A closer look at the TED Translators selected to attend TED2017

A few weeks ago, we announced the ten TED Translators selected to attend TED2017, and we promised you a deeper look at this diverse group. Read on to find out more about the translators who will take part in the conference in Vancouver, BC, from April 23 to 28.

Seo-Ho Cho (South Korea)
Student + health researcher
Seo-Ho recently graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in food and nutrition studies; the focus of her research was the nutritional crisis that pregnant women and infants face in North Korea. She plans to expand the scope of her research in graduate school to include global health concerns and nutritional epidemiology. A TEDx organizer since 2013, Seo-Ho has helped put on seven consecutive TEDxSNU events, and at present she’s organizing the first TEDxSeongsu event.

Günperi Sisman (Cyprus)
International affairs coordinator
Günperi is a graduate of the London School of Economics and American University in Washington, D.C. After working at a number of social and economic enterprises around the globe, she’s now an Advisor to the Board at Girne American University in Cyprus.

Ghalia Turki (Syria)
Project manager + entrepreneur
Ghalia currently heads e-marketing at World Merit Syria, an enterprise that aims to increase sustainability—economic, environmental and otherwise—among Syrians in both a domestic and global context. She’s also the founder of Magma, a Syrian social organization that develops projects to enable Syrians in their college educations and careers. Ghalia hopes to eventually channel her work into the reconstruction of her war-ravaged country.

Morgane Quilfen (UK)
Software engineer
Originally from France, Morgane now lives in the UK, where her career as a software engineer is coupled with a passion for social science and volunteering. She’s translated nearly 200 talks, and she finds inspiration for her prolificness in traveling and meeting new people as often as possible.

Kevin Álvarez (Spain)
Student
Kevin is a member of the TEDxGijón organizing team, and he’s collaborated with  TEDx organizers on several other regional and international events. He currently studies modern languages and translation at university, but the ever-expanding boundaries of technology also intensely interest him.

Yasushi Aoki (Japan)
Software developer + translator
Hailing from Yokohama, Japan, Yasushi has been a TED Translator since 2009. He’s translated various software-related books into Japanese, including Joel on Software and Coders at Work. Yasushi also developed and maintains Amaratools, a website that helps clarify and streamline the translation process for fellow TED Translators.

Marleen Laschet (Norway)
Storyteller
Marleen was born in Belgium, has lived throughout much of Europe, and now calls Norway home. A multilingual philologist, she worked for 20 years as a corporate communications manager before moving on to become an independent storyteller, copywriter and speaking coach. Marleen is a volunteer storyteller for Translators without Borders, and she spoke at TEDxTrondheim in 2015.

Mario Gioto (Brazil)
Office manager + social entrepreneur
A mechanical engineer who manages the South American operations of a multinational corporation in Brazil, Mario is also the founder of ConheSeremos, a community project focused on collective knowledge-building and growth in a number of important social and cultural arenas, both in Brazil and globally. In addition, Mario is an avid traveler, photographer and cook.

Sundari “Sunya” Enkhtugs (Mongolia)
Sales manager
Sunya holds a university degree in applied mathematics, and she’s highly active in her local and national communities. As well as helping to organize TEDxUlaanbaatar events, she works with the Mongol Ecology Center, a Mongolian NGO that campaigns for environmental protection across the country. Cultivating communal spaces for free inquiry and discussion, and adapting to more sustainable ways of living are but a few of Sunya’s primary focuses.

Hiroko Kawano (Japan)
Translator
Hiroko joined TED Translators in early 2015, when she attended OTP@TEDxKobe; her goal then was simply to hone her translation chops. In the past two years, however, she’s translated 46 TED, TEDx and TED-Ed talks, and she’s become an active member of the fast-growing Japanese translation community.