EU-Macau cooperation | Over 150 interpreters receive specialized training

A two-day conference on interpretation and translation concludes today at the Macao Polytechnic Institute (IPM), marking 10 years of cooperation between Macau and the European Commission in the field of interpretation.

According to a statement issued yesterday by the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macau, over 150 interpreters have received specialized interpretation training in Macau and Brussels since 2006.

The decade-long European Commission-Macau cooperation has contributed to the improvement of interpretation quality “by providing training for trainers for government ministries and course leaders from universities in Macau and mainland China at special summer courses.” A further cooperation with the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP) of Macau allows current and aspiring civil servants to develop and enhance their interpretation skills at interpretation training courses in Portuguese and Chinese in Macau and at the European Commission in Brussels.

According to the statement, the European Commission has a strategy to assist in the development of high-level professional standards for conference interpreters in many countries across the world. “Our cooperation goes beyond a purely linguistic or training dimension as it contributes to building bridges between the European Union and Macau as well as Portuguese speaking countries,” said Fink-Hooijer, director general of DG Interpretation. At the conference in Macau, Fink-Hooijer spoke about the challenges ahead for interpretation and interpretation training in a changing world.