Since 2014, students in the Master of Translation and Interpreting programme in the School of Foreign Languages at have been translating the Yearbook Express from English to Chinese. The Yearbook Express features chapter introductions from recent editions of the Yearbook of the United Nations, along with the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization in those years, in all six United Nations official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Production of the Chinese translations is part of Soochow University’s innovative curriculum that exposes its graduate students to the activities and concerns of the United Nations throughout its history along with the technical terms and phrases that serve to define the work of the Organization.
In addition to its regular Yearbook Express translations, Soochow University students working under the guidance of their teachers have also recently translated the Special Edition of the Yearbook of the United Nations published on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations in 1995. As then-Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali asserted in the Foreword to that Special Edition: “Facing new opportunities and new dangers, the international community must renew its commitment to global cooperation. If we are to build upon the legacy that is ours, we must show vision and perseverance equal to that of those who founded the world Organization. By understanding the accomplishments of the past, we can prepare for the future.”
Sharing this vision of fostering international understanding through its support for the efforts of the Department of Global Communications to reach as many individuals as possible in their own language, Soochow University has renewed its commitment to understanding the accomplishments of the past and preparing for the future by translating Achieving our common humanity: Celebrating global cooperation through the United Nations—the commemorative volume prepared by the Yearbook Unit for the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Organization in 2020. The University has also embarked on the translation of the timeline publication Building the future: Stepping stones in United Nations history as well as of , which documents the conception and creation of the Organization during the Second World War along with its achievements in the first two years of its existence.
Soochow University Master of Translation and Interpreting students preparing this material have commonly acknowledged that the unique combination of original narrative and key historical documents presented in each Yearbook Unit publication provides an exceptional opportunity for them to sharpen their translation capacities and knowledge as well as develop their research and analytical skills. Students have also affirmed that precision and care in conducting their work and cooperation in their teams represent critical elements of success. As one translation team member explained: “As we carry out this project, we strive to render a translation of United Nations documents that is faithful to the original, reflects established terminology and can be readily understood by a reader of the language from any part of the world.” As their success in meeting those lofty goals indicates, Soochow University students are indeed proving that they themselves are an important part of the work of the United Nations in its commitment to global cooperation for improving the lives of everyone everywhere.
