International Federation of Translators (FIT)
The International Federation of Translators` is a federation consisting of all translators’ associations, and its affiliated organizations are spread over the five continents. This federation was founded in Paris in 1953 by Pierre-Francois Caill (see French Heritage), a famous translator in the literary and informational field. The founding members were six associations of translators and interpreters from Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, the Federal Republic of Germany and Turkey. Since then, the Federation has developed into a large institution; in 1969 the number of ordinary members was 74 and the number of associate members was 21; these numbers are steadily increasing.
Regular members are the professional organizations that represent translators; the objectives of which are the objectives of the Federation itself. In order to apply for membership in the Federation, the word “translator” covers all those who practice translation in any of its forms (written, or oral), including those who specialise in one of the elements of the translation process or in research and education related to it. Affiliate members are for other organizations interested in translation; most of these institutions are universities and schools that teach translation. It is not possible for commercial translation agencies or the organizations they represent to obtain membership in the Federation.
The main objectives of the Federation are to bring the translators’ associations closer together and to strengthen interaction and cooperation between them; also sponsoring and facilitating the formation of such associations in countries where they do not exist. The Federation also aims to link other organizations specialised in translation or any other aspects of linguistic and cultural communication; and also to develop a kind of harmony and understanding among the member organizations; and exerts its good endeavours to resolve any disputes that may occur between these organizations; providing the necessary information and methods to the member organizations; promoting research and training and harmonizing professional standards; and in general, to preserve the moral and material interests of translators around the world and to support and expedite the process of recognition of their profession and strengthen their position in society to raise awareness. In order to achieve these goals, the Federation has established a number of commissions and committees, in addition to that, centres can be established in certain areas to support dialogue and interaction between associations. Currently there are only two regional centres: the North America Regional Centre, which was established in 1986; and the Regional Centre of Europe, which was decided to be established in 1993.
International Federation and re-instating membership in 2006
Mr. Qasim Mohammed Hassan, the expert translator who was the Vice President of the Association for the last session, reopened the channels of communication with the International Federation of Translators FIT for the purpose of restoring the Association’s status as one of its active members. The President of the Federation told us that the Association is no longer a member of the International Federation of Translators because there has been no news about it since 1998, as well as not paying the due subscriptions for its membership. On behalf of the members of the administrative and public bodies, Mr. Qassim Mohammed Hassan appealed to the International Federation to reactivate the Association’s membership in the Federation to take its place among the corresponding associations, and he received promises from the President of the Federation to strive to achieve this. A letter was edited in the name of Iraqi Translators` Association addressed to the Preparatory Committee for the International Federation of International Translators’ Conference, which was held in August 2005, appealing to the conferees to support the Association’s efforts to re-instate its membership in the Federation. The letter was welcomed by the President of the Federation, his two deputies and the Secretary General, and they promised to read it at the conference. The Association also received an invitation to attend the conference to clarify the Association’s current position and we apologise for the delay in receiving the invitation, as well as for the lack of the necessary financial resources. The President of the International Federation of Translators FIT promised us that she will work hard to re-instate our membership in the Federation and keep us on the Federation`s mailing list as one of its active members.
In 2006, Iraqi Translators Association, represented by the Vice-President of the Association, Mr. Qassim Muhammad Hassan, participated in the International Conference on Legal Translation and Court Translators, which was held in Warsaw under the auspices of the International Federation of Translators (FIT) for the period from 23-25 August 2006. The Vice-President of the Association appealed to the conferees to give full support to the Association and to Iraqi translators, as well as to intellectuals and university professors in these difficult circumstances that our country is going through. The conference came out with a final statement in respect to Iraqi translators, in which the conference urges the concerned parties to take care of the translators and protect them, as they are the educated segment and the link that connects Iraq to the world.
Re-instating Membership in 2015
At the end of 2014, the International Federation was approached again by the Association’s President, Dr. Ali Adnan Mushaush, to reinstate the Association’s membership in the Federation, the Federation’s response was positive and decided to exempt the Association from renewal fees for the previous years due to the difficult conditions that Iraq was going through. After numerous correspondences and the fulfilment of the Federation’s requirements, the Association’s membership in the International Federation of Translators was reinstated with membership number M039, and the final approval of the Association’s membership will take place at the next legal conference to be held by the Federation in July/August 2017.