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MICATA Symposium 2011: Hiromi Morikawa - MICATA President |
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Friday, 25 February 2011 09:36 |
 MICATA Symposium is put together by a group of very dedicated people, who volunteer their time and resources to make sure we all can celebrate our profession, get to know new people and learn something new. President of MICATA, just like a conductor of any orchestra, carries the weight of success or failure of the event on his or her shoulders. This year, Hiromi Morikawa, current president of MICATA, kindly agreed to answer a few questions we were dying to ask. Get your cup of coffee and read the interview in full after the break.
TranslationPerfect.com: Readers of TranslationPerfect.com blog already know who you are; can you tell us how did the role of being the president of MICATA affect your personal and professional life? What are the new endeavors and responsibilities (related to your presidential role) were/are the eye openers, life changing or just plain unexpected?
Hiromi Morikawa, MICATA President: The biggest surprise was the fact that a self-proclaimed introvert like me could actually serve as president! But seriously, there is no mystery about it. The post comes with plenty of support from experienced MICATA officers and directors who have served as president and many other roles in the past. And newer board members are equally proactive and full of new ideas. Plus we have the editor of our newsletter “Monitor”, a webmaster, and occasional committee members, all of whom are invaluable. All the decisions are made as a group; and most activities are carried out through coordinated team work, which I think is quite incredible. My main role is to be the coordinator of all this. But really, I’m just one member of this wonderful volunteer team.
And as a chapter, we receive various supports from the ATA, and take advantage of the network of ATA chapters to exchange ideas about how we can effectively manage an organization, reach out to members, and disseminate information in a timely manner. The value of such support networks is what I’ve come to appreciate so much through the years of participating in MICATA.
TranslationPerfect.com: Third time in a row, MICATA Symposium is taking place in Kansas City. What makes Kansas City so special that the Symposium is getting its roots so well developed here?
Hiromi Morikawa, MICATA President: You’re right. This is indeed the third time in a row that our symposium is held in the Kansas City area, or more specifically, on the campus of the Johnson County Community College, in Overland Park, Kansas. We truly appreciate the convenient location (proximity to Highway I-435 and ample parking), the first-class conference facility and services, and most of all, the continuing generous support from the JCCC’s Department of Foreign Language as our co-sponsor of many of our events.
Also, for the past 10 years, MICATA had 6 annual symposia within the Kansas City area. A big reason for that is our largest member base here. We appreciate that many loyal members attend our events on a regular basis, and provide us with valuable feedback. And an even bigger reason is that most organizers (program/hospitality/PR committee members) are located here. It is not easy to organize a large meeting remotely because there is so much to prepare. Still, we cannot ignore the benefit of moving the symposium around so that people who live and work outside of the KC area can attend. The most recent non-KC location was Bethany, Oklahoma, where a former MICATA board member Dr. Frank Johnson and Southern Nazarene University graciously hosted the symposium in 2008. We would be happy to consider if anyone approaches us with a good location idea.
TranslationPerfect.com: Looking at the MICATA Symposium 2011 program, it’s hard not to notice some changes of the programs that will be offered. Can you tell us more about programs that will be introduced this year? Who do they target, who are the speakers and the choices like that were made.
Hiromi Morikawa, MICATA President: This year’s program is still a nice collection of sessions that are directly relevant and useful for working translators and interpreters. What seems somewhat unusual may be the topic of the luncheon talk. FBI and criminals? Why, yes. As translators and interpreters, we are often required to have a wide range of knowledge. In the past, we have brought in speakers having various backgrounds, to have a peek into the knowledge and insights of other professionals. This time we are fortunate to have a speaker who has worked as an FBI Special Agent. We think attendees will enjoy his educational as well as entertaining tales about crime investigation.
Another session I’d like to highlight has a focus on student education. Caitilin Walsh, who represents the ATA at this symposium this year, is involved in a program in the Seattle area that helps high school students improve their skills in English and their heritage languages so that those skills will enhance their career prospects. While more than half the U.S. states have adopted “English-only” laws, there are many groups of parents and educators who do recognize the importance of encouraging multilingualism and utilizing the linguistic and cultural resources of our melting pot society. We will hear about one program that is promoting it, and possibly producing the next generation of competent T&I professionals. I hope many area school teachers and administrators will attend this session and be inspired.
TranslationPerfect.com: ATA is conducting its annual conference all around US. Are there any chances to see it brought to KC and possibly getting both events merge into a single Grande Fête?
Hiromi Morikawa, MICATA President: Not very many people know that the very first ATA annual conference was held in Kansas City. And that was more than 50 years ago. Too bad many of us were too young or not even born yet to attend it. This fall, ATA is having its 52nd annual conference in Boston; and they have already picked the conference city for at least the next 5 years including 2011. Maybe it is a good idea to start promoting our home turf, and try to bring the annual conference back to the KC area sometime after 2015, or invite ATA Divisions to have their annual meetings here. We are in the geographical center of this country, and have vibrant culture and entertainment. Surely, we can attract national-level conferences. But to start campaigning, we do need many more volunteers!
On a related note, the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) is having its annual conference right here in Kansas City this November. Not all translators are specialized in literary translation; but most translators and interpreters are book lovers and poetry fans. MICATA is planning to lend support and participate in the conference in many different ways. We are hoping that many of our local colleagues will join us.
TranslationPerfect.com: MICATA Symposium 2011 is almost here but we would like to use this opportunity to sneak peek at MICATA’s upcoming events and developments. Can you tell us what’s in your sleeve for the rest of the year?
Hiromi Morikawa, MICATA President: At the beginning of this year, MICATA launched monthly networking events. We had a Saturday brunch gathering in January and February. We’ll take a break from the activity in March because of the symposium, and resume it in April. The future events will include tours, coffee/dinner gatherings to discuss topics our interest, etc. The schedule will be announced soon via email and on the MICATA website. Please stay tuned!
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