Indonesia, but some also came from other countries, including Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. A meeting between UNNES officials and overseas delegates was also arranged to explore opportunities for international collaboration

Conference Sessions:

Under the theme of Translation and Cultural Identity, there were two keynote sessions given by Dr Şebnem Susam-Saraeva (University of Edinburgh, UK) and Dr. Carol O’ Sullivan (University of Portsmouth, UK) and two featured sessions by the President of IATIS, Professor Juliane House (Hamburg University, Germany and American Hellenic University, Greece), and  Professor John Milton (University of São Paulo, Brazil). The topics of the talks ranged from widening the scope of translation, translation as intercultural communication, to the expression of cultural identity in subtitling, and the history of the development of Translation Studies in Brazil. In addition, there were 13 parallel sessions, presenting translation of literary works, pedagogy of translation, audiovisual translation and the translation of sacred texts.  A panel session with the plenary speakers concluded the program, focusing on support and networking opportunities available for Translation Studies research.

Cultural events at the conference:

As a conservation university, UNNES has a mission to support the protection, preservation, utilization and sustainable development of the natural and cultural resources of Indonesia.  In line with this mission, and to give the delegates a taste of the rich Indonesian culture, a cultural night entitled Conserving the Diversity of Indonesian Cultures complemented the academic program.  Some Javanese gamelan music and dances from different parts of Indonesia were performed by UNNES students. 

For the delegates to gain not only academic but also cultural and social insight, a tour of Semarang city as well as package tours of Borobudur temple, Prambanan temple, and Yogyakarta city were also organized.

Workshop Outcomes:

Participants—including the organizing committee, felt that the conference was fruitful as it gave them insight into the wide range of topics within Translation Studies that they had been unaware of before.  The panel discussion on research in translation and intercultural studies was especially useful as the interactive nature of the session meant that participants were exposed to different points of view within the discipline. Feedback from participants, who highly appreciated the opportunity to interact with scholars internationally, has been very positive.

Institution—the workshop was one of the first events that brought international scholars working on translation studies to the university. The dinner and meeting between UNNES representatives and the overseas delegates gave UNNES staff an opportunity for international networking with overseas universities. The organizing committee also looks forward to better networking among scholars of Translation and Intercultural Studies in the region following this workshop.  It is also hoped that a Masters Program in Translation Studies will be established at the university in the not too distant future.