THE 8th NITI CONGRESS AND WORKSHOP
FINAL COMMUNIQUE
Senior NITI members at the 8th Congress
One of the Resolutions of the 7th Congress and Workshop of the Nigerian Institute of Translators and Interpreters (NITI), held in November 2007, was to hold the next one in July 2008, specifically to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the National Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI), which is the precursor of NITI. That 8th Congress and Workshop held indeed, at the Rayfield Hotel, Asokoro, Abuja on 7th and 8th August 2008, where it discussed the Practice and Profession of Translation and Interpretation and how they can be better practiced in West Africa for optimum results.
The Conference was attended by the best of Nigerian professionals in this field. NITI and NATI shared the high table; indeed, the Chairman of the opening Session was the National President of NATI, Chief Adisa Balogun, ably represented by LION Anthony Adedoyin, NATI General Secretary and former District Governor of LIONS Club District 404. After discussing the theme of the Congress: ‘Translation and Interpretation in West Africa Today and Tomorrow', and the various sub-themes with presentations from various resource persons, the following Resolutions were adopted:
1. The Nigerian Institute of Translators and Interpreters (NITI) resolves that the Training of translators and interpreters should be intensified; specifically, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State University (LASU), and the Nigeria French Village Badagry, should be encouraged to intensify efforts at putting in place facilities for this type of training.
2. NITI notes with satisfaction and patriotism the steps taken by the National Assembly to professionalize translation and interpreting activities in Nigeria.
3. NITI will liaise with the National Copyrights Commission to protect the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of translators and interpreters and other copyright owners in Nigeria.
4. In view of the fact that the 2008 NITI Congress focuses on Translation and Interpretation in the West African sub-region, NITI should liaise with ECOWAS to ensure that the regional body remains alive to its responsibilities.
5. Considering that a copyrighter is not a translator, NITI should work hand in hand with the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to incorporate the professional input of language experts in the activities of advertising agencies in Nigeria, especially on issues of transcriptional copyrighting, dynamic equivalence and linguistic creativity in order to put an end to the incessant wrong messages, arising from incorrect language translation, found on billboards all over the country.
6. Two Awards were made: The Award for Interpretation Excellence was given to Mr Muyiwa Phillips, while the Institutional Award for Excellence in Translation Promotion was given to the Voice of Nigeria for its outstanding performance in this field.
7. The following new National Officers were elected for NITI:
· National President – Prof. Tundonu Amosu (Deputy Vice Chancellor, LASU)
· 1st Vice President – Dr. Hafizu Miko Yakasai (HOD Dept. of Nigerian Languages, Bayero University, Kano)
· 2nd Vice President – Dr. Nkiruka Okezie (Dept. of Foreign Languages, UNN Nsukka)
· 3rd Vice President – Mr. Emmanuel Nkansah (ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, FCT)
· Secretary General –
· Financial Secretary – Mr. Wole Ajiboso
· Administrative Secretary – Mrs. Ebele Ukegbu
· Legal Adviser – Prof. Union Edebiri
Ex-officio committee members:
· Prof Ekundayo Simpson
· Prof Samuel Aje
· Prof. Timothy Asobele
Finally, one notable recommendation was the decision to set admission exams for intending new members. This will be co-ordinated by Prof. Tundonu Amosu, NITI National President and is envisaged to start from December 2008.
Here are some of the papers presented at this Congress:
The Conference was attended by the best of Nigerian professionals in this field. NITI and NATI shared the high table; indeed, the Chairman of the opening Session was the National President of NATI, Chief Adisa Balogun, ably represented by LION Anthony Adedoyin, NATI General Secretary and former District Governor of LIONS Club District 404. After discussing the theme of the Congress: ‘Translation and Interpretation in West Africa Today and Tomorrow', and the various sub-themes with presentations from various resource persons, the following Resolutions were adopted:
1. The Nigerian Institute of Translators and Interpreters (NITI) resolves that the Training of translators and interpreters should be intensified; specifically, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State University (LASU), and the Nigeria French Village Badagry, should be encouraged to intensify efforts at putting in place facilities for this type of training.
2. NITI notes with satisfaction and patriotism the steps taken by the National Assembly to professionalize translation and interpreting activities in Nigeria.
3. NITI will liaise with the National Copyrights Commission to protect the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of translators and interpreters and other copyright owners in Nigeria.
4. In view of the fact that the 2008 NITI Congress focuses on Translation and Interpretation in the West African sub-region, NITI should liaise with ECOWAS to ensure that the regional body remains alive to its responsibilities.
5. Considering that a copyrighter is not a translator, NITI should work hand in hand with the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to incorporate the professional input of language experts in the activities of advertising agencies in Nigeria, especially on issues of transcriptional copyrighting, dynamic equivalence and linguistic creativity in order to put an end to the incessant wrong messages, arising from incorrect language translation, found on billboards all over the country.
6. Two Awards were made: The Award for Interpretation Excellence was given to Mr Muyiwa Phillips, while the Institutional Award for Excellence in Translation Promotion was given to the Voice of Nigeria for its outstanding performance in this field.
7. The following new National Officers were elected for NITI:
· National President – Prof. Tundonu Amosu (Deputy Vice Chancellor, LASU)
· 1st Vice President – Dr. Hafizu Miko Yakasai (HOD Dept. of Nigerian Languages, Bayero University, Kano)
· 2nd Vice President – Dr. Nkiruka Okezie (Dept. of Foreign Languages, UNN Nsukka)
· 3rd Vice President – Mr. Emmanuel Nkansah (ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, FCT)
· Secretary General –
· Financial Secretary – Mr. Wole Ajiboso
· Administrative Secretary – Mrs. Ebele Ukegbu
· Legal Adviser – Prof. Union Edebiri
Ex-officio committee members:
· Prof Ekundayo Simpson
· Prof Samuel Aje
· Prof. Timothy Asobele
Finally, one notable recommendation was the decision to set admission exams for intending new members. This will be co-ordinated by Prof. Tundonu Amosu, NITI National President and is envisaged to start from December 2008.
Here are some of the papers presented at this Congress: