The Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII), part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS), will host the 12th International Translation Conference from March 15 – 16, 2023, at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC).

In celebration of the Institute’s 10th anniversary, the Conference will feature an interdisciplinary program that explores emerging intersections between translation and creativity. Through a series of panels and seminars, participants will explore a variety of themes including the reconfiguration of aesthetic and political forms of translation, the use of translation in creative research, the concept of creativity in and beyond translation thought, and more.

The conference program features professional translation workshops on sports writing techniques in Arabic and English as well as post-editing in computer assisted tools. It also includes a movie screening of the 2020 film The Translator, set during the Syrian revolution which follows the story of a translator who returns to his home country when his activist brother is taken prisoner by the Assad regime, followed by a Q&A session with one of its directors, Dr. Rana Kazkaz, Assistant Professor at Northwestern Qatar. 

“We are proud at TII to be marking a decade of achievements in promoting the power of translation toward strengthening the individual as well as the collective ability to communicate, create, innovate, and establish bonds and relationships across communities, nations and civilizations. Translation and Intercultural Studies have long been intertwined with the linguistic, cultural, technological, social and political mediation of creation, and we look forward to the riveting discussions that will take place during the conference,” said Dr. Amal Al-Malki, Founding Dean of HBKU’s CHSS.

The Qatar National Research Fund, part of the Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation Council, will co-sponsor the event as part of their commitment to foster original research in the humanities and other fields according to the country’s research priorities. Launched in 2010, the biennial conference serves as a MENA region-based platform that gathers scholars and career professionals in the translation and interpreting field to delve into contemporary topics at the theoretical and practical level. 

“We are delighted to sponsor this multidisciplinary forum on the emerging intersections of translation and creativity. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of HBKU’s TII, we look forward to collaborating with scholars who share our enthusiasm for investigating the multilayered processes of mediation of creativity and the theory of creativity across disciplines and in practice. This conference will shed new light on the role of translation in innovative research and its power to resist and co-opt cultural and creative industries,” said Dr. Hisham M. Sabir, Executive Director of the Programs Office at QNRF.

Through TII, HBKU’s CHSS offers postgraduate programs, language programs, professional development workshops, and professional translation and interpreting services of the highest standard. An advocate for the preservation of the Arabic language, the Institute complements CHSS’ educational mandate, to bridge communities through language and equip students for successful careers as translators and interpreters.