UNIVERSITAS Austria
| UNIVERSITAS Austria, professional association for interpreting and translation | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Association |
| founding | June 29, 1954
|
| place |
Vienna Austria
|
| President | Dagmar Jenner |
| Manager | María Palma (General Secretary) |
| Website | www.universitas.org |
With over 800 members, UNIVERSITAS Austria is the largest professional association for interpreting and translation in Austria . The non-political and non-profit-oriented association was founded on June 29, 1954 under the name of the Austrian Association of Interpreters UNIVERSITAS with the addition of the Association of Academic Translators and Graduated Interpreters . UNIVERSITAS Austria is a member of the Fédération internationale des traducteurs (FIT).
aims
According to the statutes, the aim of the association, which is organized according to the Austrian Law on Associations, is to bring together translators and interpreters in Austria in order to safeguard their class and professional interests. It is therefore incumbent on him in particular:
- Representing the common class and professional interests of the members at home and abroad, above all by informing the public about the qualifications of university-trained translators and interpreters, by maintaining and protecting the professional reputation and by drawing up guidelines for the provision of translational services
- the promotion and maintenance of academic work in all areas relating to translation and interpreting as well as language training in cooperation with the translation academic training institutions at Austrian universities
In order to achieve these goals, the association takes the following measures in particular:
- Establishing and maintaining permanent connections to interested business groups as well as private and public bodies at home and abroad
- Organization of meetings, formation of working committees, issuing of publications, in particular an association magazine, support of the libraries of the translation science training centers at Austrian universities, representation of the interests of the members in the public authorities, e.g. by the preparation of expert reports or the submission of relevant submissions and taking action against unfair competition
organization
According to the statutes, a president, a vice-president, a general secretary, a treasurer, a vice treasurer as well as a young member representative are planned for the board. For this purpose, between four and nine further board members can be elected at the board elections that take place every two years on the occasion of the general meeting.
In addition to the board of directors, the following committees or working groups have been set up, which work autonomously but in coordination with the board: translation committee, interpreting committee, community interpreting committee, PR / strategy group.
Members
There are the following types of membership: Full members can become professional translators and / or interpreters, although their professional residence does not have to be in Austria. Students can become a young member. Inactive translators can join the association as a friend. Members who have made an outstanding contribution to the profession can be made honorary members.
After two years of regular membership and an internal qualification test, you have the option of applying for UNIVERSITAS Austria certification. All certified members can be found via the public database on the association's website and are therefore available for orders from the general public.
All members are obliged to adhere to the professional and honorary rules of the association. An arbitration tribunal has been set up to resolve any disputes among the members.
activities
In order to achieve the above-mentioned goals, the association's activities are geared, among other things, to informing the public about the professional field of translation and to clarify its requirements. Information events, press releases, cooperation with the economy, stands at trade fairs, cooperation with schools and much more are used for this purpose. UNIVERSITAS Austria is also active in social media (Twitter, Facebook).
Internally, the focus is on further training for members and solidarity with one another. The association magazine appears quarterly and is also accessible to the public in electronic form.
To support young translators starting their careers, a mentoring program has been set up under the name Maria Verber Program.