The Eighteenth World Congress of the International Federation of Translators (FIT) concluded its statutory congress on the afternoon of August 3. Delegates from FIT member associations elected a new 17-member council and chose the American Translators Association to host the next FIT world congress.

Huang Youyi, Vice President of the Translators Association of China (TAC) was reelected FIT Vice President. He has held the post since 2005.

The six-day conference in Shanghai is the first time that the fifty year old non-governmental organization has held its tri-annual world congress in a country outside of Europe and North America. With more than 1,400 participants from over 70 countries and regions, this was also FIT's largest ever world congress.

Marion Boers from the South African Translators' Institute was elected President of FIT and Frans De Laet from Belgium was elected Secretary General.

The congress also admitted eight new member associations, of which three are from Asia.

FIT has two member associations on the Chinese mainland, the Translators Association of China (TAC) and the Science & Technology Translators' Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

(China.org.cn by Li Li August 3, 2008)