The advantages of being a FIT member association
By now, most of you will have read our Achieve Together document. If not, I encourage you to read it here.
While this document is mainly directed towards our regular members, a lot of it applies to our associate members as well. This Council has not forgotten our associate members and has a working group focusing on the benefits for this membership category. We will share the results of its work in due course.
Whatever your membership level, there are a number of highly relevant benefits of being a part of FIT. Here, I highlight just a few that have a direct impact on your associations:
Bringing leaders together
In 2019, we had a very successful Presidents Forum in Vienna, just before the pandemic. The idea behind this event was to discuss issues of mutual concern, peer to peer. Things have changed since then, and although we had intended to have another such forum earlier this year, we quickly realised that the changed circumstances made it difficult to successfully hold such an event. FIT has therefore created a special e-group for the leaders of our member associations to exchange ideas and information without having to spend money on travel. We have seen enthusiastic participation and one first initiative on the topic of artificial intelligence and its impact on our profession, which you can read about in this issue. This is but one opportunity for our members to shape FIT’s work. We will know the outcome of this initiative within the next few months.
Connecting across boundaries
FIT uses several communication channels. Translatio, our quarterly newsletter that you are reading right now, is just one of the forums where you can share interesting stories with the other FIT members, such as news about your own association/institution, best practices a wider range of professionals should know about, CPD offerings, and more. The general FIT e-group (different from the presidents’ one mentioned above) is another medium for discussing matters of mutual interest, exchanging ideas and opinions, and asking questions. The FIT website also has news about FIT and a member section with documents and information solely for members. FIT also regularly posts on social media to keep members informed and connected.
International Translation Day (ITD)
Lastly, one of the greatest things we do together is International Translation Day (ITD) – and it’s right around the corner! 😊 Officially adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2017, it has long been a mainstay for celebrating our profession. Every year, FIT Council chooses a theme and holds a contest for a poster all FIT members (and the general public) can use for the occasion. This year’s theme is “Translation unveils the many faces of humanity”. The event writeups and photos shared by all those celebrating show how vibrant our community is and how much joy there is in coming together – united by the same spirit.
Alexandra Jantscher-Karlhuber
FIT Secretary General