By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Embassy of Ukraine in Cairo held a symposium on the features of literary translation in Ukraine from and into Arabic, within the framework of the end of the fifty-fifth session of the Cairo International Book Fair.
According to a statement issued by the Embassy of Ukraine in Cairo, the event, held at the initiative of the Embassy of Ukraine in Cairo, witnessed a wide attendance that included representatives of literary circles, journalists, translators, publishers, and students, as well as the Ukrainian community and the diplomatic corps.
In his opening speech, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Egypt, Mykola Nahorny, expressed his gratitude to the Egyptian General Book Authority, praising the good cooperation and valuable support in organizing the symposium.
His Excellency also stressed the importance of the role of literary work in strengthening cultural and humanitarian relations between Ukraine and the Arab countries, especially the Arab Republic of Egypt, which leads to achieving greater understanding, rapprochement, sympathy and mutual interest between our friendly peoples.
He added that the best evidence of this is the continuity of fruitful joint efforts in Translating and publishing literary books despite the challenges of the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine and its negative security, economic and humanitarian repercussions around the world.
The symposium included a presentation highlighting important milestones in the history of literary interaction between Ukraine and the Arab countries from the 1920s to the present day, and was followed by a panel discussion in which each of the speakers participated: Egyptian writer and literary critic Dr. Samir Mendy, director of Safsafa Publishing House Muhammad Al-Baali, and assistant editor-in-chief. Al-Ahram Newspaper, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Qai’i, and the Counselor of the Ukrainian Embassy in Cairo, Volodymyr Martynyuk.
During the dialogue, activities and events related to literary translation from Ukrainian Arabic were reviewed and the emergence of a new generation of Arabists during the modern historical era after the restoration of Ukrainian independence in 1991 was emphasized, which laid an appropriate basis for direct translation between the two languages without any third mediation.
Professional translators, including Imad al-Din Raif and Oksana Prokhorovich, also participated in the symposium by giving a recorded speech, where they exchanged views on the peculiarities of literary translation and their personal experiences.
The meeting concluded with an interactive question and answer session, covering general topics and little-known facts, providing a comprehensive summary of the symposium.
The symposium guests also had the opportunity to view a group of literary publications translated into Arabic and Ukrainian.
