Government Translators Play Strategic Role in National Development

By Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & Translation     Date 26 November 2018
Category: News
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Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Cabinet Work Support Yuli Harsono opens the Seminar on Translator Functional Officials in Jakarta, Monday (26/11). Photo by: Rahmat/PR.

Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Cabinet Work Support Yuli Harsono opens the Seminar on Translator Functional Officials in Jakarta, Monday (26/11). Photo by: Rahmat/PR.

Government translators and interpreters (known as Pejabat Fungsional Penerjemah/ Translator Functional Officials) play a strategic role in supporting government programs, Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Cabinet Work Support Yuli Harsono said during a seminar on Translator Functional Officials in Jakarta, Monday (26/11).

Yuli said that the Government currently has 172 government translators and interpreters in 55 institutions in central government and regional governments.

Most of the translators, he said, are English translators, while some others are Arabic, Dutch, English, German, Japanese, Mandarin, and French translators and two regional language translators (Bugis and Javanese).

Yuli added that translator officials at central government level are currently working for Ministry of State Secretariat, Cabinet Secretariat, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Ministry of the Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and Ministry of Tourism, while 21 government ministries do not have translator functional officials.

According to Yuli, Secretariat Cabinet as the fostering agency of government translators and interpreters frequently disseminates information about government translators and interpreters to raise awareness of government agencies on the importance of having translator functional officials.

Yuli went on to say that Cabinet Secretariat is committed to developing competence of government translators and interpreters through various trainings at home and abroad, including several trainings in Indonesia with a total of 400 participants: two trainings for first-level translators, two technical trainings and seven technical guidance training.

Cabinet Secretariat has also collaborated with the Australian government to conduct training for 12 government translators at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia in 2017, he added.

Yuli went on to say that government translators and interpreters play a strategic role as a bridge of communication between the Indonesian people and the people of friendly countries, in developing Bahasa Indonesia and preserving regional languages, and in supporting the Government’s programs, including 10 priority tourism destinations in several regions in Indonesia.

Yuli further said that synergy between Cabinet Secretariat as fostering agency of government translators and interpreters, government institutions as the users of the translators and the translator functional officials is important to develop the capacity of the translators and interpreters.

The event was attended by representatives of several government ministries and institutions. The keynote speakers of the event were Aba Subagja from Ministry of States Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reforms and Herman from the National Civil Service Agency (BKN) while Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents and Translation Eko Harnowo acted as the moderator.

(MAY/SDS/RAH/ES)

 

Translated by: Ridwan Ibadurrohman
Edited by: Ersan Pamungkas

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