Bridging Worlds: Translation, Intercultural Dialogue, and Global Impact

The world has never been both more divided, and at the same time more connected, than it is at this present moment. Multilinguists are the original cross-cultural bridge builders, entering the space 'in between worlds' where diverse civilizations meet. Join us for the inaugural event of the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies at the University of Bristol as we hear from several world experts working in the arena of literary translation, global culture, and impact.

Keynote speaker bios:

Professor Martin Palmer is a theologian, Sinologist, environmentalist and, writer and broadcaster. He co-founded with HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh the international religions and environment movement by hosting the first ever meeting between the major world faiths and the conservation/environmental world in Assisi in1986. He was HRH’s religious advisor on the environment from 1985 until the Prince’s death in 2021. In 1995 Martin co-founded with HRH the Alliance of Religions and Conservation that has helped over one and a half million faith based environmental projects come into being. In 2019 he with HRH founded Faithinvest which works with every major faith on their shareholder roles as investors and landholders. In that capacity he is developing the Multi-faith Just Transition Fund with over 350 faith investors.

He is President of Faithinvest and Chairs the WWF Beliefs and Values Initiative. He is a leading expert on all faiths and a translator of Chinese Classics for Penguin. He was appointed Senior Advisor to the World Federation of Daoists and is developing an economics and philosophy programme with the Daoists and the Bank of China.

A frequent BBC broadcaster, as well as advisor to Al Jazeera on faiths and the environment he has written over twenty books on faiths over the last forty years. He was part of the team that produced the film on the Pope’s Laudato Si Encyclical – “The Letter” launched in 2022 and is on the Board of Resilient Foundation which supports community film making worldwide. He is the Visiting Professor on Religion, History and Nature at the University of Winchester, UK and a Fellow of the Club of Rome.

Dr Yukteshwar Kumar is a Senior academic and sinologist at the University of Bath with nearly 33 years of experience in teaching, research, and academic leadership in the UK , China, and India. His work centres on translation and interpreting, intercultural communication, Chinese studies, and global politics, with particular attention to how language shapes cultural and political understanding.He has translated and published works by leading Chinese writers including Feng Jicai, Xue Mo, and Xue Xinran, contributing significantly to the circulation of contemporary Chinese literature beyond Asia. Alongside his academic work, he is an extremely frequent media commentator and has contributed to electronic and print national and international media and outlets on Britain, India, and China-related national and global affairs. Dr Kumar also served as a councillor and was the first Asian Deputy Mayor of the City of Bath, promoting intercultural dialogue and civic inclusion.

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Host or Publisher Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies, University of Bristol