Call for Papers

Abstract submission deadline: 28 February 2015

Translation and Interpreting Studies have always been at the crossroads of research and practice. Professional practice is both the starting point and the endpoint of the different approaches in this discipline. Higher education curriculums are increasingly required to strike a balance between 'learning' and 'earning,' hence the need for practical programs that could help university graduates or trainees enhance their employability skills. To build operational capacity and provide the professional skills required by the translation market, training programs--mainly at the MA level--need to seek fresh insights from theoretical and empirical research. But how to harness professional practice for more effective training programs? What opportunities are offered new MA graduates to join the translation/interpreting labour market? What coaching/mentoring is now given (or needs to be given) to new freelancers to help them survive their first steps in the profession? What is the nature of the role that seasoned translators and interpreters need to play in this capacity-building process, and how to go about it?
The purpose of this conference is to bring together researchers, translator and interpreter trainers, academics, professional translators and interpreters, recruiting agencies and students to engage in a discussion on the profile of the MA graduate, the current situation of the teaching and practice of translation and interpreting, the salient features of the marketplace, the prospects of the industry, the challenges new freelancers (will) face, the roles of the professionals, and the resources and opportunities available.
All those interested in engaging with these questions are invited to submit proposals for presentations, workshops and panel discussions addressing the topics below.

Please note that we are constructing a new website (Webpage) for the conference which will be launched very soon. It will contain details about the organizing and programme committees, abstracts, registration, accommodation, academic programme, workshops, social programme, and venue and contact.

Post-graduate students and representatives of recruiting agencies are also encouraged to submit proposals as there will be special sessions devoted to their voices.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
· From the university to the marketplace: The first steps
E.g. (1) difficulties of the transition, (2) the academic and professional gap, (3) the psychological dimension, (4) tools and opportunities, (5) empowerment
· Linguistic competence
E.g. (1) pragmatic meaning in translation and interpreting, (2) discourse and ideology analysis, (3) mental lexicon, (3) accents and dialects in the interpreting exercise, (5) psycholinguistics and the interpreter, (6) terminology, (7) sociolinguistic knowledge, (8) non-verbal communication in interpreting
· Skills required by the market
E.g. (1) technological requirements of the industry, (2) terminological work, (3) research skills, (4) communication, transferable and other soft skills, (5) business skills, (6) intercultural competency, (7) audio-visual translation, (8) post-editing, (9) creativity in translation and interpreting
· Tools and resources
E.g. (1) glossaries and dictionaries, (2) translation memories, (3) concordancers (4) the web as a resource and a tool, (5) audio-visual material for interpreters
· Standards, best practices and rights
E.g. (1) codes of conduct and ethics, (2) professional standards and norms, (3) remuneration and working conditions, bests practices for negotiating with employers (4) copyright and intellectual property, (5) safety of translators and interpreters, (6) translators and interpreters associations
· Employability
E.g. (1) how to enhance employability, (2) curriculum design , (3) channels with recruiting agencies, (4) in-demand employment skills, (5) translators and interpreters as service-providers
· Student perspective
E.g. (1) writing a dissertation in translation studies, (2) main challenges in translating texts and interpreting meetings, (3) best practices, (4) needs assessment, (5) first contracts
· Employer perspective
E.g. (1) needs and expectations of employers, (2) recruitment process, (3) management of human resources, (4) seekers of language services, (5) working for (inter)national organizations, (6) professional development, (6) how translation and interpreting are received by users

· Practice-related research
E.g. Corpus-based research in translation and interpreting studies and other empirical works
• The role of translation and interpreting in bridging cultural gaps
E.g. (1) community interpreting, (2) intercultural communication, (3) court interpreting, (4) interpreting in crisis and war zones
• Teaching and training
E.g. (1) teaching methods, (2) general education vs. technical training, (3) IT tools in training, language industry studies, (3) translation and interpreting schools
If you are interested in sharing your knowledge and experience about any of the areas above, please submit an abstract (200-300 words) to Dr. Hammouda Salhi at (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by 28 February 2015. Please, attach a short professional biography of the author(s) (no more than 150 words), including the full name(s), contact details (email and phone number) and affiliation. Selected papers from this conference will be invited to a special issue of Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts, John Benjamins Publishing.
The conference languages are Arabic, English, French and Italian.
The following formats are available:
• Presentations (max. 30 minutes): Papers are allotted twenty-minute slots, followed by 10 minutes of discussion
• Panel discussions (60 minutes)
• Workshops (60 or 90 minutes)
A Program committee will review the abstracts, and acceptance will be notified by 14 March 2015.
Registration Deadlines & Conference Fees:
Overseas Participants: Early bird (11 March 2015 to 3 April 2015): 60 EUR (70 TND for local participants) Guests (participants other than speakers): 60 EUR (70 TND for local participants)
The fee covers the conference folder, the certificate of attendance, refreshments during coffee breaks, three lunches, and fully guided tours that will give participants an overall flavour of the historic and ancient cities of Carthage, Tunis and Sidi Bousaid.
More detailed information about payment shall be provided to successful proposers in March 2015. Please note that these conference fees are waived for B.A. and M.A. students.
For further information, e-mail us at:
Dr. Fethi Nagga (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )
Dr. Hammouda Salhi (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Plenary speakers (PS), workshop leaders (WL) and program committee members (PCM) include:
o Prof. Abdessalem Mssedi (University of Manouba, Tunisia) (PS)
o Prof. Anthony Pym (Universitat Rovirai Virgili, Spain) (PS and WL)
o Prof. Béchir Garbouj (University of Manouba, Tunisia), Conference interpreter (WL)
o Prof. Daniel Gile ( Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3) (PCM)
o Prof. Kilian Seeber (University of Geneva, Switzerland) (PS and WL)
o Prof. Mohamed Agina (University of Carthage, Tunisia), Conference interpreter (PS)
o Prof. Mohamed Daoud (University of Carthage, Tunisia) (PS)
o Prof. Mohamed Jabeur (University of Carthage, Tunisia) (PS)
o Prof. Mohamed Koubaa (University of Manouba, Tunisia) (PS)
o Prof. Mohamed Mansouri (University of Manouba, Tunisia/ AIIC member) (PS)
o Prof. Mounir Triki (University of Sfax, Tunisia) (PS)
o Prof. Nejib Ben Jemia (University of Manouba, Tunisia) (WL)
o Prof. Salem Ghazali (University of Carthage, Tunisia), Conference interpreter (WL)
o Prof. Souad Triki (University of Carthage, Tunisia), Conference interpreter (PS)
o Prof. Vicente Rafael (University of Washington, USA) (PS and WL)
o Dr. Fayçal Souissi (University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia) (PCM)
o Dr. Fethi Nagga (University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia) (PCM)
o Dr. Hammouda Salhi (University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia) (PS and PCM)
o Dr. Hanem Attia (Sonovision Service), Conference interpreter (PS)
o Dr. Ibrahim Chammam (University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia) (PCM)
o Dr. Maeve Olohan (University of Manchester, UK) (PS)
o Dr. Mohamed Karray (University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia) Translator (PCM)
o Dr. Sahnoun Said (University of Carthage, Tunisia) Translator (PCM)
o Dr. Sara Laviosa (University of Bari, Italy) (PS and WL)
o Dr. Abdellatif Abid (League of Arab States) (PS)
o Dr. Federico Zanettin (University of Perugia, Italy) (PS and WL)
Translation and Interpretation Agencies include:
o Alice Events
o Askevents
o ECE
o MecServices
o Multievents
o S3C
o SES Congrès
o SONOVISION
Other recruiting organizations include :
o African Development Bank
o Amideast
o Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO)
o Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU)
o British Embassy in Tunis
o International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
o Islamic Development Bank
o Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
o Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)


o The British Council
o United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
o US Embassy in Tunis
o World Bank
Organising Committee
 Chair
o Mr. Fethi Nagga
 Coordinators
o Mr Abdelkarim Ben Mefteh, Mr. Hammouda Salhi, and Mr. Sabeur Jamaoui
 Organisers
o Mr. Badreddine Jboli
o Ms. Fatima Radouani
o Mr. Hatem Ayari
o Ms. Houda Bougacha
o Mr. Ibrahim Chammam
o Ms. Latifa Ayadi
o Ms. Marilisa Lorusso
o Mr. Mohamed Abidi
o Mr. Mohamed Karray
o Mr. Riadh Miledi
o Mr. Sahnoun Said
o Ms. Sihem Lahmer
o Ms. Zina Izlar

Key dates:

Pre-registration deadline: 8 Februray 2015
Abstract submission deadline: 28 February 2015
Notification of acceptance: 10 March 2015
Early bird registration deadline: 3 April 2015
Conference dates: 16-18 April 2015
Submission of full papers: 31 August 2015