The challenge of gender-inclusive language in Maltese is one of the topics at the forthcoming conference Niktbu għal Kulħadd: il-lingwa inklużiva u l-kontenut aċċessibbli f’Malta, in which the topics of inclusion and accessibility in texts will be discussed.

Special guest Jorge Díaz Cintas will be delivering the keynote speech with the topic Words matter: sensitive content in media. Díaz Cintas is Professor of Translation and founding director (2013-2016) of the Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS) at University College London.

He is the author of numerous articles, special issues and books on audiovisual translation. A pioneer in audiovisual translation, Jorge has trained translators-to-be across six continents, is a frequent speaker at international conferences and events and has offered consultancy services to the European institutions and Netflix, among others.

Maltese, being an inherently gendered language like many others, cannot be used in the same way English can for contexts where it would be desirable to use gender-neutral language. However, with many Maltese people, especially those involved in writing and translation, exposed to Anglo-American thinking on the subject, some expect Maltese to be used in exactly the same way as English without paying attention to the logic and grammar of the language.

This poses a set of challenges to those who would like to be as inclusive as they can while still writing in Maltese. Romario Sciberras, a Master’s student within the Maltese department, will be sharing his research on the topic, which is of great relevance today.

Another special guest at the conference is European Commissioner for Equality Dr Helena Dalli, who will be opening the conference with a speech on the topic, and who over the years has shown a proven commitment to these issues.

Dr Giselle Spiteri Miggiani, a local pioneer in audiovisual translation, will be presenting a talk entitled Inclusive arts and media: a shared immersive experience, which will explore the wide range of possibilities available in making art and media accessible to groups of people who would not be able to otherwise experience them.

The conference forms part of the Translating Europe Workshop series run by the European Commission’s Directorate-General of Translation (DGT), and it is being organised by the local DGT office in collaboration with the Department of Maltese and the Department of Translation, Terminology and Interpreting studies at the University of Malta.

The DGT Language Office is an integral part of the European Commission Representation in Malta and is crucial towards the linguistic aspect of its communications and political outreach role. It will also feature hands-on workshops led by Maltese translators at DGT and members of the Maltese Department at UM, and the plenary sessions will be streamed online. True to its ethos, sign-language and live interpretation will also be available upon request during the conference.

“The starting point for the conference is that we want to live in a fairer society and we want our language and the content we produce to reflect that. There are no easy answers, but by learning to ask the right questions and exploring possible strategies and solutions we would be making a step or two in the right direction,” said David Schembri, DGT representative in Malta and main conference organiser.

The conference, which is free to attend, should be of special interest to translators, journalists, media and PR professionals, students, proofreaders, Maltese-language experts and more.

It will be held at the University of Malta’s Valletta campus on Saturday, 2 December between 9am and 1pm.

Registration is available on: https://is.gd/tew23