Kiri

Ref. Ares(2020)1231018 - 27/02/2020 EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EDUCATION AND CULTURE Culture and Creativity Culture Policy Brussels, 27 February 2020 Ares (2020) NOTE TO THE ATTENTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE CULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Subject: Invitation to nominate experts for an Open Method of Coordination (OMC) group on "Multilingualism and Translation" under the Work Plan of Culture 2019-2022 – Priority B In November 2018, the Council adopted the 2019-2022 Work Plan for Culture1, which focuses on five key priorities where acting at EU level can deliver a clear added value: (1) sustainability in cultural heritage; (2) cohesion and well-being; (3) an ecosystem supporting artists, cultural and creative professionals and European content; (4) gender equality; (5) international cultural relations. The Work Plan foresees the establishment of an Open Method of Coordination (OMC) expert group on "Multilingualism and Translation" in the first half of 2020. Participation in the work of this group is voluntary and Member States can join at any time. If your Member State is interested to participate in this group, I would be grateful if you could nominate one expert who will represent your country in this group by 22 April 2019. To do so, please find below a few practical indications as to the timing, profile of experts and reimbursements of their costs. Timing of the expert group The work of this OMC group should start in May 2020. The group will meet approximately 5 times until autumn 2021. The tentative dates for the first meeting are 25-26 May 2020. Mandate for the group According to the procedure laid down in the Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022, the mandate of this OMC group has been finalised in the Cultural Affairs Committee on the basis of the draft mandate proposed by the Commission. The mandate is provided in the Annex 2 to this letter. Profile of the experts When adopting the Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022, EU Member States decided on a few principles relating to membership and functioning of the working groups. These principles state 1 Official Journal C460/10 of 21.12.2018, link: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?qid=1554803950972&uri=CELEX:52018XG1221(01) Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111 Office: J-70 02/61 - Tel. direct line +32 229-63872 - Fax +32 229-99283 http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture [email protected] that the expert has 'a practical experience in the field at national level, and that s/he will ensure effective communication with competent national authorities'. Past experience with OMC groups in the field of culture shows that for the OMC process to be beneficial, experts should be involved in or closely linked to national policy making. In addition, experts should actively contribute to the work of the group with presentations, drafting texts related to the group's deliverables and committing to disseminate its results to policy makers and relevant stakeholders at home. If no suitable expert from the national administration can be identified for the purpose of the OMC group, Member States can exceptionally appoint experts from NGOs or cultural organisations. Sectorial expertise and number of experts Experts should be able to contribute effectively to the discussions and fulfilment of the group's mandate. They should therefore have a good knowledge of the relevant public policies, funding mechanisms, practices and grassroots initiatives aiming at:  stimulating the cross-border circulation of literature books and/or other works (audiovisual works, theatre plays, music) which require translation, subtitling or dubbing to be fully accessible by non-speakers; and/or  building the capacities of the translation sector and the competences of translators active in the cultural and creative sectors. The experts should have good practical knowledge of the whole value chain (in particular in the book sector) and the synergies needed to bring the work from an author/creator to a wide audience outside its national borders. A good knowledge of the IT tools used by translators and technological innovations (artificial intelligence, automated translation) in the field of (literary) translation would also be useful. For this reason, we would be grateful if you could identify an expert who fulfils the above requirements. Transparency Nominated experts will be identified by name and function in the final report and any associated proceedings of the OMC. Contact details (email addresses) may also be shared on request. For the sake of transparency, all documents related to the OMC meetings including agendas and minutes will be made available online in the Register of Experts managed by the Secretariat- General of the European Commission and accessible via the Europa website (click here). Reimbursement Experts who are civil servants or public administration employees will have their travel costs reimbursed, but their accommodation costs will not be covered and there will be no daily allowance. Please note that following a change to the rules for reimbursement of expert groups, any expert from NGOs or cultural organisations participating in OMC groups will have their costs reimbursed in the same way as civil servants or public administration employees: that is, only travel costs will be reimbursed; accommodation will not be covered and there will be no daily allowance. 2  Only one expert per Member State will receive reimbursement of travel costs. However, if exceptionally a second expert is nominated, travel costs of both experts will be reimbursed. Chairperson The nomination letter from your institution or agency should indicate if an expert would be willing to chair the working group. Candidates for the chair should be made fully aware of the time investment that such a position requires, particularly with regard to steering the preparation of the expert group's expected output and coordinating the drafting process. The expression of interest to serve as chair should be accompanied by a CV and a motivation letter, which will be shared with all OMC group members prior to the election of the chair. The election of the chair will take place at the first meeting of the OMC Group. Working language Due to current budget limitations for translation/interpretation, and in order to use resources in the most effective way, the working language for the OMC group will be English. The Commission will cover costs of translation of the group’s final report (full version and executive summary) into French and German, and format these for publication. Publication of other EU language reports/summaries could be envisaged, if translations are provided by the group. I would be grateful if you could complete the attached nomination form (Annex 1) and send it to Ms Florence Baeke ([email protected] ) by 22 April 2020. Mr Arnaud Pasquali ([email protected]) will be happy to answer any further queries you may have about the nomination procedure. Yours sincerely, Susanne Hollmann Deputy Head of Unit Enclosure: Draft Mandate for the group Form for contact details of the appointed expert 3 Electronically signed on 27/02/2020 12:17 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563 Council of the European Union Brussels, 20 February 2020 (OR. en) 6173/20 CULT 13 NOTE From: General Secretariat of the Council To: Delegations No. prev. doc.: 5740/20 Subject: Open Method of Coordination (OMC) group of Member States’ experts on Multilingualism and Translation - Final mandate Delegations will find attached the mandate for the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) group of Member States’ experts on Multilingualism and Translation, as finalised further to the discussions at the Cultural Affairs Committee meeting on 18 February. 6173/20 CC/ja 1 TREE.1.B EN  ANNEX Open Method of Coordination (OMC) group of Member States’ experts on Multilingualism and Translation set up under Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022 Priority C. An ecosystem supporting artists, cultural and creative professionals and European content - mandate - Rationale: 1. The Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022 provides for the creation of an Open Method of Coordination (OMC) Group of Member States’ experts focussing on Multilingualism and Translation, considering that “in a multilingual environment, translation is key to enabling broader access to European content”. 2. Translation and translators play a key role in the circulation of European works especially in the book sector but also other sectors, such as performing arts (over-titling), film (subtitling and dubbing), music (lyrics translation) or museums and exhibitions. Translation contributes to social inclusion and European integration by facilitating access for non-native speakers to works from other countries. 3. The role of translators is not limited to translating texts. In the book sector, for instance, translators very often act as ambassadors and promoters to publishers of books to be translated or theatre plays to be adapted. This is especially true for texts written in languages which are less widely spoken in Europe (“lesser-used languages”), and which, in the absence of an English translation, are not readily accessible to international publishers. After translation, translators can also contribute to the promotion of the translated work to a large audience. 4. The creative sectors need therefore to have access to professional translators with solid linguistic and cultural competences in literary translation. The higher education system has an important role to play in the initial training of literary translators and the diversification 6173/20 CC/ja 2 TREE.1.B EN  of languages especially for lesser-used languages. Besides linguistic competences translators should develop the ability to interact with each step of the value chain: such as – for the book sector - authors, book agencies and other book-related public bodies, publishers, literary agents or book fairs etc. as well as writers and dramaturges, theatre directors, critics, musicologists, etc. in the performing arts sector. 5. Fair remuneration and good contractual relationships with the clients (publishers) are also important aspects of the professionalisation of the sector. 6. Where relevant, translators also need to understand the technological specificities of the different supports (i.e. dubbing, subtitling, over-titling and any other digital means) to serve fully the needs of the different sectors. Recent technological changes such as automated translation and artificial intelligence are already having an impact on the translation sector. For the creative sector, it is necessary to assess to what extent those evolutions can be applicable to literary translation and how translators could use them in the future. 7. Translating for the creative sector is a niche market, especially concerning the translation from and to lesser-used languages. Strong linguistic, cultural, technological and professional competences are necessary conditions for the sustainability of the translation sector but not enough to ensure its growth. The professionalisation of the sector, the availability of translators covering a wide diversity of languages and the emergence of new translators depend primarily on the level and the diversity of the demand from the various creative sectors. 8. The publishing and book sector in particular remains of particular importance for translators considering the volume of translations and the special role translators can play in promoting books before and after translation. The translation sector can therefore play its full role and contribute to multilingualism and cultural diversity only if, in turn, the whole book value chain (authors, book fairs, literary agents, publishers, distributors, libraries and booksellers) becomes more active in the circulation of works. Public policies including financial support at EU and national level can play a key role in that regard. Role of the OMC group 9. In order to encourage multilingualism and translation and to promote better circulation of European works, the OMC Group will discuss how EU and national support schemes and 6173/20 CC/ja 3 TREE.1.B EN  public funding may support the book and publishing sector at each step of the value chain, from the original author to readers across borders, in Europe and beyond with a special focus on translation from and to lesser-used languages. The OMC Group will discuss in particular how the translation sector should be reinforced to cover the needs of the book and publishing sector but also other cultural and creative sectors (visual and performing arts, the audiovisual sector and the music sector) as well as the general public/audience in order to contribute to the circulation of cultural works. The OMC Group will recommend concrete measures, which may be implemented under the 2021-2027 Creative Europe programme. 10. Experts will exchange on national policies and best practices in international book promotion; training and professionalisation of literary translators; and funding mechanisms to support translation, publication, distribution and promotion of European books and other works within the EU and beyond. Discussions will include lessons learnt from the book and publishing sector, as well as other cultural sectors such as visual and performing arts, audiovisual and music sectors, in order to build synergies, when possible. 11. The OMC Group should primarily be composed of experts from the book and/or translation sector. The group may decide to involve external experts, professional bodies and civil society with specific expertise in technological aspects (e.g. automated translation) or experience in translating for other sectors (performing arts or audiovisual). 12. Based on the findings resulting from the activities mentioned above, the OMC Group will prepare a report providing at least the following chapters: the role of public policies and funding schemes at national and European level in helping 1) the circulation of translated books and 2) the development of a vibrant translation sector able to cover all cultural sectors. It should include an analysis of best practices as well as recommendations addressed to the relevant public entities, and also to professionals and other concerned stakeholders. The OMC group is expected to start its work in the spring 2020 and a mid-term presentation to the Cultural Affairs Committee could be envisaged early 2021. The final report, to be examined in the second half 2021, could serve as an input for the Presidency conference in the first half of 2022. 6173/20 CC/ja 4 TREE.1.B EN 6173/20 CC/ja 5 TREE.1.B EN