The Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs[1] (English: International Federation of Translators) is an international grouping of associations of translators, interpreters and terminologists. More than 100 professional associations are affiliated, representing over 80,000 translators in 55 countries. The goal of the Federation is to promote professionalism in the disciplines which it represents. The organization's objective is to improve conditions for the profession in all countries and to uphold translators' rights and freedom of expression.
The FIT maintains operational relations with UNESCO and promotes International Translation Day.
The Federation, through its committees, undertakes to meet the various expectations of its members by addressing matters of training, conditions of work, the various aspects of the profession, and the categories of translators, interpreters and terminologists.
The FIT's supreme body is the statutory congress, which is held every three years. It brings together delegations from the member associations and elects the council, which in turn elects its executive committee and directs the FIT until the next statutory congress. The governing bodies are supported by different committees, which report to the council annually about their activities, and to the congress. The statutory congress is followed by an open congress, which is a platform for exchanges among all professionals in the translation sector.
The FIT is a worldwide organization, composed of the national translation organizations from over 60 countries. It represents over 100,000 translators worldwide. The journal BABEL and the bulletin Translatio are the Federation's quarterly publications, and are disseminated.[2] Translatio is the Federation's information organ, telling members about its activities and those of its committees and member associations.[3] The proceedings of each congress are also published, and serve as a further source of valuable information to those interested in the many facets of the translation profession. In addition, FIT participates, between its own statutory congresses, in the organization of seminars, colloquia and round table discussions on various aspects of the profession.
FIT has had a part-time secretariat (20 hours a week) since 1999. The secretariat is the anchor for FIT's membership administration and activities.[4] The secretariat works closely with the executive committee, the council and relevant task forces.[5]
As of October 2010, the FIT Secretariat has been based in Switzerland, following an 11-year tenure in Canada. The Secretariat is overseen by FIT's Executive Director, Jeannette Ørsted.
