0:00:09.812,0:00:12.644
I'm so excited to be here with all of you

0:00:12.669,0:00:14.003
and to have this conversation

0:00:14.028,0:00:18.765
I think we have six people[br]joining us on Skype from around the world,

0:00:18.790,0:00:20.402
so perhaps we could bring them up.

0:00:20.427,0:00:21.736
Hello!

0:00:23.856,0:00:25.124
(June Cohen) Hello!

0:00:25.149,0:00:28.008
I'm waving at the screen,[br]I should be waving here, I think,

0:00:28.033,0:00:29.938
It's so good to see you all!

0:00:30.137,0:00:33.762
You know, I always love to start[br]with a quick round of introductions,

0:00:33.787,0:00:36.442
because I'm so fascinated[br]by everyone who's here,

0:00:36.467,0:00:39.294
so maybe we can start in Bologna.

0:00:40.376,0:00:42.042
All right, that would be me, then.

0:00:42.192,0:00:44.820
I'm Alberto, I'm from Italy, obviously.

0:00:44.845,0:00:46.890
And I translate into Italian.

0:00:46.915,0:00:48.022
Thank you, Alberto.

0:00:48.047,0:00:50.899
And let's see if I can pronounce[br]every city up there.

0:00:50.924,0:00:52.134
I'm going to try...[br]Pune!

0:00:52.303,0:00:55.388
Hey, it's Abhishek Suryawanshi[br]from Pune, India.

0:00:55.538,0:00:57.933
And which languages do you translate into?

0:00:57.958,0:01:00.339
I translate into Marathi and Hindi.

0:01:01.487,0:01:04.010
That is great, and maybe[br]we'll come into the room.

0:01:04.036,0:01:05.984
I'm Els, I come from Belgium.

0:01:06.009,0:01:08.397
I translate into Dutch,[br]which is my mother tongue,

0:01:08.397,0:01:10.268
and also into French and Italian.

0:01:10.268,0:01:13.366
I'm Anwar from Sudan,[br]I translate into Arabic.

0:01:13.757,0:01:17.050
I'm Kristine from Armenia[br]and I translate into Armenian.

0:01:17.457,0:01:21.405
I'm Wataru, I'm from Tokyo[br]and I translate into Japanese.

0:01:22.328,0:01:25.138
And we're going to go back[br]around the world.

0:01:25.163,0:01:26.797
And can I go to you, Hanna?

0:01:26.822,0:01:30.641
Hi, I'm Hanna[br]and I translate into Ukrainian.

0:01:31.614,0:01:33.319
And to Christel.

0:01:33.915,0:01:37.493
Hello, I'm Christel, I'm Belgian,

0:01:37.518,0:01:39.083
I translate into Dutch.

0:01:39.790,0:01:40.957
Hi, Els!

0:01:40.982,0:01:42.250
(Els De Keyser) Hi!

0:01:42.275,0:01:43.524
(Laughter)

0:01:43.549,0:01:45.409
(June Cohen) Everyone knows Els.

0:01:45.434,0:01:46.863
(Dutch) Good morning!

0:01:48.063,0:01:49.063
And to Meric.

0:01:50.060,0:01:52.305
(Meric Aydonat) Hello, I'm Meric.

0:01:52.438,0:01:55.567
I'm from Turkey[br]and I translate into Turkish.

0:01:55.712,0:01:58.493
(June Cohen) I have to tell you[br]that my favorite part

0:01:58.518,0:02:00.341
literally of every conference

0:02:00.366,0:02:02.613
is getting to talk[br]to some of our translators,

0:02:02.638,0:02:06.274
because I just find you to be[br]the most inspiring community

0:02:06.299,0:02:07.335
I've ever come across.

0:02:07.360,0:02:09.524
But one of the things[br]I'd love to start with

0:02:09.549,0:02:12.235
is something some of you know[br]but maybe some of you don't,

0:02:12.260,0:02:15.291
which is that the Translation Project[br]was not our idea.

0:02:15.316,0:02:16.316
It was yours.

0:02:16.616,0:02:20.469
So, we launched TEDTalks[br]almost seven years ago,

0:02:20.494,0:02:22.887
and from the moment[br]that we put the talks online,

0:02:22.912,0:02:27.940
within weeks, we actually started getting[br]emails from people around the world,

0:02:27.965,0:02:30.448
saying, "We want to translate[br]these talks."

0:02:30.473,0:02:33.237
And one of the things that struck me was,

0:02:33.262,0:02:36.888
we'd get emails that said, "I want[br]to translate these into Polish, Spanish...

0:02:36.913,0:02:39.229
Here, I've already translated this[br]into Hebrew.

0:02:39.254,0:02:40.579
Here!"

0:02:40.604,0:02:43.097
And what was so interesting to me[br]about these emails

0:02:43.122,0:02:47.711
was that they, you, weren't asking us[br]to translate the talks.

0:02:47.736,0:02:50.105
You were saying,[br]"We want to translate these talks."

0:02:50.130,0:02:53.013
"We want to make them available,[br]we want to be a part of this.

0:02:53.038,0:02:54.169
We want to help."

0:02:54.194,0:02:56.059
And that was a profound moment for me,

0:02:56.084,0:03:00.340
the realization of the generosity[br]that was in the world.

0:03:00.767,0:03:02.696
And so, we actually eventually listened.

0:03:02.721,0:03:05.460
And these emails actually became[br]a little more insistent.

0:03:05.485,0:03:07.429
They went from "I would like to translate"

0:03:07.454,0:03:09.243
to "Here's what we think you should do.

0:03:09.268,0:03:12.835
Launch a project that allows anybody[br]to translate the talk into any language.

0:03:12.860,0:03:15.723
And here's some technology[br]you could use for it, come on!

0:03:15.748,0:03:20.048
So basically, we have listened[br]to this community from the very beginning.

0:03:20.073,0:03:23.282
This is entirely the reason[br]that we launched the Translation Project.

0:03:23.307,0:03:24.879
It's because you told us to.

0:03:24.904,0:03:28.074
And so, for the last four years,[br]we've been following this community

0:03:28.099,0:03:31.585
and [we've been] amazed and humbled[br]to see where you've taken us so far.

0:03:31.610,0:03:33.232
So, you all know the numbers.

0:03:33.257,0:03:35.981
40,000 translations,[br]more than 100 languages.

0:03:36.006,0:03:39.042
We're beginning to move[br]from just subtitling

0:03:39.067,0:03:41.491
to translation of the website itself,

0:03:41.516,0:03:45.004
we're going to start looking at dubbing[br]or a voice-over at some point soon,

0:03:45.029,0:03:46.750
again, because you're telling us to.

0:03:46.775,0:03:50.323
And one of the things[br]I also think is really exciting

0:03:50.348,0:03:53.406
is that we're now moving in the direction[br]of translating TEDx talks

0:03:53.431,0:03:56.275
that are filmed not in English,[br]but in all of your languages,

0:03:56.300,0:04:00.570
and bringing the ideas and people[br]that are native to where you're from

0:04:00.595,0:04:02.584
back into English and around the world.

0:04:02.609,0:04:05.431
So, I think the potential[br]and the possibility

0:04:05.456,0:04:07.966
of what's coming out[br]of this community is so profound.

0:04:08.135,0:04:10.669
And so, where I would love[br]to start the conversation,

0:04:10.694,0:04:12.841
because I always just love hearing this,

0:04:12.866,0:04:15.673
is I'd love to start[br]with why each of you translates.

0:04:15.782,0:04:21.798
What motivates you,[br]what brought you to the Project,

0:04:21.824,0:04:24.264
and why you continue.

0:04:25.177,0:04:29.050
Would somebody coming in[br]over Skype like to start?

0:04:29.075,0:04:32.816
I'd love to hear why you translate,[br]why did you start?

0:04:33.242,0:04:36.399
For me, it started with Brené Brown.

0:04:36.424,0:04:39.860
It was such a nice and inspiring talk.

0:04:40.098,0:04:43.096
I wanted to show it to my friend,

0:04:43.121,0:04:47.493
and she didn't speak English[br]or read English.

0:04:47.518,0:04:53.983
So, then I saw that I could volunteer[br]for translating, and I did.

0:04:54.008,0:04:57.678
And since then, I'm addicted[br]to translating TEDTalks

0:04:57.703,0:04:59.323
because they are so inspiring.

0:05:00.038,0:05:02.925
(June Cohen) I love that.[br]Brené will do that to you.

0:05:02.950,0:05:04.568
(Laughter)

0:05:04.593,0:05:07.155
And Meric, I think you had a thought.

0:05:07.180,0:05:09.819
I initially started

0:05:09.844,0:05:14.764
because I wanted schoolchildren[br]to be able to understand TEDTalks,

0:05:14.789,0:05:19.630
because that is such an important[br]time in their lives

0:05:19.655,0:05:26.019
and TEDTalks offer perspectives[br]into so many different professions,

0:05:26.044,0:05:30.191
like sociology, psychology,[br]medicine, engineering.

0:05:30.216,0:05:34.485
So, they would watch[br]and understand many talks

0:05:34.510,0:05:38.779
and in the end, they'd understand[br]what they want in their lives

0:05:38.804,0:05:43.310
and do what they want to do[br]with their lives.

0:05:43.335,0:05:48.453
So, I started because I wanted children[br]to be able to understand them,

0:05:48.478,0:05:52.236
and then, I started receiving emails[br]from so many people,

0:05:52.261,0:05:54.429
thanking me for my translations.

0:05:54.454,0:05:56.257
And I just love it!

0:05:56.282,0:05:58.043
(Laughter)

0:05:58.068,0:06:00.630
I love hearing[br]that you're getting these thanks.

0:06:00.655,0:06:04.246
We don't always know when that happens.

0:06:04.271,0:06:07.056
But Kristin and I talked about this[br]a lot at the beginning,

0:06:07.081,0:06:08.493
that we wanted a system set up

0:06:08.518,0:06:11.278
so that the community[br]would have access to the translators.

0:06:11.303,0:06:15.420
And we view you as big rock stars[br]as the speakers themselves,

0:06:15.445,0:06:18.592
so we love hearing[br]that that communication is happening.

0:06:18.617,0:06:20.322
What about back into the room?

0:06:20.347,0:06:22.592
One or two of your thoughts on[br]why you translate.

0:06:22.617,0:06:25.600
For me, it's always about access,

0:06:25.625,0:06:27.824
giving others access to knowledge.

0:06:27.849,0:06:33.331
The new technologies, the new sciences,[br]the new thoughts in psychology,

0:06:33.356,0:06:37.125
in engineering, medicine[br]and all kinds of stuff.

0:06:37.150,0:06:40.170
And being from Sudan,[br]this is more sensitive to me.

0:06:40.195,0:06:46.234
It's not a matter of choice[br]for someone to consume this content.

0:06:46.259,0:06:49.095
It's a matter of scarcity.

0:06:49.120,0:06:50.710
There is no content over there.

0:06:50.735,0:06:54.383
So by participating[br]and translating this into Arabic,

0:06:54.408,0:06:57.293
that gives people access to knowledge.

0:06:57.318,0:06:58.747
The original content.

0:06:58.993,0:07:01.338
It's one of the things[br]that we find very inspiring,

0:07:01.363,0:07:03.228
picking up from what you and Meric said.

0:07:03.253,0:07:08.862
We all know the feeling of being inspired[br]by a great speaker or teacher,

0:07:08.887,0:07:11.868
and not everyone has access[br]to these great teachers or knowledge.

0:07:11.893,0:07:13.867
And to be able to take[br]the best of the best

0:07:13.892,0:07:16.042
and make them available[br]to anyone in the world,

0:07:16.067,0:07:18.240
which is the fundamentals[br]of what you are doing,

0:07:18.265,0:07:22.510
is so inspiring for us[br]and core to TED's mission, I feel.

0:07:22.535,0:07:26.110
Do you find that you often[br]have to spend time researching the subject

0:07:26.135,0:07:29.511
or researching specific words[br]as you delve into it, to translate?

0:07:29.536,0:07:31.607
There's a lot of nods.

0:07:31.632,0:07:32.877
(Laughter)

0:07:32.902,0:07:33.902
Alberto!

0:07:34.022,0:07:36.932
I don't really remember any specific ones.

0:07:37.829,0:07:41.590
It happened a lot of times[br]that I was translating things,

0:07:41.615,0:07:43.333
mostly, it was technical stuff,

0:07:43.358,0:07:48.207
but also philosophical[br]or psychological issues.

0:07:48.232,0:07:51.865
And then, I started researching[br]a couple of words,

0:07:51.890,0:07:55.475
and then, I started opening up Wikipedia,

0:07:55.500,0:07:58.862
and then links from here to there,

0:07:58.887,0:08:02.097
and I lost a couple of hours[br]just reading stuff.

0:08:02.122,0:08:03.502
(Laughter)

0:08:03.527,0:08:06.827
(Alberto Pagani)[br]And it happened over and over again.

0:08:06.852,0:08:12.154
And now I know I learned a whole lot[br]about a whole lot of things

0:08:12.179,0:08:13.329
just because [of that].

0:08:13.602,0:08:16.958
There are a lot of nods for that,[br]both on Skype and in the room.

0:08:16.983,0:08:20.613
I feel like you guys should get[br]a bachelor's degree

0:08:20.638,0:08:22.303
for each talk that you translate.

0:08:22.328,0:08:23.328
(Laughter)

0:08:23.353,0:08:25.586
Right? It's like a senior research paper.

0:08:25.611,0:08:27.015
Complexity's complex.

0:08:27.040,0:08:28.040
(Els De Keyser) Yeah!

0:08:28.628,0:08:30.856
Think about it.[br]Complexity is complex.

0:08:30.881,0:08:31.935
(Els De Keyser) OK.

0:08:31.960,0:08:34.086
You have to translate that[br]into your language.

0:08:34.111,0:08:37.759
And then, most of the time,[br]you don't have the words,

0:08:37.784,0:08:41.258
the appropriate words[br]to translate into your language.

0:08:41.283,0:08:42.673
So, you have to invent.

0:08:43.821,0:08:45.449
And it's really interesting.

0:08:45.474,0:08:47.187
You jump into the dark.

0:08:47.212,0:08:50.124
And you don't know what will happen there.

0:08:50.149,0:08:54.254
One day, you might get a thank-you note.

0:08:54.279,0:08:56.844
"I didn't find the translation[br]for that word."

0:08:56.869,0:08:59.326
Or, you find: "That is not correct!"

0:08:59.351,0:09:03.081
(Laughter)

0:09:03.293,0:09:04.673
You're like, "Right."

0:09:04.698,0:09:08.038
And at TED, we've learned[br]to say "thank you."

0:09:08.063,0:09:09.837
(Laughter)

0:09:09.862,0:09:11.758
(June Cohen) "We will fix that."

0:09:11.783,0:09:14.853
It's such an interesting question,[br]let's follow that for a moment.

0:09:14.878,0:09:18.854
Because I feel like one[br]of the probably many interesting things

0:09:18.879,0:09:20.216
about translating for TED

0:09:20.241,0:09:23.046
is that our speakers tend to be[br]at the edge of their fields,

0:09:23.071,0:09:25.242
and therefore they are[br]at the edge of language.

0:09:25.267,0:09:27.769
And some of the words[br]are actually evolving.

0:09:27.794,0:09:31.365
As you said, there may not be words yet[br]in every language.

0:09:31.556,0:09:34.609
Is this something that many of you[br]have experienced?

0:09:34.879,0:09:38.886
Sometimes, it's even[br]for the core TED concepts

0:09:38.911,0:09:40.901
that it's difficult to find a translation.

0:09:40.926,0:09:43.815
Like the concept of "TED talk"[br]or "TED Fellow."

0:09:43.840,0:09:46.192
It has to be very short.

0:09:46.217,0:09:49.240
"TEDx event" is maybe a little easier.

0:09:49.265,0:09:52.047
"Fellow," I know, is a difficult one.

0:09:52.072,0:09:54.237
And so now,[br]when we're translating the website,

0:09:54.262,0:09:56.864
we have to be careful about how to do that

0:09:56.889,0:10:00.799
And in some languages,[br]it appears to be quite a challenge.

0:10:01.276,0:10:02.330
Not in mine, but...

0:10:02.355,0:10:04.528
Right, I would imagine that, actually.

0:10:04.553,0:10:07.190
And we always pick these words[br]that are quite specific.

0:10:07.215,0:10:08.644
(Els De Keyser) Yeah.

0:10:08.922,0:10:13.069
I find the combination[br]of the way that things work in this,

0:10:13.094,0:10:16.283
both the grassroots collaboration[br]within language teams,

0:10:16.308,0:10:19.955
and it happens[br]between translator and reviewer...

0:10:19.980,0:10:21.876
For the couple of people who don't know,

0:10:21.901,0:10:24.389
for every translation,[br]there has to be a reviewer,

0:10:24.414,0:10:26.143
you have to agree on the translation.

0:10:26.168,0:10:28.000
So there's a one-on-one collaboration.

0:10:28.025,0:10:31.172
And then, there's the larger collaboration[br]among your language group

0:10:31.197,0:10:33.870
and the larger collaboration[br]among all the translators.

0:10:33.895,0:10:37.442
And I'm curious, what have you learned[br]about that along the way?

0:10:37.467,0:10:39.519
We have people with different skills

0:10:39.544,0:10:42.932
and they each bring something[br]to the Project.

0:10:42.957,0:10:45.461
So, someone made a scheme,

0:10:45.486,0:10:49.437
somebody else looked[br]at the technical solutions

0:10:49.462,0:10:52.041
to give access to information, and so on.

0:10:52.066,0:10:55.681
So, it's really this combination,

0:10:55.706,0:10:58.697
and like you said, it's a collaboration[br]at different levels.

0:10:58.722,0:10:59.797
Yes.

0:10:59.822,0:11:01.540
(Els De Keyser) And in the beginning,

0:11:01.565,0:11:04.758
it was always[br]only a translator and reviewer,

0:11:04.783,0:11:08.837
but for a couple of years,[br]we've also had Language Coordinators.

0:11:08.862,0:11:11.620
So, a couple of people[br]in every language group

0:11:11.645,0:11:15.914
who act as, I would say, mentors.

0:11:15.939,0:11:19.168
(June Cohen) Mentors,[br]and volunteer leaders.

0:11:19.193,0:11:21.396
And that has also emerged.

0:11:21.421,0:11:23.615
And that's also very interesting,

0:11:23.640,0:11:26.665
in that among this community[br]of Language Coordinators,

0:11:26.690,0:11:27.948
we also collaborate,

0:11:27.973,0:11:31.964
because we face the same issues[br]in our languages.

0:11:31.989,0:11:33.472
So, I can learn from him,

0:11:33.497,0:11:37.305
I can learn from Kristine[br]even if I don't speak her language.

0:11:37.330,0:11:39.494
We have the same experience.

0:11:39.519,0:11:41.009
It's so interesting!

0:11:41.034,0:11:42.506
So, going on to Skype,

0:11:42.531,0:11:46.665
are there any lessons you have learned[br]about collaboration

0:11:46.690,0:11:49.062
or things that worked that surprised you,

0:11:49.087,0:11:53.488
or situations that you were able[br]to navigate in a twosome or as a group.

0:11:53.513,0:11:54.806
Any thoughts there?

0:11:54.942,0:11:59.543
So, I have learned the power,[br]as I said, of "thank you" and praise,

0:11:59.568,0:12:01.732
because it's so important.

0:12:01.757,0:12:05.057
People love it when somebody[br]praises their work

0:12:05.082,0:12:08.367
and you can start[br]a conversation from there.

0:12:08.392,0:12:12.414
And something that I have done recently

0:12:12.439,0:12:16.691
is sometimes, I send the translator[br]some articles

0:12:16.716,0:12:19.509
that I read about the subject of the talk.

0:12:19.534,0:12:23.080
So, an article from a newspaper[br]that I recently read.

0:12:23.105,0:12:25.078
So, I send that article to that person.

0:12:25.103,0:12:29.277
"OK, if you're interested in the subject,[br]there's this that I have read recently."

0:12:29.302,0:12:35.663
And that person sometimes sends me[br]another article or another talk,

0:12:35.688,0:12:38.814
and you start a conversation[br]and you learn so many more things

0:12:38.839,0:12:41.026
because of this collaboration that we have

0:12:41.051,0:12:44.392
between translators and reviewers[br]and Language Coordinators.

0:12:45.527,0:12:50.285
Anyone else on Skype have a thought[br]on that particular topic of collaboration,

0:12:50.310,0:12:52.817
what you've learned from each other,[br]how it's worked?

0:12:52.842,0:12:53.842
Abhishek?

0:12:54.715,0:13:00.410
Yes, it helps specifically when there are[br]difficult words we need to translate.

0:13:00.435,0:13:03.211
Specific words like Internet,[br]which are broad,

0:13:03.236,0:13:06.036
which we had to use it like Internet only,

0:13:06.061,0:13:09.449
but at the same time, the small terms[br]which we need to use.

0:13:09.474,0:13:11.886
So, for that, the Facebook group[br]is really helpful.

0:13:12.363,0:13:16.954
And the interesting thing which I found[br]is that the Wikipedia community,

0:13:16.979,0:13:20.526
the Wikipedians who are active[br]in the local languages,

0:13:20.551,0:13:23.347
those people also translate TEDTalks.

0:13:24.839,0:13:29.226
So that was a really interesting[br]observation and collaboration.

0:13:29.251,0:13:33.659
If I'm having some difficulties,[br]I will post it in the Facebook group,

0:13:33.684,0:13:36.193
and within one or two hours,[br]I get the solution.

0:13:36.422,0:13:41.254
That's such a great way to use[br]those dispersed technologies.

0:13:41.279,0:13:46.571
Because I imagine, all of the translators[br]are dispersed around the world,

0:13:46.596,0:13:50.926
but being able to tap into that community[br]and get an answer back so quickly

0:13:50.951,0:13:52.513
seems such a great solution.

0:13:52.538,0:13:56.368
Before I forget, please allow me to say,

0:13:56.393,0:13:58.685
a huge "thank you" to Kristin Windbigler.

0:13:58.710,0:13:59.978
(June Cohen) Right?

0:14:00.003,0:14:03.003
(Applause)

0:14:04.975,0:14:07.037
(June Cohen) I think we all feel the same.

0:14:07.062,0:14:11.362
Both with Kristin, who has courageously[br]led this project since it launched,

0:14:11.387,0:14:13.394
and to the full team around her,

0:14:13.419,0:14:16.455
this is their work[br]but it's also their passion and joy.

0:14:16.480,0:14:18.336
And what I always hear from them

0:14:18.361,0:14:20.367
is just how amazed they are[br]with all of you.

0:14:20.392,0:14:22.769
So, this is something[br]that I hope each of you knows.

0:14:22.794,0:14:25.222
I think we're coming[br]towards the end of this session,

0:14:25.247,0:14:27.087
so we'll have to wrap up in a moment.

0:14:27.112,0:14:29.968
But one of the things[br]we want each of you to hear

0:14:29.993,0:14:33.283
is every day, we talk about how inspired[br]we are by this community

0:14:33.308,0:14:34.838
and how much we learn from you.

0:14:34.863,0:14:38.743
And I think that's one of the things[br]at the core of an open community,

0:14:38.768,0:14:42.304
that we're constantly learning[br]from how you translate,

0:14:42.329,0:14:43.891
from how you organize yourselves,

0:14:43.916,0:14:47.162
from the leadership[br]that emerges from this group.

0:14:47.187,0:14:52.136
So excited to see where it goes[br]in the year ahead.

0:14:52.161,0:14:56.921
And I would love for each of you[br]who are in this great Skype conversation

0:14:56.946,0:14:58.926
to keep in touch with us.

0:14:58.951,0:15:01.284
I'm june@ted.com,[br]and also through Kristin.

0:15:01.309,0:15:05.912
Where you want to see the Project go,[br]where you want to see TED head from here.

0:15:06.549,0:15:08.522
So, thank you all for coming!

0:15:08.724,0:15:09.992
(Els De Keyser) Thank you.

0:15:10.017,0:15:14.006
(June Cohen) Thank you so much,[br]and to each of you on Skype.

0:15:14.031,0:15:16.178
I'm sorry we got cut off[br]by the walk-in music.

0:15:16.654,0:15:17.654
Thank you.