Dear all,
There is good news for translators in our Region this week.
The Moderator of the General Chapter, Fr Alphonse Owoudou, who is also the Regional Councillor for Africa-Madagascar, is someone who believes deeply in the importance of translation, knows the difficulties and challenges it places before the Congregation, and is determined to do his best within the context of the upcoming General Chapter 29 to ensure that good processes are in place. He is working on a draft of a letter that will go to Provincials and PC Moderators, and while he still has to finalise this with the pre-Chapter Commission and others 'at the Centre', essentially it his intention to remind translators of their vital role in the dissemination of the charism (a fidelity in translation that applies both to the original documents but also to their readership in so many different cultures) but also to encourage them to be linked to the appropriate official channels that ensure documents arrive in time and are returned in time. All this is encouraging news.
The second item of good news comes from the General Councillor for Social Communication. When informed of the simple networking that is happening among EAO translators, something that could well be a model for other Regions, he immediately decided to include a mention of this in his contribution to the upcoming Team Visit due to begin in Vietnam on 14 February, in which he focuses on the importance of networking, among other things. I will send a copy of this to those of you who are likely to need to translate part or all of his contribution into the local language so that provincials and council members feel comfortable with its contents... at this point that will most likely be VIE, MYM, GIA, THA, INA, but if others of you believe you would need to do similarly, just let me know and I will see that you get it... it is not lengthy, and is only in English as far as I know, not in Italian as well.
And finally, I am attaching another 'Best Practice', while at the same time encouraging you to share YOUR best practice(s). The more we can help each other, the easier the task becomes.