TEDWomen 2017, set to take place November 1-3 in New Orleans, LA, is fast approaching, so it’s high time for us to introduce you to the TED Translators selected to attend the gathering! In countries around the globe, these extraordinary folks are gearing up to convene at NOLA’s historic Orpheum Theater to engage with this year’s theme: Bridges. Read on below to get to know a bit more about these bridge builders.
Anny Chung (Taiwan)
Postdoctoral researcher in ecology
Anny was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and split her childhood years between her hometown and Christchurch, New Zealand. She currently resides in Logan, Utah, where she’s a postdoctoral researcher in ecology at Utah State University. Her studies there focus on the importance of interactions between plants and microbes with regard to maintaining coexistence and diversity in nature. Anny is also an avid musician and often plays violin in local orchestras. Her passion for translating ideas runs through her science and musical endeavors, as well as her translation work in Chinese and English.
Cihan Ekmekçi (Turkey)
Linguist + interpreter
Hailing from Turkey, Cihan’s immersion in the translation world began with his English-language studies in business administration and international relations, and continued with his specialization in applied languages (English and Spanish) at Spain’s Technical University of Valencia. Cihan then obtained a TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification, and has since taught Turkish to U.S. citizens, and English and Spanish to Turkish citizens. In addition, he’s worked as an interpreter and HR professional at several international organizations. Cihan’s guiding motto in life and work is: It’s never too late to be what you might have been.
Selda Yener (Turkey)
Certified translator + student
Selda was born and raised in Turkey, studied English and English literature at university, and she now works as a freelance certified translator. She’s also pursuing a degree in German translation and interpreting, and brushing up on her Arabic. As a Turkish TED Translator, Selda considers herself a bridge between different languages and cultures who enables ideas and knowledge to more freely cross back and forth around the world. Aside from her translation work, she enjoys reading, cycling, meditating and being out and about in nature.
Stefania Betti (Italy)
Business developer
Stefania is an Italian native who holds degrees in foreign languages and literatures, international communication for business, and global marketing and communication. After working for six years at the Belgian-Italian Chamber of Commerce in Brussels, she returned to Italy to apply her expertise there: Her current efforts involve developing ways to leverage workplace diversity as an asset rather than an issue to be managed, particularly when it comes to gender and age gaps. Stefania is a firm believer in education as vital to individuals’ freedom, intellectually and otherwise, and she regards an open mind as our most valuable tool; these convictions have been her primary motivators as a TED Translator.
Monika Saraf (India + U.S.)
Tutor
Originally from Chamba, a small town in northern India that’s nestled in the lap of the Himalayas, Monika has lived in the U.S. with her husband and two children for seven years. She holds a master’s degree in economics from Himachal Pradesh University, and worked as a lecturer in her home country. Since moving to the U.S., Monika has volunteered as a tutor at multiple schools. She also volunteered as a translator with the Khan Academy before joining TED Translators as a Hindi translator last year, when she realized that her students back in India could benefit greatly from engaging with TED Talks. Outside of translating, Monika enjoys cooking, gardening and all the wonders nature has to offer.
Masako Kigami (Japan)
Translator + administrator at the Eiken Foundation of Japan + national tour guide
Masako lives in Hiroshima, Japan, where she works in several language- and culture-related roles: professional translator; administrator at the Eiken Foundation of Japan (a public organization that promotes and tests English proficiency); and official guide at Hiroshima’s Atomic Bomb Dome and Itsukushima Shrine. After she discovered TED Talks and the empowerment and inspiration they provide her, Masako joined TED Translators so she could share with others the ideas that move her.
Raissa Mendes (Brazil)
Civil servant + teacher (retired)
Raissa is a longtime Brazilian Portuguese TED Translator and Language Coordinator. She holds a master’s degree in linguistics, and spent much of her career as a civil servant in Brazil, editing and proofreading official government documents. Raissa’s civil service work also included compiling, as part of a team, the English-Portuguese Glossary of Parliamentary Terms and the Manual of Parliamentary Writing for the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil. In addition to all this, she taught courses on communicating in Portuguese in both public and professional settings, and on drafting official documents. Now retired, Raissa devotes most of her time to translating in the education arena, with TED Talks accounting for a large portion of her efforts. Her fervent belief in the notion that expanding access to education and inspiring by example are crucial to building a future with less social inequality and exclusion—in Brazil and around the world—is what daily drives her contributions to TED Translators.
Ivan Stamenković (Croatia)
Program coordinator
Ivan is a veteran TED Translator who’s worked with the project since 2011, when it was still called the Open Translation Project. A Croation Language Coordinator, he’s organized multiple TEDxOsijek events. He’s a staunch believer in the power of new and evolving ideas to change the world, on both macro- and microlevels—a power he discusses in his TEDx Talk. Outside of TED Translators, Ivan is a program coordinator at SVIT, where, in his words, he “helps people get to know the Silicon Valley mentality and provides them with the tools to make their ideas reality.”
Raana Irfan (Pakistan)
Educator
A native of Pakistan’s second-most populous city, Lahore, Raana has worked in various teaching capacities for the past two decades. She’s currently a senior training manager in The City School of Lahore’s professional development department. Raana’s commitment to preserving and promoting human rights, particularly those of women and children, has led her to perform at the AJOKA Theater for Social Change, where she’s aimed to use theater to raise awareness of Pakistan’s human rights problems. When she’s not training or performing, Raana spends her time reading, writing poetry and cooking for her family. She credits her grandson, Ayaan, for teaching her the meaning of her life.