Young translators: Commission launches 2019 translation contest for schools

The European Commission has announced the 13th edition of its annual Juvenes Translatores competition for secondary-school students from across Europe. Schools from all EU member states can register online so their students can compete with peers from across Europe. This year, the participating teenagers will have to translate a text on the topic of what young people can do to help shape the future of Europe.

European Commissioner Günther H. Oettinger, in charge of budget, human resources and translation said: “In Europe, we are happy to speak and understand each other in a few dozen different languages. It is great to see that young people appreciate the benefits of mastering foreign languages and are hungry to learn more. I encourage them to take part in this year's Juvenes Translatores competition and showcase their impressive language skills.”

Participants will be able to translate between any two of the EU's 24 official languages (552 possible language combinations). At last year's edition of the competition, students used a total of 154 language combinations.

Registration for schools, the first stage of the two-phase process, is open until 20 October at noon. The registration form can be completed in any of the EU's 24 official languages.

Then the European Commission will invite 751 schools to the next stage. The number of participating schools from each country will be equal to the number of seats the country has in the European Parliament, with the schools selected randomly by computer.

The schools chosen must then nominate two to five students to take part in the contest. The students can be of any nationality but all from the same year group, born in 2002.

The contest will take place on 21 November simultaneously in all participating schools. From this year on, the contest will be run online.

The winners, one per country, will be announced by early February. They will receive their prizes in the spring of 2020 at a special ceremony in Brussels.

During their visit to the Belgian capital, students will have the chance to meet professional translators from the European Commission's translation department − the people who evaluated their translations − and talk about working with languages.

The Commission's DirectorateGeneral for Translation has organised the Juvenes Translatores (Latin for young translators) contest every year since 2007. The contest promotes language learning in schools and gives young people a taste of what it is like to be a translator. It is open to 17year-old secondary school students and takes place on the same date and at the same time in all selected schools across the EU.

The contest has inspired and encouraged some participants to continue with language learning at university level and to become professional translators. The competition also provides an opportunity to emphasise Europe's rich linguistic diversity.