CEATL or the Conseil européen des associations de traducteurs littéraires (European Council of Literary Translators' Associations), is an international

non-profit association A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, based in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, founded in 1993 to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas between literary translators' associations in various European countries, and to promote policies intended to improve the status and the working conditions of literary translators.

History

The idea of founding CEATL was first mooted during an informal meeting during the 1987 ''Assises de la traduction littéraire'' in

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

. CEATL was officially established as an international non-profit association in 1993. The founding members included translators' associations from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. As of 2023, the CEATL comprises 36 literary translators' associations in 27 European countries, representing some 10,000 individual translators.

Goals

The CEATL gathers information on the status of literary translation and the working conditions of literary translators in member countries and shares information together with examples of best practice observed in these countries. It regularly conducts statistical surveys on matters relating to literary translation, including legal status, working conditions and more recently the use of AI in literary translation. In addition, it defends the legal, social and economic interests of literary translators in Europe in a variety of ways, including

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and issuing statements about issues and trends that affect the profession or the quality of literary translation. It also strives to help member associations to improve the position of literary translators in their respective countries. CEATL publishes a free, bilingual e-zine called ''Contrepoint/Counterpoint'', which is published twice a year.

Procedure

Delegates from member associations meet for an annual AGM, which is hosted by national associations in turn. The executive committee of CEATL is made up of at least three elected members who serve for a term of two years, but may stand for reelection The executive committee is tasked with implementing the resolutions passed during the annual AGM, together with any other initiatives necessary required to achieve the goals of the CEATL. A number of working groups (Working Conditions, Copyright, Visibility, Training and Education, Best Practices) meet during the course of the year to work on specific projects. In October 2024, CEATL organised an inaugural European conference on literary translation in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

focusing on "the circulation of translated works in Europe and beyond," with a program of some 80 participants from a reported 30 countries.

References

External links

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CEATL statement on the use of AI in literary translation
{{Portal bar, Languages, Literature Translation associations Literary translation