Out of the dominant political agenda: translation and interpreting networks for social activism

Assuming that Translation and Interpretation (T/I) are never politically neutral “bridge-building” practices, we can consider them as political activities —either explicitly or implicitly— especially in those contexts marked by social conflict, where the implication for professional practice should compel necessarily an ethical commitment from translators/interpreters. From that point of view, this paper deals with the social movements, groups, communities, and networks that support T/I practice from social justice, humanitarian, and mostly volunteer organizations (such as ECOS, Babel, Tlaxcala, Translators Without Borders, Translators for Peace, Translators and Interpreters Peace Network, and so on), acting outside the dominant political agenda as a form of social activism. We will study the way participation in T/I as volunteering impacts the professional practice, the role that those T/I communities of resistance have played in social activism, as well as the potential of T/I in social change, political activism, and the politics of immigration and asylum.