60 books from seven main languages in the National Translation Project Plan 2023

The Syrian General Book Authority has announced the National Translation Project Plan for 2023 to meet the needs of both reader, researcher and national institutions.

The plan announced by the Authority through its website and drafted by a selected committee including academics and specialized translators, includes the translation of some 60 books from seven languages: English, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Turkish and Persian, and whose subjects cover literature, humanities, natural sciences, public health and all fields of knowledge calling on translators to participate in the enrichment of the Arabic Library in response to the community’s need for the books.

The authority explained that the largest share of books to be translated would be in the three languages, English, French and Russian, for the availability of qualified translators of these languages, in addition to understanding the literature, cultures, knowledge and sciences of the world’s contemporary peoples, while maintaining some important books that had not been completed in previous annual plans.

The Authority stressed that the national translation project is an ongoing process implemented within an annual plans, with the aim of focusing on the quality and usefulness of the selected book for the reader and institutions, eliminating spontaneity in translation and working with the relevant authorities to develop national plans and qualify translators in various contemporary living languages, as well as supporting paper publication by electronic publication to convey knowledge to the largest number of readers in the Arab world and the world.

In a statement to SANA, Director-General of the Authority, Dr. Nayef Al-Yassin noted that the books include different topics in aspects of knowledge, thought and literature, and aim at monitoring contemporary global intellectual trends, responding to the need of both reader and researcher and enriching the cultural movement and contributing to development.

He indicated that the Authority receives translated books from outside the plan, provided that it achieves the required standards in terms of the importance of the book and the quality of the translation.

Within its plan for 2022, the Authority issued 36 paper books and 37 e-books and held several seminars on translation with the continuation of the (Sami Al-Droubi Award for Translation) in its seventh edition. This process faced some difficulties including in securing all the selected books as a result of the sanctions imposed on Syria and the lack of translators in some languages, which hindered the optimal completion and presentation of translation work.

Amal Farhat