Here Are the 27 Winners of the European Commission’s Translation Contest

On February 8, 2024, the European Commission (EC) announced the 27 winners of the most recent Young Translator Contest (“Juvenes Translatores”). This is the 17th edition of the contest, which attracted 3,056 participants from secondary schools across the European Union (EU).

The contest’s theme was “Daring to make a difference.” The submission consisted of a translation of a text between any two of the EU’s 24 official languages. Students from 701 schools used 155 language combinations for their entries, with English being a common choice.

The contest, which was first held in 2007, is organized by the EC’s Directorate-General for Translation (DGT) to promote translation and multilingualism. According to the EC Press Corner, some of the contest’s participants and winners in previous editions of the contest have decided to pursue translation studies, with a few also joining the EC’s translation department as trainees or full-time translators.

“Congratulations to the winners of the EU’s 2023 Juvenes Translatores contest!  … With language skills, you learn to find meaning and help people bridge divides. Especially in view of the upcoming European elections, the EU wants to see young people have a strong voice and feel heard.” — Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Administration

The yearly competition is open to 17-year-old secondary school students across selected schools in the EU and is funded by the EU Erasmus+ Program.

To participate, schools must first register in any of the 24 official languages by a deadline set by the EC (in autumn). The number of schools from each EU Member State is randomly selected and matches the number of seats it has in the European Parliament.

The schools selected then nominate up to five students to participate in the contest, which is subsequently run online on a particular autumn date at all participating schools.

Translators from the EC selected one winner from each of the 27 EU Member States. They also gave special mentions to 247 students. The award ceremony will take place in Brussels, on March 21, 2024.