MANIFESTO IN FAVOUR OF TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING AT THE SERVICE OF SOCIETY AS A WHOLE AND OF ALL SOCIETIES

Text of the declaration adopted by the participants at the 1st International Forum on Translation, Interpreting and Activism, held in Granada

GRANADA DECLARATION

The participants of the 1st International Forum on Social Activism in Translation and Interpreting, held in Granada from 28th to 30th April 2007, are aware that:

• the work of translators and interpreters is not limited to acting solely as a neutral conveyor of ideas between cultures;
• translators and interpreters have been used throughout history not only to disseminate ideas and expand cultures beyond language barriers, but also, and only too frequently, as a tool for colonisation, and social, economic political and gender domination;
• the process of neoliberal globalisation and the subsequent emergence of social movements worldwide increasingly confirm the role of translators and interpreters as a tool at the service of the globalisers, on the one hand, and the globalised on the other, the latter being supported by the alterglobalisation movement;

We therefore call upon translators, interpreters, researchers and students of Translation and Interpreting who are aware of the need for a change of direction in these professions to put their knowledge at the service of society as a whole, and of all societies, with the aim of

• building intercultural societies which, without adversely affecting the host cultures, favour communication and mutual enrichment among the different cultures present in each society;
• reinforcing links between social movements around the world that work to promote a more just society;
• defending language diversity through making translations available and showing respect for the equal dignity of every language in all spheres, including academic circles, faced with the hegemonic dominance of colonial languages;
• Strengthening translators' and interpreters' associations and networks, be them local or international;
• endorsing concepts of training in Translation and Interpreting which follow these principles and are not exclusively at the service of the interests of the current market, nor of the powerful or dominant forces in every society or in the world;
• rejecting the use of translators and interpreters by military forces during wars of occupation;
• Defending those professional organisations which are not only concerned with safeguarding the interests of one sector of the profession, but rather which are committed to the needs of all society and societies and open to the community of both translators and interpreters as a whole.