Translation project: grant translation competitions

International Renaissance Foundation run joint translation programs with Goethe-Institute (Translating German Literature into Ukrainian), the British Council Ukraine (Translating Contemporary British Literature into Ukrainian), Polish Insitute in Kyiv (Translating Polish literature into Ukrainian). And cooperate with Public Affairs section of the Embassy of the United States of America in Ukraine, Skovoroda program of the Embassy of French Republic in Ukraine.

In 2007 the following grant competitions are planned for translating the best of foreign literature into Ukrainian:

• Translating German literature in collaboration with Goethe-Institut and with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Federal Republic of Germany
• Translating contemporary British literature in collaboration with the British Council Ukraine
• Translating Polish literature in collaboration with Polish Institute in Ukraine

Through 15 years of independence Ukraine hasn’t become an active participant of international discussions due to the lack of translated non-fiction and fiction from Ukraine. Moreover, without Ukraine, the Central and East European region has gaps in its “intellectual-cultural map”. This problem is going to be solved by launching a National Centre for Promoting Ukrainian Literature Abroad. Ukrainian experts from IRF and the State Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting participated in the international conference Promoting translations – ideas, practices, innovations, jointly organised by Next Page and KulturKontakt Austria on 23-24 June 2006 in Vienna, with the participation of representatives of various institutions engaged in promoting East European literatures in translation. After the conference a round table on National Centre for Promoting Ukrainian literature abroad was organised by IRF and the State Committee on Television and Radio Broadcasting on July 11, 2006 and a working group developing a concept paper for such an agency was formed from governmental and non-governmental experts, publishers, translators and cultural journalists.

Translation Project in Ukraine was launched in 1998 as a network program — joint initiative of IRF, Information program of Open Society Institute and Next Page Foundation — Sofia (Bulgaria).

Since 1998 until January 2007 399 book titles were translated into Ukrainian and published with IRF’s support, 183 titles are still going to be translated and published.

There are translation quality expertise projects.

• Scholar Translation Laboratory
• Published translations
• Supported translations that are going to be published

Other projects supported in previous years: Ukrainian domain of Poetry International Web: Ukrainian poetry in English translations.