The Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (SKTL) is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The association was founded in 1955 and like many others in the industry, its aim is to support the professional working conditions, identity, skills, and training of translators and interpreters and to promote our cooperation in Finland and abroad. SKTL is a member of many international organisations, including FIT. In Finland, we sit on the boards of examiners of authorised translators and of the register of legal interpreters, and we are a member of copyright organisations.
More than 1,700 members strong
SKTL has a diverse membership of more than 1,700 members in five sections: literary translators, document translators, audiovisual translators, and interpreters. The fifth section is the cherry on our birthday cake: about 100 researchers and teachers, combining practical expertise and research. Our largest section is the document translators, with over 1,200 members, and members may belong to more than one section.
Our biggest annual event is our International Translation Day Seminar, where we find out what’s happening in the sector, discuss new developments, and network. This year, we celebrated on 30 September in Finland’s former capital, Turku. One topic on everyone’s mind: artificial intelligence. In Finland, as elsewhere, we are talking about post-editing AI-generated texts, copyright in the era of AI, and how digitalisation is transforming the industry.
Recognising our members
On 12 April, we celebrated SKTL’s 70th anniversary in Helsinki by awarding several prizes and scholarships. That weekend, we organised the annual Symposium on Translation and Interpreting Studies at the University of Helsinki and awarded the following prizes:
- The Mikael Agricola Literary Translation Award to Martti Anhava
- The J. A. Hollo Nonfiction Translation Award to Ulla Lempinen
- Tiedon Helmi (Gem of Wisdom) Award for Distinguished Research Work to professor emerita Outi Paloposki
- Repla Audiovisual Translation Award to Leena Vallisaari
- Award for a new PhD thesis in translation studies accepted at a Finnish university: Jenni Laaksonen and Annamari Korhonen.
- The Tarja Roinila scholarships, named after a colleague who passed away tragically in an accident, were awarded to seven translators or interpreters starting their careers.
SKTL’s awards are funded through royalties collected by the Finnish copyright organisation, Kopiosto.
Spotlight on translators
SKTL has also organised two major campaigns to increase translator visibility as a way to celebrate its 70th anniversary.
The Wikipedia Project aims to update the Wikipedia profiles of translation and interpreting professionals. In May, SKTL offered its members a lecture series on how Wikipedia works and how to add to existing Wikipedia articles.
The Library Project aimed to hold book exhibitions in September and October at fourteen participating libraries. SKTL members recommended translated books to be highlighted, each with a bookmark between its pages indicating the source language and the translator’s name. The exhibitions were perfectly timed to coincide with International Translation Day.
Jenni Kavén, executive director, SKTL
Emma Pitkäsalo, project coordinator, SKTL
Translation from Finnish into English: Kate Sotejeff-Wilson