On 13 – 15 January 2016 Ms. Angelique Antonova, SCIT Deputy Director, took part at the annual CIUTI Forum in Geneva. This year the Forum focused on Equitable Education through Intercultural Communication: Role and Responsibility of Non-state Actors. More than 50 partner universities – members of this renowned international association of universities with interpretation and translation programs took part in the 2016 Forum. Discussions were about issues of developing I&T programs in today’s highly innovative technological environment; different aspects of intercultural communication in training interpreters and translators came to the fore. Special attention was paid to the prospects of I&T industry and the impact of multilingualism on university training programs and work at EU institutions. Barbara Moser-Mercer, Director of In-Zone, presented a highly challenging report on specificity of interpreter training for emergency situations.
CIUTI administration – Prof. Maurizio Viezzi, CIUTI President, Prof. Dr. Paul Pauwels, CIUTI Secretary General, and Prof. Dr. Peter Holzer, the CIUTI Council Member, – confirmed their interest in cooperation with Herzen University and insisted on the University going forward with the application procedure.
Apart from the intensive program the Forum offered CIUTI members ample opportunities for networking. Ms. Antonova had a number of productive meetings with chiefs of I&T services of the UN and the European Union, as well as coordinators of I&T programs of other universities Overall, CIUTI Forum and its margin events confirmed the willingness of our partners to build and maintain long-term fruitful cooperation with SCIT, Herzen University.