Doha: In a vast, intricate, and multilingual world, translation has emerged as a sturdy bridge between nations and cultures, enabling the world to become a microcosm, a more harmonious and interconnected village. Translation does not merely aim to transfer words, sentences, and phrases from one language to another, but rather constitutes an art that carries within it the spirit of peoples, conveys their ideas and aspirations, and embodies their values and beliefs, thereby enabling humankind everywhere to explore new realms and to comprehend the other with precision and depth, in order to build a world governed by peace and shared creativity. It stands as the cornerstone in promoting peace among nations and peoples, despite wars that erupt among them from time to time.
According to Qatar News Agency, around negotiating tables, in backrooms, at formal banquets, and in informal meetings, wherever nations and cultures converge, editorial translators and interpreters are present, binding together different worlds. They are essential players in dialogue, and with globalization permeating every corner of both the virtual and physical worlds, alongside mounting geopolitical and cultural tensions, accurate and professional translation has come to perform the role of mediator across potential cultural and linguistic divides, in politics, national security, diplomacy, and between nations and communities.
On Sept. 30 of every year, nations across the globe mark International Translation Day, an annual occasion endorsed by the United Nations in 2017 to honor the role of translation in fostering communication, disseminating knowledge, and deepening cultural understanding among peoples. The celebration is not merely of languages, but of humanity’s ability to build bridges of words that bind mankind together and plant the seeds of peace in their relations. Since 1991, the International Federation of Translators (FIT) has organized the official annual commemoration of this occasion, and in 2017 the UN General Assembly formally adopted this day, with eleven countries, including the State of Qatar, signing its draft resolution.
This year, the day is observed under the theme ‘Translation, shaping a future you can trust” as announced by FIT. The theme assumes heightened relevance amid today’s tumultuous world, where peace is often imperiled, and international communications and relations are beset by distrust. It underscores the pivotal role of human trust, and more precisely, the role of editorial translators, interpreters, and terminologists in ensuring reliable communication, cultivating dialogue and trust between parties, and supervising AI-generated texts and machine translation.
The significance of this day lies in its illumination of the translator’s role in reinforcing dialogue among cultures, dissolving linguistic barriers, and allowing for the exchange of ideas and values among peoples. It also lies in supporting sustainable development through the translation of relevant scientific and technical documents, in addition to safeguarding cultural heritage by translating literature and historical texts to preserve cultural identity and transmit it across generations.
Thus, this day casts a spotlight on translators worldwide, commending their indispensable role and drawing attention to their tireless contributions in service of the global community. For rendering written works or literary texts from one language to another is an endeavor of utmost precision and profound importance, an endeavor that erects a bridge between two languages that may not even share a single letter.
Within the developmental context of fostering bridges of understanding and communication among diverse cultures and human societies, the State of Qatar took the initiative to establish the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding (SHTAIU) in 2015, as part of its contribution to promoting translation between the Arabic language and a variety of languages of the world. In just a few years since its inception, SHTAIU has emerged as the most prestigious and largest translation prize in the region. Founded in collaboration with the Forum for Arab and International Relations, SHTAIU is a global accolade overseen by an independent board of trustees, impartial judging panels, and a professional steering committee specifically formed for this purpose.
It seeks to honor translators and recognize their role both regionally and globally in forging bridges of communication among nations and peoples, strengthening bonds of friendship and cooperation across the world, rewarding excellence, encouraging creativity, consolidating lofty values, and promoting diversity, plurality, and openness. In addition, SHTAIU broadly aspires to institutionalize a culture of knowledge and dialogue, disseminate Arab and Islamic culture, and advance international understanding through translation and Arabization initiatives.
The State of Qatar celebrates this day through events organized by multiple cultural entities, including the Ministry of Culture and the Qatari Authors Forum, spotlighting the indispensable role of translators in forging bridges of understanding and culture, as well as people-to-people connections. Under the theme of translation in a changing world: between present realities and future horizons, the Translation and Training Center (TTC) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), in collaboration with the Department of Language, Culture, and Communication at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, is organizing a conference to commemorate this day. The event, scheduled for Oct. 1-2, 2025, aims to explore the role of both translation and interpretation in facilitating intercultural communication, preserving heritage, and enhancing global understanding, aiming to highlight the college’s significant contributions to research, professional development, and public awareness in this field, by hosting distinguish
ed speakers to share their perspectives on the subject.
The peoples of the Earth communicate in more than 7,000 languages, the vast majority of which are endangered. Machine translation can assist in preserving and promoting these languages by making them accessible to a wider audience. Historical research indicates that the first civilization to practice translation was Mesopotamia, which produced written lexicons pairing words with their corresponding meanings. It is also said that the Romans formally practiced translation around 4000 BCE. In the modern era, translation has taken unprecedented strides, with major global corporations establishing internet-connected machine translation systems. The future of linguistic translation is likely to be a hybrid of human and machine translation, delivering the highest quality translations possible. Yet human translators will remain at the heart of this process, infusing texts from all the world’s languages with spirit, creativity, and nuance.