Sixteenth St. Jerome Translation Contest
After a three-year hiatus, the St. Jerome Translation Contest is back!
The Conference Management Service of the United Nations Office at Vienna is pleased to announce the launch of the sixteenth edition of the St. Jerome Translation Contest.
Categories
The contest is now open to the following participants:
Staff and intern category
- Current and former United Nations staff members in all entities of the United Nations system, irrespective of occupational group, contractual status or duty station
- Current and former interns in all entities of the United Nations system, irrespective of occupational group or duty station
- Staff from all permanent missions accredited to the United Nations
Student category
- Students enrolled at universities with which the United Nations Department for General Assembly and Conference Management has a partnership agreement (a memorandum of understanding, associated membership agreement or remote practicum agreement; see list of partner universities for more information).
Test pieces
Two texts are selected for each edition of the contest: one in English for translation into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish or German, and one in another language (traditionally alternating between French and Spanish) for translation into English. For the sixteenth edition of the contest, the test piece for contestants translating into English is a Spanish text entitled ¡°?El chat GPT me ha hecho una paella!¡±. The test piece for contestants translating into one of the other languages listed above is an English text entitled ¡°There are those who know how to fill a dishwasher, and those who don¡¯t care¡±.
Submission of entries
Staff and intern category: Participants in this category should submit their entry in Word format by email to sjtc16@un.org, together with the completed registration form in PDF format.
Note: Participants who are on short-term contracts are asked to use a personal email address so that they can still be contacted after their contract has ended (if applicable).
Student category: Students should obtain a copy of the registration form from their University Focal Point or download the form here and submit the completed form together with their entry in Word format to their University Focal Point.
The University Focal Points should submit students¡¯ entries (in Word as received) by email to sjtc16@un.org, together with the completed registration forms, which should be attached in PDF format. Please note that no more than two entries per language from each university will be accepted. Entries submitted directly by students will not be considered.
Entries in both categories should be submitted no later than Monday 29 May 2023 (end of day, CEST).
Evaluation procedure and awards ceremony
Entries will be evaluated by a panel of two judges for each language.
Judges will pay particular attention to accuracy in conveying not only the meaning but also the nuances of the source text, and to style.
As in previous years, each submission will be identified by a number, and not by the name of the contestant, in order to ensure anonymity in the selection process.
The winners¡¯ names will not be disclosed until the official announcement at the awards ceremony, to be held at the United Nations Office at Vienna at the beginning of October 2023, which will coincide with the celebration of International Translation Day. The exact date and venue will be announced in due course.
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About the St. Jerome Translation Contest
Launched in 2005 by the English Translation Service at United Nations Headquarters, the contest is held to commemorate International Translation Day. In 2017, the contest was welcomed by the General Assembly in its resolution on the role of professional translation in connecting nations and fostering peace, understanding and development. It serves to celebrate multilingualism within the United Nations and highlights the important role that translation plays in the work of the United Nations and in the world at large.
The German-language version of the St. Jerome Translation Contest web page is available here.