A conference held at the International Publishing and Book Fair in Rabat, under the title of “Role of Translation in Cultural Mediation”, brought together researchers and academics to discuss the role of translation in linking cultures and peoples. The conference shed light on audiovisual translation, cultural mediation, and the effect of technology on translation.

The conference was moderated by Kaouthar Rahmani, an assistant professor at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, and featured Yves Gambier from the University of Turku in Finland, and Moroccan academic Abdellah Ghazi, a university professor and translator.

Rahmani started the session by questioning the motivation of researchers and translators to study translation and cultural mediation.

From his side, Gambier explained that translation is often “hidden”, particularly in the audiovisual media, while explaining the difference between the two AVT (Audiovisual translation) modes, subtitling and dubbing. He added that technology has made them easier and helped make content more accessible to audiences with special needs.

For his part, Ghazi said that translation has always helped build connections between cultures and peoples throughout history. He added that the main goal of translation is to build understanding and strengthen relations.

“Subtitles allow the audience to stay with the original language, whereas dubbing sometimes changes the meaning or emotion of the original work,” Ghazi said.