Libya has launched its third conference on translation, organised by Libya’s Academy of Graduate Studies, the British Council and the Italian Institute in Tripoli.
Present at the event were Dr. Saleh Ibrahim Al Mabrouk, Dean of the Academy of Graduate Studies; Mrs. Anna, Director of the British Council in Tripoli; Peter Rosily, Head of the Italian Institute in Tripoli; Mrs. Jennifer, Advisor at the US Embassy at Tripoli; Cultural Attaches of the Tunisian and Moroccan embassies in Tripoli; and a number of scholars, professors and students.
During the conference, Mabrouk stressed the important role of translation in the advancement of civilisations, noting that it is translation (not merely learning a foreign language) that led the Arabs previously to take a leading position in science and knowledge in the world.
“Translation is an important subject that must not be undermined. The Arabs had advanced previously due to translation, not due to learning foreign languages. Learning a foreign language on its own does not lead to a Renaissance. In order to revive knowledge, translation and the transmitting of scientific information is needed,” said Mabrouk.
Mabrouk called for establishing a national institution for translation that will sponsor and oversee major translation projects, in order to help revive a scientific revolution in the Arab world.
During the two day conference, scholars would present and discuss research papers on translation, the policies of translation in the West and in the East, the role of translation to bring cultures closer together, the important role of translation in news and information, grammatical issues of translation, electronic translation and other translation-related issues.
The scholars would also discuss the best methods of accurate translation.
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