By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Embassy of Mexico in Cairo, in cooperation with the National Center for Translation, announced the launch of the second edition of the translation competition for Mexican literature into the Arabic language, within the framework of the activities of the International Book Fair in Cairo.
According to a statement issued by the Mexican Embassy in Cairo, the symposium was attended by Dr. Nevin Al-Kilani, Minister of Culture, Ambassador Leonora Rueda, Ambassador of Mexico, and Dr. Karma Samy, Director of the National Center for Translation.
Within the framework of the symposium, a translation of the book “The Wild Book” by the distinguished Mexican writer Juan Peoro was presented, which was translated by Dr. Rehab Wahdan, winner of first place in the competition.
Ambassador Leonora Rueda expressed that, given the success achieved by the first session of the competition, in which more than 200 contestants participated, it was decided to include more literary genres in the competition, and not limit it to narrative art.
The ambassador added that the main goal of the competition goes beyond strengthening cultural relations between Egypt and Mexico, as she also hopes to support distinguished Egyptian translators, who are not more than 45 years old.
The award is funded by Mexican companies through the Mexican Embassy in Egypt, and the National Translation Center will publish it.
The selection for this edition of the competition was the Mexican work “The White Dragon and Other Forgotten Characters” by writer Adolfo Cordoba, which consists of a collection of stories that give insight into the “untold story” of secondary characters in classic children’s literature.
Dr. Karma announced that translators can register for the competition from February 5 to March 5, 2024, by contacting the center’s email, and that the last date for receiving participating works is April 30 of the current year, noting that the competition’s conditions are available on the center’s website. National Translation and the website of the Mexican Embassy in Cairo.
