The AIIC Webzine

Every three years AIIC - like any similar association - holds its Assembly, as tradition and regulations dictate, to look back over the past three years and plan for the next three. The Assembly also sees new officers appointed to the Association's governing bodies, elects committees and considers various administrative issues.

According to the programme, I am supposed to speak on behalf of the founders of AIIC. Needless to say, I hold no mandate for such an exercise, not even from Ruth Hall who is also here today. Fortunately when the President invited me to say a few words, he added: "A reminder of how it all started would do no harm".

Mr. Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former Foreign Minister of Germany, assiduously promoted the use of languages in international discourse. In the opening ceremony of the 2009 AIIC Assembly in Nice (France), he became the first recipient of the AIIC Malintzin Prize in recognition of his advocacy of the right to speak the tongue we all speak best - our own.

Thoughts towards a new ethical, contractual and political understanding with society.

Most members stayed until the last day of the AIIC Assembly, a Sunday morning at that, in order to participate in the panel discussion and open debate on interpreters in conflict areas. The response was enthusiastic and the ensuing exchange of views a harbinger of new directions.

Every three years AIIC holds its Assembly, which this January took place in Nice. As a governing body the Assembly has to approve the actions of its officers since the last Assembly and decide on strategy for the coming three years. It hears from various committees, elects officers and approves the budget. But really the event is an excuse to catch up with your friends.

The AIIC Legal and Court Interpreting Committee and the Interpretation Directorate of the Court of Justice of the European Communities collaborated on a November seminar and workshop in Luxembourg covering various aspects EU law and interpreting.

Staff interpreters were prominent among the founders of AIIC and continue to be essential to our association. The AIIC Staff Interpreters' Committee meets annually and tracks changes inside organisations to keep all informed.

Videos, various ways to visualize language, a Brussels recruitment campaign and follow-up to past postings are just a click away.