About IATIS Regional Workshops

The IATIS Regional Workshops are envisaged as academic events that focus on the area of translation and intercultural studies at the regional level around the world. We recognize that while translation and intercultural communication take place in all regions on a daily basis, these human activities have not yet become areas of academic study and research everywhere. These events are thus intended to be small but with intensive focus on particular aspects of translation and intercultural study in order to initiate and develop research interest in the field. It is anticipated that the emphasis in such events will be on the exchange of knowledge and information, building on existing regional strengths and addressing any regional gaps, so as to best advance the study of translation and intercultural communication in institutions of higher education in the region.

The format of these events is mainly that of workshops where a small group of participants come together to direct their attention on and discuss particular translation and interpreting themes and issues which have a high degree of relevance for their region. The rationale behind small events in workshop format is to increase the involvement of all participants throughout the workshop, enabling in-depth focus on a specific theme rather than taking up a range of topics. Regional experts if there are any, or international experts who have particular expertise in the workshop theme, may be invited to promote academic cooperation within and between regions. It is expected that the workshop will form a basis for strengthening current engagement in translation research in the region, while encouraging future potential collaborations and long-lasting, fruitful partnerships across regions.

The IATIS Regional Workshops Committee provides academic support and principal partnership to the organizing institution. The members of the Committee will work closely with colleagues in academic institutions who express an interest in running such workshops. The Committee will work in conjunction with the interests and needs of a particular region to finalise a theme for the workshop. The Committee offers the following academic support to those planning a regional workshop:

• Conceptualizing topics and themes, addressing the interests and needs of the particular region
• Commenting on drafts of and finalizing “Call for Papers”
• Advising on potential guest or keynote speakers
• Assistance in establishing deadlines for each stage of planning the workshop (e.g. calls for papers, notification of acceptance, publication of volumes following on from regional workshops, etc.)
• Advertising the event
• Reviewing abstracts and organizing thematic panels
• Ensuring that relevant IATIS infrastructure (mailing lists, archived workshop programmes, web forms, etc.) is made available to organizing committees
• Preparation of attendance certificates, if required
• Offering advice on options for publication
• Offering advice on any other academic aspects that may arise

In keeping with the Association’s aims to be inclusive and respectful of different traditions, it is strongly recommended (but not compulsory) that workshops be held in English and in one other regional language, as long as ample provision is made for the translation of papers before the workshop and/or interpreting facilities during the workshop. The IATIS Regional Workshops Committee is able to provide further guidance on best practice to any workshop organizers who are interested in planning a bilingual workshop.

The institutions that run the workshops will be responsible for choice of venues and day-to-day organization and management of the workshops. The organizers are expected to secure funding from local sources as far as possible. IATIS is able to offer limited funding for two workshops in any academic year that the workshops are held in. Please see Funding for more details.

The Regional Workshop organisers must use the IATIS logo on all publicity material related to the event and must acknowledge IATIS as its primary partner.

Contact us

The members of the IATIS Regional Workshops Committee are the first point of contact for any institution interested in organizing a workshop in their region. Your email should contain an indication of when you would like to hold your workshop (approximate month and year), topics relevant for your region, and the number of participants you would like to open the event to.

In our experience, it takes at least a year to 18 months from initial enquiry to event held, so please contact us in good time if you are planning to organize a regional workshop. We now have two deadlines each year if you plan to apply to us for funding: 1 May and 1 November of each year.

Next Closing Date: 1 November 2024 (for workshops to be held in 2025 or 2026)

Please send initial enquiries via email to any one of the members listed below:

• Brigid Maher: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
• Sharon Deane-Cox: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
• Khaled Al-Shehari: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Leo Tak-hung-Chan: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
• Abdel-Wahab Khalifa: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• María Laura Spoturno: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You can find further information on the research interests and academic affiliations of each member on the Regional Workshops Committee page