The University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) has helped organise the exhibition "Translation, Language of Europe" an initiative promoted by the General Directorate of the European Commission as a result of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union. The exhibition, which will be itinerant, will underline and stress the essential role translation and interpretation have in European and world culture.
The Toledo School of Translators, through the research group INTERMED and Speculum ( the Observatory of European Cultural Identity from the Humanities Faculty on the Albacete campus) spearheaded by the University of Castilla-La Mancha professor, Maria Teresa Santamaria Hernández, has helped prepare the exhibition Translation, the Language of Europe, promoted by the General Directorate of Translation from the European Commission as a result of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union in 2023.
The exhibition shows the history of the circulation of ideas in Europe and Spain and aims to highlight and stress the essential role translation and interpretation have played in European and world culture, as well as its long and rich tradition in Spain. The exhibition is interactive, so more textual and audiovisual resources as well as a visitor´s book can be accessed from the panels with QR codes. This option is available due to the support from the Cervantes Institute, which is also hosting the exhibition virtually.
This project has also been supported by an outstanding group of specialists from the Toledo School of Translators at the UCLM, the Alfaqueque Group at the University of Salamanca, the University of Alcalá, the University of Cádiz, Pompeu Fabra University, and from Speculum: the Observatory of European Cultural Identity and Cultural Diplomacy at the UCLM, the Cervantes Institute, the Office for the Interpretation of Languages from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation, the Communication Department from the General Directorate of Translation from the European Commission, and Representation from the European Commission in Spain. The exhibition was conceived as an itinerary one, and the Royal Hospital, headquarters of the Vice-chancellor´s Office at the University of Granada, has been designated as the main headquarters, as on the 5th and 6th of October the city will play host to the 3rd Summit for the European Political Community and the European Council for the Heads of States and the EU government. The exhibition will also go to Brussels and be shown in English.
The exhibition was inaugurated on Friday, 22nd September, by the chancellor of the University of Granada, Pedro Mercado Pacheco; the director of the Toledo School of Translators, María Teresa Santamaría; the head of the research group Alfaqueque at the University of Salamanca, Icíar Alonso Araguás; and the head of the Department of Spanish Language from the General Directorate of Translation from the European Commission, José Luis Vega. Also, the Deputy Head of the Granada regional government, Inmaculada López Calahorro, will go.
The same day, before the inauguration, the exhibition was shown to the media and the Faculty of Translation and Interpretation at the University of Granada.
UCLM Communication Office Toledo, 25th of September 2023.