Bilkent Student Gets High Marks in Turkey's Second EU Young Translators Competition
On December 17, 2011, the Secretariat General for EU Affairs (SGEUA) brought 93 fourth-year students from 34 departments at 24 universities in Turkey to İstanbul to participate in a two-hour written examination in translation from English, French or German to Turkish. After the SGEUA Translation Evaluation Commission assessed the translations for source and target text mastery, correct EU terminology usage, and grammar, they awarded second place in the French-to-Turkish translation category to Ali Can Karamahmut (TRIN/IV).
Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bağış recently presented plaques to the first three students in each language category at the SGEUA headquarters in Ankara. In addition, these top nine students traveled to Brussels to visit EU translation offices.
Held for the first time in 2010 -- when two Bilkent students, Anıl Dursun (TRIN/IV) and Nihal Zemheri (TRIN/IV), won first and second places in French and English -- the Young Translators Competition aims to increase students' awareness about Turkey's EU candidacy process and to encourage education of the translators who will be needed during EU harmonization and the translation of the Acquis Communautaire. SGEUA plans to hold the competition annually.