Evaluators from the EC’s Directorate-General for Translation assessed the translations for accuracy, writing (grammar and style), fluency, and creativity, and selected one winner per Member State. There were also special mentions for 341 students.
“Learning and practicing foreign languages is key to understanding other cultures beyond our own. As we learn a new language, it helps open our minds and broaden our horizons. The world needs this understanding and sense of tolerance more than ever,” commented Piotr Serafin, Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration, who congratulated the winners and their teachers.
The 27 young winners will meet in Brussels for the award ceremony on April 10, 2025. They will also have the opportunity to meet EC translators at work.
An Enthusiastic Response
Considering that their generation is likely experiencing AI as part of daily life, the high number of 17-year-old students who participated this year in the Juvenes Translatores contest signals the emphasis placed on language learning at their schools. This is why the competition was created in the first place, i.e., to encourage young people to learn languages.
To participate, students from hundreds of randomly selected schools must complete a one-page creative writing translation. The number of schools invited per country matches the number of seats it holds in the European Parliament.
On November 28, 2024, participants for this edition of Juvenes Translatores logged in from their schools to the contest platform, completing their translation online within a two-hour window. And they were allowed to use dictionaries, but no other tools. Certainly not AI translation.
