IP/09/534 Brussels, 3 April 2009EU translation contest winners receive their prizesTwenty-seven students from EU secondary schools will each receive a prize and a diploma in Brussels today for producing the best translations in their respective countries in the “Juvenes Translatores” (‘young translators’ in Latin) translation contest. The prizes will be presented by Leonard Orban, the European Commissioner for Multilingualism. The contest was organised in November 2008 by the European Commission to promote language learning and to give visibility to the profession of translator. . “Once again, this translation contest has been truly successful in bringing people together and raising awareness of language learning, translation and the unique multilingual nature of the EU,” is how Mr Orban put it. “We have heard that some contestants are now seriously considering translation as a career option, and some of the schools taking part have initiated exchange projects.” The victorious students won a two-day trip to Brussels for themselves and an accompanying adult. In addition to the award ceremony hosted by Commissioner Orban, the winners will be going on a tour of Brussels and visiting the Directorate-General for Translation of the European Commission. There they will meet professional translators, and see the tools and working methods that translators use in their day-to-day work. Anyone interested – be they schools, teachers or friends – can watch the award ceremony via web streaming. The link for viewing the event will be active on the Juvenes Translatores website: http://ec.europa.eu/translation/contest/index.htm. 2 247 selected pupils from 593 schools in the EU took part in the second edition of the contest, held on 27 November 2008 at the same time in all Member States. The participants had two hours to translate a text on the subject of multilingualism from any of the 23 official languages of the EU into any other official language. The translations submitted to the Commission covered all official languages and 147 language combinations. The second contest was organised on the back of the huge success of the first contest held in 2007. A survey carried out among language teachers right after the contest provided equally enthusiastic feedback. “Juvenes Translatores” is set to become a regular event of the school year. Thus, preparations for the third round are already under way. Names of winners, their chosen language combination and their schoolsCOUNTRYSTUDENTSCHOOLAustriaMona Schönauer (FR-DE)[1]Akademisches Gymnasium, GrazBelgiumLaetitia Lévêque (EN-FR)Institut Saint-Ferdinand, JemappesBulgariaСтефани Ханджийска/Stefanie Handjijska(EN-BG)Spanish Language High School ‘Miguel de Cervantes’, SofiaCyprusΑνδρέας Ανδρέου/Andreas Andreou (EN-EL)High school of Solea, NicosiaCzech RepublicLudvík Pouzar (EN-CS)Gymnázium Jírovcova, České BudějoviceDenmarkJulie Carina Trasbo Jelgren (EN-DA)Roskilde Katedralskole, RoskildeEstoniaKairi Kangro (EN-ET)Hugo Treffneri Gümnaasium, TartuFinlandTytti Rinkari (EN-FI)Tammerkosken lukio, TampereFranceFabian Schmidt (FR-DE)Lycée Bartholdi, ColmarGermanyAnika Richter (EN-DE)Salzmannschule Schnepfenthal Staatliches Spezialgymnasium für Sprachen, Waltershausen- SchnepfenthalGreeceΜΑΡΙΑ ΑΡΝΑΟΥΤΑΚΗ/ Maria Arnaoutaki (EN-EL)5th High School of Iraklion, IraklionHungaryAnna Matei (EN-HU)Madách Imre Gimnázium, BudapestIrelandMarianne Madden (FR-EN)Coláiste Chiaráin, LimerickItalyRiccardo Gasparetto Stori (EN-IT)Liceo ‘Leopardi-Majorana’, PordenoneLatviaAgnija Lāce (EN-LV)Rīgas 85. vidusskola, RīgaLithuaniaJulius Juodakis (DE-LT)Vilniaus Mykolo Biržiškos gimnazija, VilniusLuxembourgNina Hentzen (FR-DE)Lycée Aline Mayrisch, LuxembourgMaltaPaula Schembri (MT-EN)Junior College, L-ImsidaNetherlandsFrancien Homan (EN-NL)Maartenscollege Haren, GroningenPolandWeronika Danecka (EN-PL)VIII Liceum Ogólnoształcące im. A. Asnyka, ŁódźPortugalLuís Filipe Machado Costa (EN-PT)Colégio Nossa Senhora da Assunção, AnadiaRomaniaRaluca Maria Ionescu (EN-RO)Grup Scolar ‘Ferdinand I’, Curtea de ArgesSlovakiaFrederika Kaššová (FR-SK)Gymnazium Ivana Bellu, HandlováSloveniaMaša Klemenčič (EN-SL)Gimnazija Poljane, LjubljanaSpainSamuel Darriba Real (EN-ES)IES Nosa Señora dos Ollos Grandes, LugoSwedenOskar Lindbom (FR-SV)Rosendalsgymnasiet, UppsalaUnited KingdomSabrina Vashisht (FR-EN)North London Collegiate School, EdgwareWinners’ home cities:[ Figures and graphics available in PDF and WORD PROCESSED ]For more information: Translation contest: http://ec.europa.eu/translatores/DG Translation: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/Languages in the EU: http://europa.eu/languages/ [1] EN: English; FR: French; DE: German; ES: Spanish; IT: Italian; NL: Dutch; PT: Portuguese; EL: Greek; PL: Polish; RO: Romanian; SV: Swedish; FI: Finnish; DA: Danish; BG: Bulgarian; CS: Czech; HU: Hungarian; SL: Slovenian; SK: Slovak; LT: Lithuanian; ET: Estonian; LV: Latvian; MT: Maltese.