Our Actions

At the Panhellenic Association of Translators (PEM), we strive to guarantee the quality of services provided by our members. We undertake actions in Greece and abroad to ensure the industry’s ongoing advancement. We also work with other organisations to promote our profession.

How we guarantee the quality of services

In order to guarantee the quality of services provided by our members:

• We strictly enforce internationally accepted admission criteria for full members.
• We have a Code of Ethics and Conduct, in place which allows for filing substantiated complaints.
• We provide access to 31 working languages and more than 100 language pairs, many of which are relatively rare, through our member directory. This makes it easier to connect across the globe.

What we offer our members

We endeavour to keep in touch with all members and to listen and respond to their problems and suggestions:

• We speak to them directly at public events we hold, such as Open Days by PEM.
• We offer our members a continuing professional development programme to enhance their skills and knowledge. This helps them to enrich the services they offer by adding others, such as transcreation and digital copywriting, and improve their working conditions through special topics, such as office organisation and stress management.
• We notify our members of opportunities to apply for jobs or take part in multi-lingual projects for companies of all sizes.

Our actions in Greece

To establish and promote the professions of translator and interpreter in Greece:

• We make public sector agencies aware of translation-related issues so that requests by Greek and foreign citizens can be handled fairly and appropriately, particularly where more vulnerable groups or individuals are concerned.
• We have explained to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs why citizens need a different type of translation service.
• We have set out our positions on the existing translation and interpreting system in the Greek courts.
• We are working to secure legal equivalency for translators in Greece.

Our actions abroad

We stay abreast of developments in the industry in Europe and around the world:

• We monitor European Union activities as they relate to the status of translation in Greece and Europe.
• We take part in industry initiatives in Europe.
• We participate in international associations relevant to our sector.

How we work with other agencies

We are open to working in tandem with other agencies and operate in complete transparency:

• We work with educational organisations, e.g. in 2017, we co-hosted a translation conference with the Ionian University, held in Athens.
• We work with official agencies representing sectors of the economy, such as the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry for staging the 2017 conference.
• We have introduced the institution of Observers, which allows natural and legal persons to attend PEM’s open proceedings.