World Translation Day celebrated

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, represented by the International Cooperation Directorate, marked World Translation Day on Sunday. The ceremony was presided over by Mohammed bin Salim al Toobi, Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs. A translation competition was also held.

Dr Musallam al Maani, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, delivered a lecture on cultural translation, through which he highlighted the foundations of cultural translation and the linguistic gaps found according to cultural differences.

Texts part of cultural heritage translated around the world have been reviewed to stress on the importance of intangible cultural heritage protected by UNESCO through the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003.

The Omani artist Entisar al Mamari, College of Design, participated in the ceremony by designing a logo.

This ceremony is part of the ministry’s belief in the importance of the translation as a profession. “It is a very important profession in all governmental institutions. It also promotes research and exchange of information with other institutions. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, particularly, cooperates with international bodies on studies and research which need to be translated and shared by all staff. So translation is one of the ministry’s priorities,” said Saud al Araimi, Director, Directorate of International Cooperation.

It is worth noting that Sultan Qaboos University supplied the Omani market with 139 translators from 2003-2017, as revealed by English and Translation Society, SQU.