“Athra,” is a Saudi e-platform dedicated to translation. It hires translators to translate articles and books under the supervision of senior experts in linguistics and translation.
So far, the e-platform has published over 150 translated books and articles, and plans to show 12 books in this year’s edition of the Riyadh International Book fair.
Rashad Hassan, a Saudi writer and translator who co-founded “Athra” said: “Translators are the cornerstone of this platform overseen by senior translation experts and practitioners. The platform does not only require the translator to translate a book or an article, but it brings him the material, trains and qualifies him, and then helps him translate and overcome the obstacles that he could face during his work.”
The platform recently announced the launch of the second edition of the Athra Project, an interactive translation project that allows translators to translate a book, and distribute it across libraries and e-book stores, as well as take part in fairs and events dedicated to books and translation.
According to Hassan, the Athra Project focuses on book translation, and “involves translators who have majored and practiced translation, and have former experience in this field.” The project consists old, contemporary and children’s books.
The Athra platform has acquired the exclusive translation rights from prominent global publishing and academic institutions, such as the universities of Harvard, Chicago, and Princeton.
“In this project, our main goal is to empower translators, and to enrich the Arabic translated content. The program passes through many phases, and offers translation training courses approved by the US board, along with regular discussion sessions that gather translators partaking in the program. It also reviews and evaluates their works regularly, and edits, proofreads, and finally publishes the translated books and articles,” he said.
The Athra Platform translates and publishes one to three articles each week in all fields of human science, in collaboration with international publishing institutions, explained Hassan. He also noted that 12 translated books on different topics will be displayed at the Riyadh International Book Fair.
“The translation team working with the platform includes 10 translation experts majored in translation. Anyone can translate and publish with Athra, on its official website or by taking part in its book projects. We offer opportunities for all translators, and select those who show the seriousness, enthusiasm, and will to work and learn,” he stated.
