We continue our collaboration with translation events and congresses worldwide! This August, we will take part in TRADUSA, a congress of medical and health translators that will take place on Sao Paulo. We speak with Cátia Santana and Luciane Camargo, the promoters of this great event. 

First of all, who are Cátia Santana and Luciane Camargo?

Cátia: I've always been passionate about languages, and though I'd never thought of becoming a translator, I always wanted to work on something involving languages. That is why I graduated as a Bilingual Executive Secretary, but I've never worked in that field. In 2008, I finally found myself when I started a specialization course in Translation. Then, I entered the translation market in 2009 and the ways led me to the Health Sciences area, by which I'm fascinated. And such passion for medical translation encouraged me to organize this event called Tradusa.

 Luciane: Luciane is a person who always knew she wanted to work in the world of translation and interpretation. Besides that, she loves organizing events and studying, as well as cooking and wine to name a few of personal things too. She has been working as a translator since 2007 and as a conference interpreter since 2011. In 2017, she started working as a teacher of translation and interpretation studies at Associação Alumni, in São Paulo, and is organizing TRADUSA together with Cátia.

What is TRADUSA and what is its main goal?

Luciane: TRADUSA is an annual meeting for translators, interpreters and related professionals working specifically in healthcare. It started in 2015 and is now at full speed gathering professionals as well as students who are interested in translation and interpretation of areas such as Medical, Dental, Veterinary, Nursing, among others. At the event, participants will have the opportunity to attend talks, workshops and half-day courses presented by renowned translators, interpreters and professionals in healthcare. It is a great opportunity to achieve our collective goals – professional enhancement, information exchange, translation quality improvement, discussion on best practices of the area, and networking with colleagues in healthcare.

This is the third edition of TRADUSA meeting. How was the experience in 2015 and 2016?

Cátia: TRADUSA was developed by me and the translator Samantha Abreu in order to meet the demand for specialization of translators, interpreters and reviewers working with Health Sciences. In its first edition, in 2015, the event was a success, even exceeding our expectations. There were 130 participants, who attended 12 lectures on topics such as medical, dental and veterinary terminology. In addition, there was a round table on the medical translation market, which was one of the highlights of the event. The satisfaction survey conducted among attendees after the event showed that they were very satisfied. Then in 2016, in its second edition, we bet on a new format, also including workshops and half-day courses. Once again, the event reached its maximum capacity. There were more than 130 attendees, some of them participating for the first time and others who had already participated in the first edition, demonstrating that they really liked the event.

Is there any significant news in this third edition? Which surprises can we expect?

Luciane: Yes, there is! We are having workshops and half-day courses focused on a single morning so we can have more room for other talks. We are providing interpreting students/professionals with the opportunity to interpret our talks as we will have a simultaneous interpretation booth in the venue. And our opening keynote is the legendary outstanding interpreter Angela Levy – the first interpreter in Brazil.

What is the profile of the speakers?

Cátia: The speakers are translators and interpreters in healthcare who send their proposals that are carefully evaluated and selected. Renowned translators and interpreters are invited to brighten TRADUSA even more with their knowledge and experience. In addition, we also invite healthcare professionals to present lectures and workshops focusing on medical terminology. We could mention that we always seek to bring experienced and engaged professionals to share their knowledge.

This year, Tradusa has become a part of ABRATES. Can you tell us what ABRATES is and how does it contribute to Tradusa?

Cátia: ABRATES is the Brazilian Association of Translators and Interpreters. Among the objectives of the association we could mention the professional development of its members through courses and events, hence the interest in establishing a partnership with TRADUSA. ABRATES contributes by giving greater visibility to the event and promoting it among its members, who are the major beneficiaries of such partnership. All ABRATES members have guaranteed benefits in all events held by TRADUSA, from courses and workshops to the expected annual meeting.

How big is the healthcare translation and interpretation sector in Brazil and in which languages do Brazilian professionals usually work?

Luciane: From translation to interpretation, we have a huge market in Brazil. And the need for qualified professionals is of utmost importance. We must be experts on the subject to be able to translate something related to healthcare in order to have a good delivery. By promoting TRADUSA, we are able to raise awareness on such need, so that professional translators and interpreters get better prepared for the assignments offered to them and keep on improving their knowledge on healthcare. The two most common languages translated in Brazil – excluding the already obvious Brazilian Portuguese – are English and Spanish.   

How many participants are expected this year?

Cátia: We are expecting about 140-150 participants to the event, including attendees, speakers and guests coming from São Paulo and other regions of Brazil, and sponsors from Brazil and Argentina.

How did you know Cosnautas?

Cátia: I met Cosnautas early in my career as a translator when I was doing a terminological research and I found the Repertorio de siglas, acrónimos, abreviaturas y símbolos utilizados en los textos médicos en español by the famous medical translator Fernando A. Navarro. A very valuable source of research.

If you needed to choose just a single activities or workshop in Tradusa, what would it be?

Luciane: What a difficult question! We are lucky enough that all talks take place in a single auditorium, so we can attend all of them. On Saturday morning, we are having 4 options to choose: 2 workshops and 2 half-day courses. I think the single activity would be being able to get all those pieces of info gathered by ourselves and our colleagues and exchange them during coffee-break parallel conversations. That’s something we can’t miss!