The Africa Institute Global Africa Translation Fellowship is a program designed to foster the translation of significant texts from and into African languages. It aims to promote linguistic diversity, preserve cultural heritage, and facilitate access to knowledge and literature across the African continent and beyond. The fellowship is offered by The Africa Institute, an academic and cultural institution based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, dedicated to the study and promotion of African history, culture, and society.
The Global Africa Translation Fellowship provides financial support and resources to translators, scholars, and language specialists engaged in translating literary works, scholarly texts, historical documents, and other materials relevant to African studies. The fellowship supports projects that contribute to the dissemination of knowledge, the enrichment of linguistic resources, and the empowerment of African languages.
Fellows of the program have the opportunity to work on translation projects of their choice, collaborating with publishers, academic institutions, cultural organizations, and other partners to bring important texts to new audiences. These translations may involve works originally written in African languages being translated into English, French, Arabic, or other international languages, as well as translations from international languages into African languages.
The Africa Institute Global Africa Translation Fellowship seeks to address the challenges and barriers to translation in Africa, including limited resources, infrastructure, and support for translators and language professionals. By providing funding, training, and networking opportunities, the fellowship aims to build capacity, foster collaboration, and promote excellence in translation practice across the continent.
In addition to supporting individual translation projects, the fellowship program may also organize workshops, conferences, and other events to facilitate dialogue, exchange ideas, and build networks among translators, scholars, publishers, and language advocates. These activities contribute to the development of a vibrant and sustainable ecosystem for translation and language development in Africa.
The Africa Institute Global Africa Translation Fellowship plays a crucial role in advancing the field of translation studies, promoting linguistic diversity, and strengthening cultural exchange and understanding within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world. Through its support for translation projects and capacity-building initiatives, the fellowship program contributes to the enrichment of African languages and literatures and the empowerment of African communities.
As part of its African Languages and Translation Program, The Africa Institute invites applications to the fourth cohort of the Global Africa Translation Fellowship for the year 2024. This is a non-residential fellowship that allows the recipient scholar to complete the work outside of The Africa Institute (Sharjah, UAE). The aim of the fellowship is to make important texts in African and African Diaspora studies accessible to a wider readership across the world.
Benefits
The fellowship provides funding in the range of $1,000 to $5,000, depending on the quality and breadth of the project. Selected projects may be retranslations of old, classic texts, previously untranslated works, poetry, prose, or critical theory collections. The project may be a work-in-progress, or a new project feasible for completion within the timeframe of the grant.
Requirements For The Africa Institute Global Africa Translation Fellowship
The fellowship welcomes applications from across the Global South for a grant of up to $5,000 to complete translations of works from the African continent and its diaspora, into English or Arabic (other languages are considered).
Selection Process
All applications will be reviewed by The Africa Institute’s faculty and research fellows.
Recipients will be chosen based on the quality of the proposal, and the demonstrated capacity of the applicant to complete the project.
The monetary award shall be disbursed in two halves. The first half shall be transferred at the start of the project and the second payment shall be transferred at the completion of the project. The Africa Institute requires the receiving of a copy of the translation for its archival purposes only. The translation will not be published or used for any other purposes unless agreed upon with the awardee.
Application Documents
- A two-page CV/résumé including institutional affiliation, educational qualifications, including highest degree received, and key publications/works produced
- A two-page narrative explaining the translation to be undertaken during the fellowship period, an explanation of the importance of the work, a justification for a re-translation, if applicable, and proposed dates of completion. The project may be a work-in-progress or a new project that fits within the timeframe of the grant.
- A 4–5-page (double-spaced) sample of the original text(s) and translation.
- An explanation of the work’s copyright status: If the work is not in the public domain, please include a copy of the copyright notice from the original text, and a letter from the copyright holder stating that English language rights to the work are available.
Method of Application
Submitted applications must include a statement, sample, copyright status (if applicable), and CV, in that order into a single PDF file.
Name the file with the applicant’s name in this format: LASTNAME-FIRSTNAME.pdf. Use the same name in the email subject heading LASTNAME-FIRSTNAME application and send PDF as an email attachment to applications@theafricainstitute.org.
Application Deadline: June 1, 2024.
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