Ana Palomo, a Specialised Translation MA student, and Emma Spurling, a Translation and Interpreting MA student, won and received an honourable mention respectively for their translation work in the 16th St Jerome Translation Contest.
Launched in 2005 by the English Translation Service at the UN Headquarters, the St Jerome Translation Contest has been held each year to commemorate International Translation Day, which is officially recognised by the International Federation of Translators. The Contest also serves to celebrate multilingualism within the United Nations and highlights the important role that translators and language professionals play in the work of the United Nations and in the world at large.
Ana Palomo won in the Student Category for her English into Spanish translation, and Emma Spurling received an Honourable Mention in the Student Category for her Spanish into English translation at the awards ceremony held on 4 October 2023 at the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV). Ana was present at the ceremony whilst Emma joined online.
The students’ participation in the Contest was made possible thanks to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which Westminster has signed with the United Nations Department for General Assembly and Conference Management on cooperation in the training of language professionals for the competitive examinations for language positions. The universities which have signed MoUs are referred to as MoU Universities and make up the MoU Network.
Speaking about winning the Student Prize for her English into Spanish translation, Ana Palomo said: "I am delighted to have received this award and to have brought it back to the University of Westminster. I am very grateful for the help and support of my lecturers. Doing the translation was tough but fun. The awards ceremony at the UN in Vienna was brilliantly organised and celebrated the importance of the work of translators everywhere. I would encourage all language students to enter the next edition of the contest."
On her Honourable Mention for her Spanish into English translation, Emma Spurling commented: "I entered the contest because I love translating, but didn't expect my translation to be recognised, so receiving an Honourable Mention was a pleasant surprise. It's been a real confidence boost as I start to build my translation career."
Watch the recording of the Awards Ceremony of the 16th St Jerome Translation Contest on the United Nations’ website.
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