Speeches
Opening Remarks by SMS Tan Kiat How at the Citizen Translators' Engagement Session
17 October 2023
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Members of the National Translation Committee,
Members of the Language Resource Panels,
Citizen Translators,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening and thank you for joining us this evening.
I am delighted to see all of you this evening. Our last Citizen Translators Engagement Session was about a year ago. At that time, we had to meet in a hybrid mode because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am glad we are having our first full in-person engagement session today, and I encourage all of you to interact with and to get to know one another.
Acknowledging the contributions of Citizen Translators
We were in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic when the Citizen Translator project was launched in 2021. Despite that, we saw an enthusiastic response from all of you to form this community. Over the last two years, you have supported many government agencies in improving translation standards.
Many of you stepped forward when the National Translation Committee (NTC) Secretariat asked for feedback on the Chinese, Malay and Tamil subtitles of a promotional video on the Bloobox recycling box for households earlier this year. Your helpful suggestions were shared with the National Environment Agency. The community also helped to translate the collaterals for the Bloobox launch and helped many households better understand how to use the Bloobox to recycle at home.
We recently unveiled wiTTy as the name of our SG Translate Together mascot’s name. wiTTy was chosen out of 58 suggestions and top-voted by Citizen Translators. Thank you to those who have contributed suggestions on the names!
This name reflects our belief that translation still needs a human touch even as we make full use of technology to aid the process. The SG Translate Together web portal clocks more than 10,700 visits and over 3,400 translations generated on average every month. I am glad that the portal has been helpful to our community. Please continue to give us your feedback and suggestions.
Highlight of This Engagement Session
For this evening, we have specially invited veteran translation practitioners to join us. We look forward to hearing their experience and perspectives.
a. Some of you may be familiar with Mr Yuen Kum Cheong. Kum Cheong was one of the earliest recipients of our Translation Talent Development Scheme award, or the ‘TTDS’ in short, when it was launched in 2018. Since then, he has been contributing to the Singapore translation industry in various capacities and is also a part-time lecturer in translation at our local universities. I am glad to see our efforts in talent development continue, as I will also be presenting the award certificates to this year’s TTDS recipients shortly. Like you, they are also Citizen Translators. I encourage those of you who are interested in the TTDS scheme to find out more from them later.
b. Ms Khadijah Seron is an active member of our Malay Resource Panel and an adjunct lecturer with various international universities. She also does freelance translation and simultaneous interpretation for the Singapore Parliament and at various other occasions.
c. And Mrs Pavala-kantham Alla-gar-samy, or better known as Mrs Pavalam, would be a familiar face to many of our Tamil Citizen Translators. She is a renowned newscaster with more than 30 years of experience. She is often invited to speak on the use of Tamil and to conduct Tamil language workshops.
d. I hope that you can gain useful insights from Kum Cheong, Ms Khadijah and Mrs Pavalam, and to spark further conversations amongst the community.
We will also hear from Jonas Fine Tan, a young polyglot who went viral a few months ago in a TikTok video which showcased the life and diversity of Oxford students, where he is currently studying at. In that video, he spoke 11 languages, including our four official languages, English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil.
During the pandemic, Jonas volunteered with a local organisation for migrant workers and interpreted COVID-19-related government announcements into Thai.
Enhanced recognition framework
I would like to take this opportunity to announce an enhanced Recognition Framework for our Citizen Translators. Last year, the Secretariat introduced a framework to give recognition and provide training to Citizen Translators.
Currently, those who have participated in at least three activities within a calendar year would qualify for the Basic Tier and receive an e-certificate of participation. Those who have participated in at least five activities would qualify for the Enhanced Tier, and will receive the e-certificate, an e-voucher and be eligible for learning and development opportunities.
From January 2024, the tiered structure will be adjusted to a point-based system. This is to better reflect the different levels of commitment required for the various activities that our Citizen Translators participate in. The Secretariat will announce the details in due course. With the revised point-based system, more Citizen Translators will qualify for the Basic and attain the Enhanced Tiers.
Moving forward, our Basic Tier Citizen Translators will also receive e-vouchers for their participation as a token of our appreciation for their contributions. As for our Enhanced Tier Citizen Translators, the Secretariat will curate training opportunities that you can look forward to, such as translation workshops and learning journeys. We will work closely with our training partners to provide Citizen Translators more opportunities to improve their translation capabilities, so do strive for the Enhanced Tier, and share with us what training activities you would like to take part in.
These recognitions are small tokens of our appreciation for the significant effort and time that you have contributed to the translation effort in Singapore, and to the community of translators. Thank you very much for your dedication, service and contributions.
Please allow me to say a few words in our national language and in Mandarin.
a. Para Penterjemah Kita telah meluangkan masa dan tenaga secara sukarela untuk tingkatkan standard penterjemahan bahan-bahan perhubungan Pemerintah di Singapura. Kami hargai sumbangan anda dan sedang semak rangka kerja pengiktirafan. Oleh itu, anda berpeluang sertai latihan seperti bengkel penterjemahan hari ini agar anda dapat timba ilmu dan kemahiran penterjemahan.
b. 我们的民译达译者付出时间和精力,协助提高我国的翻译水平,以加强政府和人民之间的沟通。全国翻译委员会将从明年1月起调整认可框架,并提供机会,让我们这群志愿人士能提升他们的翻译程度,继续为我们的社群尽一份力。
Conclusion
Our efforts in translation are important to help Singaporeans, especially our seniors to access accurate public information, including important announcements from the Government. Translation which is closely intertwined with language and culture is also an important part of our efforts to strengthen our identities – all the more so in a multi-cultural, multi-racial society like Singapore where we take pride in being Singaporeans while celebrating our cultural diversity.
Our Citizen Translators are part of this meaningful and important effort.
Thank you once again for your active participation and your support. We would not have such a vibrant community without you. I would also like to thank our NTC members and members of the three Language Resource Panels who have joined us here today. Thank you very much for your service and dedication, and spending so much time and effort to improve translation standards in Singapore.
I wish you a fruitful evening ahead.