The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
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@Linguist_CIOL FEBruArY/MArCh The Linguist 17 AWARDS FOCUS last year, i was set the challenge of designing a project to strengthen Franco-British relationships and further international understanding. this was part of the 2019 Franco-British student Association Conference, which brings together French and English students of all disciplines to take part in a workshop of their choice dealing with the public or private sphere. the result was a cross-channel media initiative that seeks to challenge Franco-British misconceptions and build a solid knowledge among British and French students about their respective countries. Generally speaking, there is still so much we do not know about France, the uK and the relationship they share. With WtFranglais, we aim to create an online platform which provides relevant and engaging content, and will hopefully spark discussion and allow students to engage with each other on a more frequent basis. our content will primarily revolve around current affairs, with topics ranging from hard- hitting politics, such as islamophobia in both countries and the impact of les gilets jaunes, to more light-hearted material, including the origin of popular French and British jokes, challenging stereotypes in a humorous yet sensitive way. We hope to take advantage of the fact that thousands of French students come to study at uK universities and similar numbers of British students study French to degree level. We intend to work with pre-existing university faculties and student societies in both France and the uK to invite students to engage with this project. Any student will be able to get involved and contribute articles, content ideas or translations, regardless of their background or interests. it is through this collaboration, both online and offline, that we hope to open up a dialogue. WtFranglais was created by the media group at the Franco-British student Association Conference through workshops with professionals. We identified key obstacles that currently hinder French and British student engagement in current affairs, and we also wanted to facilitate the expression of the student voice, which we felt to be lacking in this area. Conference participants are invited to pitch their ideas at the French Embassy, in the presence of the French Ambassador to the uK, and our pitch for WtFranglais won the €1,000 prize from the Allianz Cultural Fund. since then, we have been consolidating our core working group and identifying the main areas that need to be managed to ensure the project's success. in addition, we are creating a large bank of content ideas, and have come up with core categories that we believe users will enjoy and engage with. in November, we won the Nick Bowen Award of £500, which will fund the next step: creating branding that fits with our values and aims. We hope this will make WtFranglais more recognisable and distinguish us from other media initiatives in the Franco-British sphere. We will then officially launch WtFranglais and intend to start building our network across universities in France and the uK, inviting students to get engaged with this project. SEED FUNDING Emma Latham (centre, holding cheque) with the WTFranglais team at the French Embassy last year French exchange Emma latham outlines her prize-winning project to improve French-British relations and understanding via an online platform aimed at young people