CONFERENCES
WE REGULARLY ORGANIZE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ON VARIOUS TOPICS
The annual conference is an event that traditionally takes place at the end of the year. Conferences offer a possibility for education, exchange of experience and networking between colleagues
FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
22.11.2013
Skopje
FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
The Macedonian Translators Association of the Republic of Macedonia successfully organized its First International Conference in 2013 in Skopje. It covered topics related to translators in the EU, professional standards for written translation, professional standards for interpreting, protocol for professional interpreters and CAT tools.
The conference, which was attended by over 70 participants, was a platform for discussion, learning and sharing experiences and ideas among fellow professionals. It offered a variety of content: starting with work for EU institutions and professional standards and certification, through business practices, negotiation and sales, to CAT tools. At the conference, which was held in Skopje, the floor was taken by Irena Katsarski-Kimova, president of the Association, Robert Liddell from the EU Delegation, Urve Laas from the General Directorate for Translations of the European Commission, Natasha Cenevska-Georgieva, from the Secretariat for European Affairs under the Government, Hristina Dojcinova, MATA's vice-president, Vlatko Ognjanovski, president of the Association of Conference Interpreters of Macedonia, Lucrecia Maljkovic-Atanasovska, founder of the Protocol Academy - Macedonia, Blanka Nahera, Deputy Director of the International Network for Terminology - TermNET, as a representative of LICS, Atila Pirot, Vice President of the Ethics Committee at the International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters (IAPTI), Doug Lawrence, founder of Selling Translations, Andraj Repar, senior translator from IOLAR and Denis Jug, sales representative for Trados in IOLAR.
SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
22.11.2013
Skopje
The Second MATA Annual Conference covered various topics. Among the speakers were Irena Kacarski Kimova, Slobodan Belichanski, Ognena Nikuljski, Silvana Simoska, Doug Lawrence, Atila Piroth, Nigel Sage, Percy Ballemans. The topics covered raised the interest of the attendees, which was evident in the lively discussions. Some of the topics covered were: the Draft Law on Court Interpreters, the activities of MATA and the reasons for joining MATA, the importance of Macedonian language, translation for the needs of the audiovisual industry, the renewed orthographic rules of the Macedonian language, transcreation, translator’s contract with the publisher etc. The conference also covered topics related to specialization of translators, why it is necessary for translators to organize themselves in associations and how to negotiate better prices.
During the conference some of the following topics were the reason for a lively discussion:
1. Is there cooperation with the authorities (Central Registry, for example) for proper spelling?
2. What to do with book titles that have not been translated into Macedonian?
3. Why transcribe?
THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
22.11.2013
South East Europe University, Tetovo
The Macedonian Translators Association – MATA held its Third International Conference on October 24, at the Campus of the South East Europe University in Tetovo.
Approximately sixty translators from Macedonia and the wider region participated in the conference. Two prominent guests from Croatia were also present: Gabriela Banić, president of the Croatian Association of Professional Court Translators and Interpreters and Ozren Doležal, member of the Board of the Association of Literary Translators from Croatia.
The conference was opened by the MATA President, Irena Katsarski-Kimova, and the vice-rector of SEEU, Prof. Dr. Andrew Goodspeed, gave a welcoming speech.
The conference featured panel discussions on three different topics - the business aspects of translation as a profession, court translation and literary translation.
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
22.11.2013
Sileks Hotel, Ohrid
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
The Macedonian Translators Association, successfully organized its fourth international conference in Ohrid on October 1 and 2, 2016. It was attended by distinguished speakers from all over the world, who shared their knowledge about the techniques and tools for successfully swimming in the waters of freelancing, the cognitive process that takes place in the brain of simultaneous interpreters, the challenges and pitfalls of literary translation, the future of audiovisual translation and countless other topics!
In continuation of the conference, Atila Pirot from the International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters (IAPTI) held a lecture at the Faculty of Philology. The topic of the lecture was the role of technology (more precisely, machine translation known here in the form of Google Translate) and professional autonomy in the career of freelance translators.
FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
16.12.2017
Chamber of Commerce, Skopje
FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
The Macedonian Translators and Interpreters Association organized its jubilee fifth conference.
We focused on the narrower region and covered the topics that concern us the most. The attendees got acquainted with the work plan of the Association, heard different opinions about community interpreting and exchanged experiences about the duties and obligations while interpreting in the courtroom. They also learned more about the state of literary translation and translators in Macedonia.
Conferences represent an excellent opportunity to get to know each other and unite for the sake of better quality and more professional working conditions.
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
17.11.2018
Porta Hotel, Skopje
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
At this conference dedicated to court translation, we discussed the following topics:
What is the role of the court translator/interpreter in the courtroom? How should he/she prepare and what should he/she pay attention to while interpreting for one of the parties in the procedure? How to charge for his services?
Our experience so far shows that different institutions in Macedonia use different transliteration systems, which significantly complicates the work of translators and leads to translators themselves using different transliteration systems.
When it comes to writing foreign names in Cyrillic, most of the time institutions insist that foreign names are rendered "letter for letter". For example, the English name George is written in Cyrillic as Gheorghe, not as George. But a serious problem arises when you have to write down any Latin letter that has no equivalent in the Macedonian Cyrillic alphabet, such as: y, x, w, q, ë, æ, ñ, đ, etc.
When it comes to writing Macedonian names in Latin alphabet, some institutions/translators fully apply the new two-letter transliteration system, while others still use the diacritical marks. For example, in most cases the name Наташа is written as Natasha in Latin, but some still use the variant Nataša.
A problem also arises when the name of a citizen of the Republic of Macedonia who belongs to one of the ethnic communities needs to be written in a foreign language. In those cases, some institutions/translators are governed by the transliteration rules that apply to the Macedonian language, while others are governed by the language of the respective ethnic community. For example, the name of the Macedonian citizen from the Albanian ethnic community, Dzheljadin, in a foreign language, in Latin, some would write it as Dželjadin / Djeljadin (according to the Macedonian spelling), while others would write it as Xheladin (according to the Albanian spelling).
Additional topics discussed at the conference were also: what is the difference between a complaint and a lawsuit? What is the Ombudsman, what is the State Attorney's Office, and what is the State Prosecutor's Office? What do court document abbreviations mean? What kind of courts exist in the Republic of Macedonia?
Speakers were representatives from associations from the region, as well as prominent experts from the country.
SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "COUNTLESS SHADES OF LITERARY TRANSLATION"
14.12.2019
Porta Hotel, Skopje
SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
"COUNTLESS SHADES OF LITERARY TRANSLATION"!
The conference was held on 14.12.2019, Saturday, in Porta Hotel in Skopje.
We talked about the translation of children's literature, translating poetry, translation and subtitling of films and proofreading of literary translation.
The participants at the conference had the opportunity, at a discounted price of only 200 MKD, to buy the printed edition of the "Guide to the legal systems of the region - a multilingual lexicon of legal and economic terms" and for 300 MKD to receive a copy of the printed edition plus free one-year access to the online database (which is constantly updated).The printed edition contains translations only in regional languages, while the electronic online database includes several world languages.
EIGHT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "AT FUTURE'S DOORSTEP: BEYOND 2020"
07.11.2020
Online via Zoom
MATA’s Eighth International Conference titled "On future’s doorstep: Beyond 2020" was held online.
This conference is special for two reasons. First, it coincided with the tenth anniversary of the Macedonian Translators and Interpreters Association, a decade of successful work and many results. And the second, this year the Conference was held online, making it available to participants outside our borders!
This year the conference was dedicated to two important topics.
The first one refers to the upcoming European integration process. The role of translators and interpreters is extremely important, especially in the process of negotiations and compliance with European legislation. The Macedonian language will be side by side with all EU languages, and many colleagues had questions such as: what is the number of documents that will have to be translated, how to become a translator or interpreter for the European institutions, what qualifications are needed, how many T&I will be needed in the first round and so on.
Nikola Dimitrov, David Geer, Merit Ene Ilya, Javier Fernandez Saseta from the European Commission in Brussels and representatives from the Secretariat for European Affairs in the Government spoke about this.
The afternoon session covered the challenges we face, the influx of new technology, artificial intelligence and ever-improving machine translation, which will affect our work in the future and pose challenges that we will have to overcome.
Three outstanding lecturers from abroad, Renato Beninato, Esther Bond and Doug Lawrence, spoke on this topic, who referred to what awaits us after 2020.
NINETH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE "ISO T&I STANDARDS: OPTION OR OBLIGATION?"
19.11.2021
Online via Zoom
This conference was mainly intended for translators, interpreters, professors of translation and interpretation, technicians and companies that organize events and provide interpretation equipment for conferences, translation agencies, but also for project managers and procurement officers in international organizations and private companies that regularly use the services of translators and interpreters, translation and interpretation students, and anyone who wants to learn more about T&I standards.
It offered a rare and valuable opportunity to hear the people who wrote the ISO standards for translation and interpretation. The following topics were covered: what quality should language service providers provide and what is a quality service, what are the standards for booths, sound and image, remote interpretation platforms etc.
Zardad Zabetian, Goran Pletvarski, Lukrecija Maljkovic-Atanasovska, Angela Sasso, Marguerite Lely, Veronica Perez, Julio Montero and Maryse Benhoff addressed the audience.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS MATA HIGHEST MANAGEMENT BODY
The General Assembly adopts the following documents of the Association: the Statute, the Rules of Procedure, Code of Ethics, Translation Standards, Rulebook on Memberships and Language Classification, Recommended Fees for Translation and Interpretation Services, MATA Work Program and other documents
FIRST ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
31.01.2012
Skopje
The President shared information about the activities undertaken in the previous year (drafting of the Statute, the Work Program, the Code of Professional and Ethical Conduct and the Recommended Fees 2011). Several meetings and discussions were held with representatives of USAID and the EU Delegation in Macedonia for a possible cooperation.
An agreement has been reached with the EU Info Center the Association to use the EU Info Center for events free of charge.
A letter of cooperation was signed with the American company Nathan Associates, Inc. for the possible implementation of a project activity related to the localization of websites for small and medium enterprises, if Nathan Associates, Inc. is selected to implement the USAID Regional SME Development Project that is scheduled to begin at the end of the year. Apart from these activities, the Association was represented at the meeting of translators in Kočani, in March 2011, as well as at the Student Conference of UKIM. In December, an announcement about MATA was published on the Internet portal Proz.com.
Also, a text about the EN 15038 standard was published in the magazine "Pravnik". This is the first time that this standard is mentioned in Macedonian media.
It was concluded that the activities and engagement of the members should be strengthened regarding the enrolment of new members.
The planned activities for the next period include the creation of a concept and project proposal for the Association's website
A project proposal is being prepared for the implementation of the European standard for translation EN 15038, which provides for the translation of the standard from English to Macedonian and submission of the Macedonian version to the Institute for Standardization. The Institute for Standardization has already adopted the EN 15038 standard in 2009, but they only have it in English and no actions have been taken to implement it. The project proposal will be submitted to the US Embassy as an application for a grant.
If we receive a grant to implement the project, it would start to be implemented in 2013 at the earliest. The contact person for this project is Irena Katsarski-Kimova.
The development of a concept for the first annual regular conference of ZPRM is also underway.
The initial plan is for the conference is to last one day and be held in October 2012.
Explore the CIRA grants program. The starting point is their website http://www.civicamobilitas.org.mk.
One of the future activities should be to explore the possibilities of cooperation with the following organization (recommended by a person from USAID) ttp://www.konekt.org.mk/web/mk/zanas/2010-03-22-13-31-01.html.
MATA to present at an annual or semi-annual meeting of the Association of Lawyers and to explore EACEA - literary translation projects. Besides this, foreign embassies - French, German, British, Swiss, Spanish, should be contacted, in order to discover opportunities for cooperation and financing.
SECOND ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
28.01.2013
LDMI MACEDONIA
Се избраа нови членови на ОУ и едногласно е усвоен финансискиот извештај за работењето на ЗПРМ.
Координаторот на Работната група за книжевен превод, го образложи планот за работа на групата.
Беше решено групата да почне да се подготвува за првата трибина од работниот план, што ќе се одржи во ЕУ инфо центарот, на почетокот на месец април, на која ќе бидат поканети претставници од издавачките куќи, од EACEA и од Traduki (авторско право, лоши практики на издавачките куќи).
Беше предложено и усвоено Работната група итно да состави и испрати приговор/реакција до издавачката куќа „Магор" (во соработка со претседателот на ЗПРМ) за нивните несоодветни практики при склучувањето договори со преведувачите.
Работната група за судски превод до јули 2013 година треба да ги изготват следните документи:
- Детална анализа на состојбата и актите што го регулираат судскиот превод во РМ
- Детална анализа на законодавството на Р. Хрватска во оваа област
- Анализа на акти што го регулираат судскиот превод во Италија
- Анализа на законодавството на ЕУ во однос на преведувачите и толкувачите кои работат за европските институции
- Анализа на можностите за подготвување на предлог-текст на акт кој ќе го регулира судскиот превод во РМ
- Анализа на можностите за соработка на МАТА со здруженија на преведувачи од други земји
- Анализа на можностите за едукација и промоција на МАТА (во форма на предавања, презентации, а во врска со судскиот превод)
- Спроведување на едукативни и информативни настани на тема судски превод во Македонија и во останатите земји (презентирање на резултатите од претходно направените анализи)
- Следење на можностите за аплицирање за неповратни средства за спроведување на проекти поврзани со судскиот превод што ги доделуваат институциите на ЕУ
Во врска со активностите на Работната група за агенции за преведување, беше истакнато дека од контактите со повеќето агенции за превод, може да се заклучи дека тие немаат интерес за да се зачленат во Здружението.
Поради сето ова, групата предлага организирање на средба со поголем дел од агенциите за превод (доколку не постојат можности тоа да се направи групно, можни се обиди да се направат поединечни средби меѓу членови на РГ и претставници од агенциите).
- Освен ова, во текот на годината да се подготви декларација во име на ЗПРМ во однос на посакуваните стандарди на преводот во РМ (квалитет, цена, фази во преведувањето) која ќе биде доставена до сите агенции за превод во РМ.
- Групата треба исто така да направи анализа на можностите за регулирање на работата на агенциите за превод во РМ (анализа на моменталната состојба, и евентуално предлог за регулирање по урнек на некоја од земјите членки на ЕУ)
- Беше предложено да се посети Бирото за јавни набавки и да се испита можноста ЗПРМ да подготви упатство за јавни набавки на превод, со кое би се обиделе да надминеме некои од апсурдните состојби што се присутни при овие јавни набавки.
Работната група за соработка со универзитети има задача да ги идентификува и да ги предложи начините за соработка меѓу МАТА и универзитетите од РМ и од странство. Групата предлага да се подготви еден урнек-договор за соработка на англиски јазик за соработка со странските универзитети, а истиот договор би можел потоа да се искористи и во промовирањето на соработката со други сродни здруженија и организации. Такви договори (на македонски јазик) можеме да им понудиме на Филолошкиот факултет „Блаже Конески" при УКИМ, на Филолошките факултети во Штип и во Тетово, како и на Факултетот за странски јазици при Универзитетот ФОН во Скопје.
Групата предлага да се определат и содржината и видот на услугата што може ЗПРМ да им ја даде на универзитетите/или што може ЗПРМ да ја побара од нив. На тој начин и полесно и побрзо би се конкретизирала соработката со универзитетите, а таа би можела во позитивна насока да се развива и во иднина.
Конференцијата треба да се одржи во октомври. До крајот на март треба да е готов концептот и дневниот ред со идентификувани предавачи. За темите: преведувачи во ЕУ, деловни практики. Треба да се вклучи и РГ за односи со јавност. Сите членови да се вклучат во предлагање на теми и спонзори за настанот. Сите членови што имаат дополнителни идеи во врска со конференцијата, темите, говорниците, спонзорства, да ги пратат на е-адресата на ЗПРМ.
РГ EU TRANSLATORS 200 членовите на работната група ја довршија анкетата што треба да ни биде доказ за нужноста од проект за оспособување на преведувачи од МК за работа во институциите на ЕУ. Анкетата е пратена по е-пошта на сите контакти на Здружението, а линкови се поставени на фејсбук-профилот на ЗПРМ и на Прифатилиште за преведувачи. Досега анкетата ја пополниле 230 лица. Анкетата ќе биде активна до крајот на февруари. Анкетата е достапна на нашата интернет-страница www.mata.mk.
Сите понатамошни активности во рамките на овој проект ќе се планираат врз основа на резултатите од анкетата.
На следната средба на Работната група ќе бидат анализирани резултатите од анкетата и резултатите од истражувањето на членовите за можности за финансирање и ќе се допрецизираат другите активности на оваа РГ.
РАБОТНАТА ГРУПА ЗА ОДНОСИ СО ЈАВНОСТ, СОЦИЈАЛНИ МРЕЖИ, ВЕБ-СТРАНА, ИНФОРМАТОР, ДРУГИ МЕДИУМИ - Изработена е Стратегија за односи со јавност врз основа на која ќе бидат изработени планови со конкретни активности.
РГ ЕВРОПСКИ СТАНДАРД ЗА ПРЕВЕДУВАЊЕ EN15038 - Да се купи примерок од стандардот и веднаш да се поднесе барање до ИСРМ за негово усвојување на македонски јазик. По ова треба да се преведе стандардот на македонски јазик, во трите фази предвидени со EN15038.
Потоа, веднаш штом ќе биде лекториран преводот (не подоцна од крајот на април) да се достави до ИСРМ.
Членовите беа информирани дека е договорено да се организира заедничка отворена средба со Здружение на лектори на РМ на тема „Најчести јазични грешки во преводите". Оваа средба ќе се одржи кон крајот на февруари.
THIRD ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
01.02.2014
LDMI MACEDONIA
At the beginning of the meeting, the President stated that there is a quorum, and according to the Statute, the Assembly can make valid decisions.
The Report on the activities carried out in 2013 was presented, which was previously delivered to all members (as part of the attachments for the Assembly). It was concluded that the greatest success in 2013 was the First MATA Conference, which was successfully organized and well attended (almost 100 attendees). Thanks to this conference, the number of MATA members increased, and the Association ended the year with a positive balance.
An activity that started in 2013, and which will continue in 2014, is the competition for the Babylon Award for the best young translator.
Within the next item of the Agenda, the following positions were unanimously elected: president (Irena Katsarski-Kimova), vice president (Hristina Dojchinova), secretary (Bojan Kitsurovski), member of the Management Authority (Ljubica Arsova) and member of the Authority of management (Ana Popova-Manasievska).
It was stated that the Working Groups should work more seriously in 2014. For those reasons, new coordinators were appointed and all those present at the Assembly had the opportunity to choose which WG they wanted to joint. The President emphasized that each WG should implement at least one activity.
Those present, during the meeting, had the opportunity to register in the working groups which they want to join.
In continuation possible topics for the next conference were discussed and in order to satisfy the interests of all translators, it was proposed during the conference to work in several simultaneous sessions, etc. In the end, it was concluded that after the Assembly, all members will be able to submit their suggestions for topics to the Association's email address.
In addition to this, working meetings of the members of the Association (at least 4) were discussed, on specific topics. Some of the topics that were proposed were: public procurement and translations, court translation, application of the standard, educating the public about translation as a process, translation prices, quality control, raising awareness among translators, proofreaders and cooperation with proofreaders etc.
A meeting was proposed with the translation agencies, as the most responsible for reducing the price of translation, but unfortunately, after previous attempts to cooperate, it was found that they are not in the mood for cooperation. However, MATA will try to maintain contacts with larger translation agencies.
In addition to the mentioned activities, the activities in 2014 will also focus on raising the awareness of clients, promoting the translation standards, preparing new project proposals to apply for funds from various donors, improving the visibility of MATA.
FOURTH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
01.02.2015
VELES
The annual Assembly was opened by the President who presented the financial results for 2014.
The report on the conference organized in 2013 was shared.
Communication with members and other translators must be improved through social networks with short and visual news and information. We must work on communication and increasing the number of members. A discussion developed on how to achieve all this.
Activities that have been completed in the past year have been shared ("Babylon", applying for project funds)
Next year, "Babylon" and the Conference will be repeated, we need to determine activities to be implemented in 2015 and the PR group will follow up and prepare activities for promotion.
Some activities that were planned for 2014 should be organized by the American Corner (press conferences, court translation, subtitling, literary translation).
A workshop prepared once can be repeated with other members.
The website should contain a library for our members. The president's proposal was unanimously accepted that the conference should not be international but local and should focus more on our local problems. Ognena proposed a conference on several different topics, with discussion and a moderator.
By March, a meeting should be organized on a maximum of three. We must have a workshop on prices (gross and net price, etc.).
The Management Board will develop a concept for the new conference and determine the organizing committee.
Also, in 2015, a meeting with proofreaders for Macedonian and Albanian language is planned in order to determine unresolved issues regarding linguistic mistakes.
The members shared their experiences regarding the application of the new Law on the Use of Languages.
FIFTH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
01.02.2016
GEM CLUB
In addition to the reviewing the MATA activities implemented in 2015, the Assembly also passed the following decision:
MATA should be renamed by adding the words "and interpreters" to the name, so that it will read "Macedonian Translators and Interpreters Association", and it will include the profession of interpreter as separate and distinct profession.
It is necessary to schedule an additional meeting to discuss the need for re-registration; possible logo change; and possible change in the abbreviations of the name.
The Self-Employment Model was also discussed, and it was concluded that it should be further improved in 2016.
A forum on the draft Law on Court Translation should be organized at the University of Stip "Goce Delchev". The Ministry of Justice should adopt a Regulation on Tariffs, which should contain rates and tariffs.
It was discussed to hold workshops for the members of the Association, on the topics of quality of translations, translation software (Trados, Wordfast), terminology, simultaneous interpretation.
It was proposed to create a working group that will collect and organize the knowledge from the questionnaires from the last conference. The results would guide activities and individual working groups (eg, topics for workshops would be determined).
Participation of MATA in other conferences - it was decided to open a call for each conference and all active members should be given the opportunity to apply with a presentation proposal. MATA will co-finance the costs.
It was also discussed that, perhaps due to time constraints, the representative of MATA to participate at the General Assembly of CEATL in June 2016 in Barcelona, will be appointed by the Management Board.
At the end of the Assembly, a discussion developed with regard to the MATA Fourth International Conference to be held in Ohrid.
SIXTH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
04.03.2017
SKOPJE
Within the first item of the agenda, the President gave a brief overview of the activities in the past year. Basic activities and procedures are in place, but there are other things that will need to be completed by the new Management Board. During the past six years of its existence, MATA became known as a professional association and carried out a series of significant activities such as the annual conferences, the "Babylon" award for the best young translator, various workshops, presentations and info days for the Association. It created a concept for self-employment, analysed the Law on Royalties. These activities should continue in the future. The association networked, became a partner association of IAPTI, Termnet, and also became part of CEATL.
The President emphasized that it is very important to regionally network and unite with other associations, such as Croatian and Serbian associations. These links need to be strengthened.
A discussion developed about the activities during 2016. The conference made it possible to strengthen ties with translators and interpreters from other countries. Later on the financial report and the report from the conference was discussed.
The Assembly continued with a discussion about the Award for the best young translator, "Babylon".
The Association in 2016 prepared a proposal for self-employment, a proposal for amending the Draft Law on Court Translation, and a Rulebook for Writing Names, a Rulebook for Tariffs, etc. The President informed that the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova contacted the Association to suggest a member for the working group of the Ministry developing the Rulebook for Tariffs in the Litigation Procedure. This Regulation would also regulate the fees of court translators and interpreters.
The Association during 2016 organized several workshops: court translation workshop at the University of Shtip; a workshop for legal protection of translators and interpreters; a round table on interpretation.
The President presented the Mentorship Program that will start in September 2017, as well as the Memorandum of Cooperation with the "Filip II" Special Hospital from Skopje.
It was proposed to organize a workshop dedicated to communication and negotiation with clients. The general conclusion is that we have not taken advantage of internal learning possibilities.
MATA provided sponsorship for the "Friends of Education" Association Conference held in Struga. It was decided to continue this practice in the future.
All recorded materials should be placed on our YouTube channel and on the appropriate media, website, etc. All guest appearances in 2016 were listed, which are also detailed in the 2016 activity report.
At the end the candidates for the new Management Board were elected. Discussions on various topics were opened under the last item in the Agenda.
SEVENTH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
24.02.2018
FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY, SKOPJE
The assembly began with a brief overview of the position of MATA and the work done in 2017. The financial results (income, expenses and current situation) were also presented. A discussion developed on the financial results and the cost forecasts for 2018.
The activities of MATA in 2017 and the results of the call for the second cycle of mentoring activities were presented. The position and comments regarding the Law on Public Procurement in the Republic of Macedonia have been prepared. The cooperation of MATA with the Ministry of Justice was elaborated.
Considering that translation software training is needed by a large number of members, MATA will organize a training on Trados.
A discussion developed about literary translation. It was requested MATA to define the verse, so that the translators of poetry are not abused by the publishers.
Interest was expressed for participating in international conferences. In case of a specific proposal, MATA will consider options to cover part of the cost for participation.
It was emphasized that the Association should be present at conferences in the region.
After a long discussion and proposals for activities, the President closed the Assembly.
EIGHT ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
16.03.2019
FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY, SKOPJE
The activities of MATA in the past year were presented. It was emphasized that the main problem of MATA is that the activities are carried out mainly by the same people. However, several new members joined in the last year, which led to a very large number of activities, significantly larger compared to previous years.
Due to new developments in the Association, it is necessary to hold a strategic planning workshop in order to reorganize operations, improve communication with members etc. Several documents have been prepared (change of membership procedure, professional development program), which should be reviewed and discussed with all members.
The Financial Report for the past year was presented and the conclusion is that the main source of income of MATA are the membership fees. The attendees approved the Narrative and the Financial Report.
- All members should follow calls for funding projects and see if some of the planned activities can fit into the call, so they should get involved in the preparation of project proposals.
- To open "mobile" offices in other cities of the country so that MATA is closer to the students and citizens of those places (e.g. to organize practical workshops for literary translation at the local level).
- MATA to work on defining the rates for verse and drama, something that was a conclusion of the last Assembly, but which was not implemented so far
- Ideas for raising the visibility of MATA were shared: printing t-shirts with the logo of MATA and using them at public events (e.g. Skopje Marathon etc.).
- MATA should initiate discussions with the Ministry of Justice regarding the test for court interpreters, given the poor quality of the court translation market. Our vision is to introduce training for court interpreters and to encourage (re)licensing of court interpreters.
An idea was presented about introducing a mandatory professional development program for the members. Apart from raising the standards, the program will also encourage the members to get more actively involved in the operation of MATA.
The President thanked those present for their contribution to the work of the Assembly and closed the session.
NINTH ANNUAL ASSEBLY
16.03.2020
KUMANOVO
In 2020, thanks to the engagement of the working groups and the Management Board, we can say that MATA had a fairly successful year.
Due to the pandemic, most of the activities took place online, but although primarily a handicap, this way of work also brought us many advantages. For example, the possibility for speakers and participants from abroad and from other cities in Macedonia to attend the events and the conference.
In 2020 MATA organized 1 annual conference, has 27 new members (14 active, 13 associate) and hosted 12 events of which two live and the rest online.
Some of the activities organized were as follows:
On January 27, 2020, we organized a workshop to discuss the situation with prices on the market.
The ANNUAL ASSEMBLY was held on February 22 in Kumanovo. It was the last event with a live presence and was organized with a minimal carbon footprint on the environment.
In March 2020, we conducted an ONLINE SURVEY in order to assess the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on translators and interpreters in the country.
On April 5, WE RESPONDED TO THE GOVERNMENT demanding that translators and interpreters receive financial assistance as one of the professions most affected by the pandemic.
On April 27, an INTERVIEW WITH THE WINNERS OF BABYLON 2018, Ardita Zulfiu and Nikola Spasovski, was published on the Vecher Press online media.
In May, ZPRM joined the REQUEST TO EU AUTHORITIES for ambitious budget measures that will enable language professionals to overcome the crisis. We have signed the online petition submitted to the European Commission.
Our delegate in the COUNCIL OF ASSOCIATIONS OF LITERARY TRANSLATORS (CEATL), Kalina Janeva participated in the work of the Council and attended their annual meeting, held in May 2020 also online.
In May, our members participated in an activity of Europe House for recommending books. Videos were recorded that went viral on social media and are available on our YouTube channel.
On May 28, we published the RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REMOTE INTERPRETING DURING A PANDEMIC, an activity of the WG for Interpretation.
On May 29, the article about ZPRM was published on WIKIPEDIA. It is an activity of the WG for Public Relations, and preparations are underway to publish the translations in other languages.
On May 30, the SUBTITLING WORKSHOP was held with Jane Bozinovski. There was great interest and the workshop was very educational and fun.
On June 17, we received a notice that the GOVERNMENT ACCEPTS OURS RECOMMENDATIONS for remote interpretation in conditions of a pandemic and submitted them to all institutions in order to respect them when organizing events with simultaneous or consecutive interpretation.
On June 20, the WORKSHOP ON MACEDONIAN LANGUAGE was held with Violeta Tancheva-Zlateva. In July, the 100th member joined.
On August 22, ZPRM organized a TRAINING FOR THE SDL TRADOS TRANSLATION TOOL. The training was held by Sonja Kitanovska and there was great interest in her.
Cooperation was started with four BOOKSTORES FOR THE SALE OF THE GUIDE THROUGH THE LEGAL SYSTEMS IN THE REGION ("Polica" in Skopje, and three more in Bitola, Veles and Kumanovo).
On September 14, the first COFFEE WITH THE TRANSLATOR was held, organized by RG for Literary Translation, with Ognena Nikuljski. Ognena spoke about her experience translating South American authors, and the event was moderated by Nikola Gelincheski.
During the whole year, we implemented the campaign BOOKS ARE NOT TRANSLATED BY THEMSELVES, during which translators sent pictures of books they translated with their name on the title page. The aim was to raise the awareness of the general public about the importance and role of the translator.
These were only some of the activities organized by MATA in the past year.
TENTH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
13.02.2021
Online
The Annual Assembly of the Macedonian Translators and Interpreters Association , was held via the Zoom platform.
The activities of the Association in 2020, the activities related to the competition for the best young translator "Babylon", the annual financial report for 2020, as well as the annual work plan for this year were presented at the Assembly.
The Assembly voted positively and adopted the mentioned documents, and also spoke positively about the election of the new non-executive member of the MATA Management Board. In addition, the members voted to start a process to establish a MATA Ethics Committee.
ELEVENTH ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
12.02.2022
Online
The MATA Annual Assembly was held on February 12, 2022 online via Zoom.
The Assembly was opened by the President and she presented the work done in 2021, which was followed by a short report from the coordinators of the working groups in MATA.
Next, Uros Tashev presented the Report on the Financial Operations of the Association in 2021, after which Radomir Trajkovic presented the Work Plan for 2022.
All documents were adopted by the members present.
In the second part of the meeting, a supervisory member of the Management Board was elected due to an expired mandate, which was followed by a discussion and the closing of the Assembly.