europe). Of those, the regional centre for Europe (FIT Europe) is the oldest and also has the largest number of member associations.
FIT’s purpose is to promote professionalism in the language professions it represents. It continuously endeavours to improve conditions for the profession in all countries and defends the rights of translators as well as the freedom of expression.
PEM members on the Boards of FIT and FIT Europe
August 2014
PEM member Maria Mousafiri was elected to the Board of FIT Mundus for the 2014-2017 mandate, and her duties related to specific geographical regions and topics.
This was a major achievement for our colleague, made possible with the support of numerous associations, and naturally also PEM. It was also the first time a Greek-speaking translator/interpreter was elected to FIT’s top governing body.
November 2017
We published PEM’s manifesto, setting out our vision and key positions for European-wide and unifying action to showcase the language professions.
On the basis of that manifesto our member John O’Shea was elected to the Board of FIT Europe for the 2017-2020 mandate.
Download and read PEM’s manifesto for FIT Europe 2017-2020.
PEM’s FIT-related milestones
Spring 2017
PEM nominated three colleagues for FIT’s top prizes:
- Titika Dimitroulia, for her overall contribution to the profession.
- Lale Alatli, for her translation into Turkish of Panos Ioannidis’ novel America ‘62 de Profundis.
- Samouil Bissaras, for his translation into Arabic of Constantine P. Cavafy’s anthology of poems edited by Sonya Ilinskaya.
FIT awarded an honourable mention to our colleague Samouil Bissaras for the Aurora Borealis Prize for Outstanding Translation of Fiction Literature.
August 2017
PEM was represented by its member Sofia Sakelli at the FIT statutory congress held in Brisbane, Australia. Statutory congresses are held every 3 years.
It was a milestone for FIT since by a large majority the General Assembly confirmed the need for unity; a view strongly supported by PEM.
September-October 2017
PEM welcomed FIT’s 13th President, Dr Henry Liu, to Greece. It was the first time a FIT president had visited the country. During his stay, Dr Liu gave a keynote at the 1st Conference for Professional Translators and Interpreters jointly organised by PEM and the Ionian University’s Department of Foreign Languages Translation and Interpreting.
Dr Liu also led a team from PEM which visited:
- The Hellenic Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.
- The National Centre of Public Administration and Local Government, where he gave a talk to students at the School for Public Administration and Local Government.
- The Diavata refugee hotspot in Thessaloniki.
May 2018
PEM welcomed FIT’s 14th President, Kevin Quirk, and FIT Europe’s Chairperson, Annette Schiller, to the Thessaloniki 15th International Book Fair.
We also hosted a press conference on major issues relevant to translation and interpreting in Greece.
