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INSTITUTE MATTERS Who's on Council? FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MEMBERS OF THE CIOL COUNCIL Dr Marie-Marthe Gervais-le Garff FCIL Thirty years ago, I received a telephone call from the then Director of the Institute of Linguists, asking me whether I might be interested in setting examination papers in French. I had never heard of the Institute, but on that Sunday morning a long association with the Institute began. For some years, I was only involved with the examinations side and, alongside my main role as a Lecturer, I acted as an Examiner, Setter, and Regional Coordinator for the ELIC exams. After being admitted as a Fellow in 1988, I was elected to Council and served for two terms in the 1990s. I was also a member of the Education Division Committee for several years. I remain involved with the IoL Educational Trust as a Moderator and a Quality Assurance Consultant, and currently serve on several committees of Council. Since taking early retirement from my post as Head of Languages at Plymouth University four years ago, I have been the Routes into Languages Coordinator for Plymouth. At a time when specialist language degree programmes in universities remain under threat, I would like to see the Institute forging stronger links with the two Routes into Languages National Consortia (Interpreting and Translating), and continuing to recruit more postgraduate students. In my view, it would be beneficial to have a more diverse composition of Council members, including younger people, to reflect the varied and multicultural membership of the CIOL. Paul Shipman MCIL Although I am employed as a mechanical engineer, I have always been involved in translating for my employer, working on a wide variety of technical and commercial texts, writing letters in German to customers and clients, and making and taking telephone calls in the language. While working as an engineer I ventured into freelance translation work. I have always undertaken some form of German language study. When living in Birmingham, I attended a number of examinable night school classes. After a couple of years' study I accepted my first paid translation task for a company in Preston, for which I was paid £10. I invested the money in a technical dictionary. I moved from the West Midlands to Hertfordshire to Leicestershire, and each time found a good German course. A very able fellow student suggested that we should enrol together on the Institute of Linguists' ELIC course at De Montfort University (DMU). Sadly, Aubrey died of a stroke, but I was determined to succeed with the examinations for him. I continued at Hinckley College, where I was the only student. I remember sitting examinations in a broom cupboard! My priorities on Council are to promote and support the CIOL in all ways possible, to promote language learning at all levels, to encourage greater cooperation with other institutes, such as the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and to make membership a must-have for all language students. A list of Council members appears on page 3. For further details about CIOL committees and governance, see the 'About us' section at www.iol.org.uk. Vol/52 No/6 2013 COUNCIL NEWS Executive Director CIOL Alan Peacock reports on the Council meeting in September The September meeting of Council opened with the Chair noting, with regret, the death of Edda Osterhild. Edda had been Chair of Council and then Chief Executive Officer of the Institute, and had led the move to Saxon House in 1997. An appreciation of Edda's contribution to the work of the Institute is on page 33. The Chair, Keith Moffitt, reported on a number of events he had attended, including 'Born Global', organised by the British Academy, which is looking at how to ensure a regular supply of linguists and language competent workers for the UK employment market. CIOL Vice-President Richard Hardie confirmed he would be supporting the programme by encouraging both private and public companies to engage and to provide details of their language needs. Tony Bell, Hon Treasurer, had attended the launch of Speak to the future's '1000 Words' project with the Chair, who had also attended a Rosetta Stone event that launched a schools-focused project. At the event, former England footballer Gary Lineker had spoken about his experience of learning Spanish during his time playing for Barcelona. The Chair and Madeleine Lee had attended a workshop at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) about the quality of the interpreting services offered by Capita. The discussion had been useful and encouraging, with the MoJ keen to engage in dialogue with interpreters. CIOL President, Dr Nick Bowen, reported on the work of the Governance Review group and undertook to make a preliminary report of its conclusions in time for the next Council meeting in November. I gave an update on the membership renewal campaign, and reported a significant increase this year in direct debit uptake. I also confirmed that the office move had taken place smoothly, and that staff and visitors were very pleased with the new premises in Farringdon. I expressed my thanks to Office Manager Adam Ladbury for managing the move, in which I was warmly supported by Council. The Institute's budget for 2013-14 was also approved. DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014 The Linguist 29