U.N. Under-Secretary-General thanks SISU for translating U.N. flagship handbook

 
The translation was prepared by students and faculty of SISU's Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation.
U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric was showing the Chinese version of 'Basic Facts about the United Nations'. [via Zhen Leibo]
Stephane Dujarric / U.N. spokesman

As Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travels to China to attend a commemorative event in Beijing marking the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the United Nations Department of Public Information has announced that the flagship United Nations handbook, Basic Facts about the United Nations, is being published in Chinese for the first time in nearly 29 years.

The translation was prepared by students and faculty of the Institute of Interpretation and Translation at the Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).  The project to produce Basic Facts in Chinese was managed by the Department of Public Information, working in collaboration with the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management.

The United Nations hope the publication of this book could provide an opportunity for more than one billion Chinese readers all over the world to know the organization and its global work.

Cristina Gallach, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, appreciated the collaboration. She said, “We are continually seeking ways of enhancing our ability to reach as broad an audience as possible, including through partnerships with academic institutions around the world, in order to engage people in our work.”

Ms. Gallach added, “Shanghai International Studies University has made a wonderful contribution to helping us bring to Chinese readers the story of the United Nations, its main activities and driving concerns, and to marking the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.  We are also grateful to the People’s Republic of China for its financial support in making possible an initial print-run of the volume for a distribution that will include libraries in China.”

Since 1947, Basic Facts about the United Nations has served as a trusted guide to the Organization, including its system of related agencies.  It presents a comprehensive overview of the United Nations’ work in support of international peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian action and international law. It also provides information on United Nations membership and structure, as well as current peacekeeping operations. It last appeared in Chinese in 1986.

The new Chinese edition of Basic Facts will be available through print-on-demand from United Nations Publications, and further as an e-book.  An electronic version of the volume is also being published online.