The 5th World Congress of Translators of Polish Literature will take place in Krakow until June 4. It will hold 44 panel sessions and workshops and will be attended by over 70 authors, lecturers, critics and other literary celebrities.

The aim of the Congress is to strengthen and integrate the translators of Polish literature around the world by enabling them to exchange experiences, learn about current phenomena and trends in literature and language, build a network of contacts between translators in different countries and between them and authors, publishers, critics and literary scholars from Poland.

“It is you, the translators, who show us to the world being a window into the wall of a foreign language, through which readers from all over the world can have a look, get to know Poland and Poles, learn something about our life, history and culture. We confidently entrust these tasks and responsibility to you, and we wish to thank you for completing them”, wrote the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Prof. Piotr Gliński in a letter addressed to the participants of the Congress.

The head of the Ministry of Culture emphasized that recognizing the important role of translators of Polish literature in promoting it around the world, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, in cooperation with the Book Institute, has been working for years to support translators and publications of Polish literature abroad.

“The greatest tool for this support is the well-known © Poland Translation Program, under which the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has allocated almost PLN 16.5 million for this purpose for the last 5 years. We also support the Institute in activities aimed directly at translators by financing the School of New Translators and stays at the Translators’ College” – wrote Prof. Piotr Gliński.

Adrian Andrzejewski