The names of the 27 winners of the European Commission’s annual EU Young Translators (Juvenes Translatores) contest for secondary school pupils were published on January 28.

Last year in March we first reported on the winners of the European Union’s annual translation awards, Juvenes Translatores. More recently over 3000 pupils from 750 schools sat the contest once again in November 2012.

The winners – one per EU country – will be invited to an award ceremony in Brussels on April 11, 2013 to receive their prizes from Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou and will also have the chance to see the Commission's translators at work.

“The contest is an excellent way to promote language learning and translation as a possible career. Language skills are a fantastic asset: they broaden the mind and can boost employability, something which is especially important in the current economic environment," said Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.

The contestants translated a one-page text based on their choice of any of the 506 language combinations possible among the EU’s 23 official languages. All 23 were indeed used as source languages. The winners also exhibited a fair share of linguistic diversity, -11 translated from English, 5 from French, 5 from Spanish, 4 from German, 1 from Estonian and 1 from Irish. The texts were marked by the Commission's translators.

The contest, which was first organized in 2007, continues to grow in popularity. Nearly 1 750 schools registered to take part in the 2012-2013 competition – this was reduced to 750 for logistical reasons following a random computer selection. The contest has created its own network, enabling students, teachers and professionals to interact through Facebook, Twitter and a blog.

A complete list of winning pupils and schools is available online at the contest website.

See Also

• Translation is the act of rewriting a document, changing it into another language.
  Language translation brings Europeans closer and helps them understand each other's cultures.
• More about Juvenes Translatores
  The 'Juvenes Translatores' (Latin for 'young translators') contest is organized every year by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation. Its aim is to promote language learning in schools and give young people a taste of what it is like to be a translator.