MOving WOrds 2015
The New Zealand Centre for Literary Translation and Wai-te-ata Press in collaboration with the New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters (NZSTI) recently hosted MoWo, the second annual translation competition for New Zealand secondary schools.
The New Zealand Centre for Literary Translation and Wai-te-ata Press in collaboration with the New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters (NZSTI) recently hosted MoWo, the second annual translation competition for New Zealand secondary schools.
Five students from John Paul College, Rotorua, Wanganui High School, Lindisfarne College, Hastings, and Wellington Girls’ College converged on 7 December for a workshop focussing on language study at Victoria and careers in translation. An awards ceremony was also attended by over 40 students, staff, diplomats, friends, and family.
This year’s competition theme was “Peace” and the students selected challenging texts ranging from Victor Hugo’s “Après la Bataille” and Paul Eluard’s “Légion” to Amado Nervo’s “En Paz” and “Un Poema para el mundo” by Ramiro Pinto; “I Yearn for Peace” by yuan hao123 translated from Chinese was particularly poignant. Karl Wilson, President of the NZSTI along with his co-judges Brigette Holland and Ceci Titulaer congratulated the students on tackling the complexities of poetry and producing work that was both assured and moving. Supreme award co-winners Kesia Kurian and Beth Cheesman from Rotorua were singled out for being adept in rhyme as well as word choice and metre.
MoWo 2015 award winners [from left]: Kadin Good, Hannah Prior, Grace Thurlow, Kesia Kurian, Beth Cheesman [absent: Katherine Bonné]
Supreme award co-winners Kesia Kurian and Beth Cheesman from John Paul College, Rotorua with Pascale Seignolles (Embassy of France), Karl Wilson (NZSTI) and Allison Kirkman (Victoria University)
The awards ceremony also marked the last official function of outgoing director, Marco Sonzogni (pictured right), whose generous, collaborative, inspired and fully engaged leadership made creative conversations at Wai-te-ata Press and beyond a thing of beauty and a joy forever. The audience formally welcomed Luo Hui (pictured left), previous director of Victoria’s Confucius Institute and now its arts advisor, and head of the Chinese Programme in the School of Languages and Cultures to the role of director of the NZCLT.
Hui has a great lineup of activities in the planning stages for 2016, starting with the launch of 25 Best New Zealand Poems in Chinese for late February/early March next year.
For further information about MoWo and to view a permanent record of participants, winners, and their creative work, please visit Moving Words NZ
For a video clip of this event, please see Translation prize for New Zealand secondary schools.
For more images from this event, visit Image Services.
