DANBURY, CT USA –21 December 2012. Global translation charity, Translators without Borders (TWB) today announced the launch of its annual Translators without Borders Access to Knowledge Awards. The awards, honoring six individuals or organizations who exemplify the mission to translate for humanity, are chosen and given by the non-profit’s board of directors.
“We have had an exceptional year of progress and success,” said Lori Thicke, president and founder of Translators without Borders. “Reaching 6.5 million words translated through our workspace, opening our first training center in Nairobi, working with Wikipedia on critical health information—none of this would be possible without the generous support of our donors, the dedication of our volunteers, and the commitment of our non-profit partners.”
The organization created the Access to Knowledge Awards to honor volunteers, donors, and non-profit partners. The awards are given within each of the Translators without Borders’ six ‘pillars’, identified earlier this year as part of the organization’s strategic framework. These pillars—Organizational Excellence, Translator Community and Workspace, Training, Non-profit Partnerships, Financial Sustainability, Awareness and Communications—work together to deliver the mission.
The organization’s executive committee, the management body of board members and the program director, created criteria for each award. Board members and staff members were not eligible. Board members nominated recipients and the executive committee made final decisions on the winners. In addition to six winners, a number of honorable mentions were also awarded.
The Translators without Borders’ Access to Knowledge recipients will receive a Translators without Borders T-Shirt, a lapel pen and a certificate of gratitude.
“I wish we could recognize by name every single person who has contributed to Translators without Borders this year –there are so very many people who make it work,” said Rebecca Petras, program director. “And the real winners are the people who can better understand vital information because of the hard work of ALL our volunteers and support from ALL our donors. Thank you very much to everyone!”
The Excellence Award Awarded to an individual who has gone above and beyond the call-of-duty in helping Translators without Borders meet its mission.
Awarded to Henry Dotterer
Honorable Mentions:
- • Anne-Marie Colliander-Lind
- • Rocio Haskell
- • Marla Schulman
The Right to Knowledge Award Awarded to an individual (or company contributor) who has made a difference through his or her ongoing commitment to translation of humanitarian information.
Awarded to Ildikó Santana
Honorable Mentions:
- • The Content Rules Editors
- • Marcia Miner
- • Ashutosh Mitra
The Empowerment Award Awarded to an individual whose work has allowed us to significantly move the barometer in increasing language capacity within a critical region of the world.
Awarded to Dr. Iribe Mwangi
Honorable Mention:
- • Common Sense Advisory
The Humanitarian Communicator Award Awarded to a non-profit who understands the critical link between language/translation and access to critical knowledge.
Awarded to Médecins Sans Frontières (all regions)
Honorable mentions:
- • The Mother and Child Health and Education Trust / Nand Wadhwani
- • Wikimedia Foundation/James Heilman
- • Zafèn / Griselda Garibay
The Donor Award Awarded to the individual or company or foundation/trust that has made a significant financial contribution to aid TWB in meeting its mission.
Awarded to Lionbridge
Honorable Mentions:
- • eLanex
- • Rubric
- • Text Partner
The Communicator of the Year Awarded to the person who has creatively used marketing and public relations to build awareness of the organization and the need to provide content in the right language.
Awarded to Marina Sayfulina
Honorable Mentions:
- • Dominic Spurling
- • Chily Vico-Gimena
- • Markus Meisl
About Translators without Borders
Translators without Borders, a US-based 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, envisions a world where knowledge knows no barriers. The mission of Translators without Borders (initially founded in France in 1993 as Traducteurs sans Frontières) is to provide people access to vital knowledge in their language by connecting non-profit organizations with our community of translators, building local language capacity and raising awareness about language barriers. Translators without Borders volunteers translate millions of words each year, focusing on three types of humanitarian translations: crisis translations needed urgently to inform people in crisis, translations that support an NGO’s operations, and translations that directly support people in need. The organization is building language capacity in East Africa through its first translator training center in Nairobi, Kenya, where trainees focus on healthcare content in Kiswahili and acquire the skills for a career in translation.
