Message from the Chair
Dear colleagues,
Message from the CHAIR
I hope that this issue of Proteus and this message find you well. For some of us the chill in the air once again reminds us how quickly the calendar has changed. The next time that I write to you, it will be 2012. My message for you is that we are living in exciting times for the interpreting profession and 2012 will be an important year with much potential.One of the unique advantages of this position is that it has afforded me the opportunity to travel across the United States and connect with a diverse group of language professionals and stakeholders. It is quite obvious to me that the profession is moving towards greater standardization and increased professionalism. In fact, my observation has been that those two concepts are the primary drivers for many of the projects and initiatives that are underway today.
The leaders and representatives of all of the stakeholders in our profession have had the opportunity this year to meet and collaborate at various venues; most recently, I attended the meeting of the Translation and Interpreting Summit Advisory Council (TISAC) in Boston, MA, hosted by the American Translators Association prior to their annual conference. As the name implies, TISAC is composed of representatives from government, academia, business and associations and organizations that represent language professionals. It is a prime vehicle to achieve those two goals of standardization and increased professionalism as well as to foster true cooperation among all stakeholders, allowing us to speak with a unified voice.
TISAC was originally founded to focus solely on translation. Thanks in great part to the work of former NAJIT Chair Dr. Alexander Rainof and others, “Interpreting” was incorporated into the name, but more importantly, it was specifically incorporated into the mission statement of the organization. This year, I had the honor, along with Dr. Rainof, to represent you at the meeting. It was a very productive and encouraging day. The summary minutes can be found at www.TISAC.org The atmosphere was one of cooperation, collegiality and collaboration. Based upon the original mission of the council, the agenda was still skewed toward the translation profession. However, Prof. Alan Melby, TISAC Chair and member of the ATA Board of Directors,has vowed to have an agenda that is equally balanced between interpreting and translation at next year’s meeting in San Diego.
The role for organizations like NAJIT that have a seat at that table is to reflect the issues and concerns of our membership. I look forward to continuing to do that this coming year. Many of the important initiatives towards standardization and increased professionalism are, by their very nature, slow to be implemented. In the interim, there are pressing issues like the ones I have spoken about in prior messages that impact the individual practitioner everyday. These must be addressed at a quicker pace, particularly in the areas of education, advocacy and technology. Organizations like ours need to use our influence to do that in a concerted way.
To facilitate addressing these pressing issues, it is important that NAJIT leadership interact both organizationally and personally with local and state associations. In my time as Chair, I have traveled to and spoken at several conferences of these organizations. I have interacted with many individual practitioners and the entire Board of Directors and I will endeavor to leverage NAJIT’s position so that these issues can be addressed nationally and with a united voice. I look forward to the opportunity to speak at other conferences in the coming year. At the NAJIT conference in Boston in May of 2012, the Board of Directors will host a “Town Hall” type meeting to dialogue about the trends and issues that are affecting us all. I hope many of you can attend.
In addition to fact-finding, my participation at local and state events has once again reminded me of how so much of the impetus behind local efforts is being provided by NAJIT members. Space constraints and the risk of putting you to sleep will prevent me from enumerating, but to all of you who have founded, lead or support local organizations and movements, I would like to say “Thank you". You do yourselves and NAJIT proud. I also thank all of our members for your continued support of NAJIT. I encourage you to become as involved as you can with our work and that of these other organizations. Volunteerism is the lifeblood of NAJIT. It is, therefore, important for all of us to be mindful to temper our criticism of volunteers, consider the action we take on behalf of the association, and not undermine it by cutting off its lifeblood. I hope that we can always have our discussions and differences be about ideas or opinions and not about people. I continue to be humbled by your service and support.
Sincerely,
Rob
Rob Cruz
Chairman
Twitter: @najitchair