The 'Juvenes Translatores' contest, in its third year, is open to secondary-school students throughout the bloc's 27 countries. It gives youngsters the opportunity "to try out what it is like to be a translator," according to European Commission's translation department, the organiser of the event.
The contest "raises awareness about translation studies and the ever-growing need for translators, both in the EU institutions and throughout Europe in general," according to the Commission.
The present 23 official EU languages constitute 506 translation and interpreting combinations, a figure which would increase significantly if Croatia, Serbia and Turkey join the bloc.
Fears that the EU will face a "serious shortage" of interpreters within five to 10 years have led its institutions to run joint awareness-raising campaigns this year to encourage young people to consider language careers in Brussels.
Indeed, Commission representatives were in France last week alongside colleagues from the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice to advertise careers as interpreters at the European Education Salon in Paris (EurActiv 20/11/09).
Last week's effort follows earlier initiatives to boost interest in EU language careers among native English (EurActiv 18/02/09), Czech and Latvian speakers. A similar campaign will be launched in German-speaking countries before the end of the year.
Today's translation contest sees participants receive a short text to translate from one official EU language to another, according to their personal preference.
The number of schools taking part in the event in each country is proportional to its size, meaning that France, Germany, Italy and the UK have the highest number of participants.
A jury made up of professional Commission translators will select the best translation from each EU country, with the 27 winners invited to Brussels to receive a prize in spring 2010.
