Best in translation: Matei Abălaru, the Romanian winner of EU’s young translator contest

The European Commission recently congratulated the 27 winners of the 17th edition of its translation contest for high school students, Juvenes Translatores. One winner was selected in each EU state, with Matei Abălaru from the National College Mircea cel Bătrân in Constanța being the one from Romania.

A total of 3,056 students tested their linguistic skills by translating a text to and from any of the EU's 24 official languages as part of the competition. This year's contest theme was "Daring to make a change".

Out of the 552 available language combinations, students from 701 schools across the European Union used 155 combinations, including translations from Romanian to Swedish and from Czech to Danish. 33 schools from Romania were selected, which enrolled 160 students in the contest, according to the EC press release.

Aside from the winners, the Commission's translators also selected 247 students who received special mentions for their exceptional translations. A number of 20 students from Romania received special mentions in this edition.

The award ceremony will take place on March 21, 2024, in Brussels.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation, funded by the Erasmus+ program, has organized the Juvenes Translatores contest every year since 2007, with the aim of promoting translation and multilingualism. The contest is addressed to high school students aged 17 and takes place simultaneously in all selected schools across the EU.

Multilingualism and, consequently, translation work have been an integral part of the EU since the creation of the European Communities. This principle was enshrined in the very first regulation, adopted in 1958. Since then, the number of official languages of the EU has grown from 4 to 24, as more countries have joined the EU.

(Photo source: Romania.representation.ec.europa.eu)