EU young translator contest unveils this year's 27 winners

The European Commission announces the 27 young winners of its 17th EU young translation contest (Juvenes Translatores) for secondary schools. The topic of this year was ‘daring to make a difference'.

Over 3 000 enthusiastic participants put their language skills to the test, choosing to translate a text between any two of the EU's 24 official languages. While English has a prominent role, of the 552 language combinations available, students from 701 schools used 155 combinations, including Romanian into Swedish and Czech into Danish.

Students participating in the contest enjoyed the opportunity to discover the fascinating world of translation. As a student from a school in Austria put it: ‘Juvenes Translatores was not only a competition for me, but an opportunity to get to know translation. An experience, a realisation which allowed me to recognise how different languages can be, but that at the core they connect us all.'

The European Commission's translators selected one winner for each EU country, as well as 247 students who received special mentions for their outstanding translations.

The award ceremony will take place in Brussels, on 21 March 2024.

Background

Funded by the Erasmus+ programme, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation has organised the Juvenes Translatores contest every year since 2007, to promote translation and multilingualism. Over the years, the contest has been a life-changing experience for many of its entrants and winners. Some have decided to study translation at university, and some have joined the European Commission's translation department as a trainee or a full-time translator.

The goal of the Juvenes Translatores contest is to promote language learning in schools and give young people a taste of what it is like to be a translator. The competition is open to 17-year-old secondary school students and takes place at the same time in all selected schools across the EU.

Multilingualism, and therefore translation, has been an integral feature of the EU since the European Communities were first created. It was enshrined in the very first Regulation, adopted in 1958. Since then, the number of official EU languages has grown from 4 to 24, as more countries joined the EU.

2023-2024 Juvenes Translatores winners:

COUNTRY	WINNER		PARTICIPANTS per COUNTRY
COUNTRY	Name, language pair	Name of the school, city	Number of schools	Number of students
Austria	Clara Bonelli, FR-DE	Franziskus GYM Wels, Wels	19	81
Belgium	Iness Hamdaoui, EN-NL	Xaveriuscollege, Borgerhout	20	96
Bulgaria	Памела Калпакчиева, EN-BG	СУ "Христо Ботев", Карнобат	17	80
Croatia	Dominik Mihaljinec, EN-HR	Srednja škola Krapina, Krapina	12	52
Cyprus	Ανδρέας Παναγιώτου, EL-EN	Λύκειο Κύκκου Πάφου, Πάφος	6	30
Czechia	Magdalena Ulmanová, EN-CZ	Gymnázium Praha 7, Praha	21	92
Denmark	Falke Lindegaard Hvidtfeldt, DE-DA	Rysensteen Gymnasium, Humlebæk	14	60
Estonia	Kertu Reimal, EN-ET	Rapla Gümnaasium, Rapla	7	31
Finland	Adele Kujansivu, EN-SV	Karleby svenska gymnasium, Karleby	14	58
France	Jeanne Fenet, EN-FR	Lycée Général et Technologique Evariste Galois, Sartrouville	79	369
Germany	Tomasz Raes, PL-DE	Auguste-Viktoria-Gymnasium Trier (Unesco project school), Trier	95	369
Greece	Άννα Παναγιωτάκη, EN-EL	5ο Γενικό Λύκειο Ηρακλείου, Ηράκλειο	21	99
Hungary	László Mátyás Kovács, EN-HU	Nyíregyházi Zrínyi Ilona Gimnázium és Kollégium, Nyíregyháza	21	90
Ireland	Fionnán Ó Coisdealbha, EN-GA	Coláiste Chroí Mhuire, Galway	13	58
Italy	Elisa Zucchelli, EN-IT	IIS Galileo Galilei, Crema	76	358
Latvia	Katrīna Pujate, EN-LV	Rīgas Centra humanitārā vidusskola, Riga	8	31
Lithuania	Gantas Novilas Adomkus EN-LT	Telšių Žemaitės gimnazija Telšiai	11	46
Luxembourg	Lena Kraus, EN-DE	Athénée de Luxembourg, Luxembourg	6	30
Malta	Amy Pullicino, EN-MT	De la salle sixth form, Birgu	6	22
Netherlands	Pieter Geerse, EN-NL	Emmauscollege, Rotterdam	28	90
Poland	Rozalia Wróblewska, EN-PL	IX Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Klementyny offmanowej, Warszawa	52	211
Portugal	João Francisco Cardoso Fontes, EN-PT	Colégio de Nossa Senhora da Assunção, Anadia	21	94
Romania	Matei Abălaru, EN-RO	Colegiul Național Mircea cel Bătrân, Constanța	33	160
Slovakia	Sára Mária Hollaarová, NL-SK	Cirkevné gymnázium Štefana Mišíka, Spišská Nová Ves	14	63
Slovenia	Helena Obid, EN-SL	Gimnazija Jurija Vege Idrija, Idrija	8	35
Spain	Elena Gómez Rodríguez, EN-ES	International School SEK-Ciudalcampo, San Sebastián de los Reyes	59	277
Sweden	Ivar Lasses, EN-SV	Tumba gymnasium, Tumba	20	74
TOTAL			701	3056

* The number of participating schools from each EU country is equal to the number of seats it has in the European Parliament, with the schools being selected randomly by computer.

For more information

Announcement of the contest

Juvenes Translatores website

Juvenes Translatores Instagram

@translatores

Quote(s)

Congratulations to the winners of the EU’s 2023 Juvenes Translatores contest! And congratulations to all 3 056 young translators who participated – you are all winners! Today, gaining a better understanding of each other’s cultures and standpoints is more important than ever. With language skills, you learn to find meaning and help people bridge divides. Especially in view of the upcoming European elections, the EU wants to see young people have a strong voice and feel heard.

Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Administration

Details

Publication date: 9 February 2024
Author: Representation in Cyprus