Over 1,000 titles have been translated into more than 30 languages and have been published by international publishers with support from the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR), through the Translation and Publication Support Programme (TPS) and Publishing Romania, ICR announced on September 30, International Translation Day.

'The last day of September is the day of the commemoration of Saint Jerome, considered the father of biblical philology and patron saint of translators. Through its permanent programmes in the field of written culture, ICR pursues its mission to promote Romanian literature and Romanian authors on the international scene,' according to ICR.

The interest of foreign publishers has increased over time especially due to the participation of Romanian writers in international book festivals and fairs - one of the main directions of promotion of Romanian literature, in order to offer a vivid image of contemporary Romanian literature.

The Romanian Cultural Institute has been awarding for four years, at the International Festival of Literature and Translation - FILIT Iasi, an award for the best translation from Romanian. The award emphasises the role of translators and completes the series of ICR programmes dedicated to the publication of Romanian authors and to supporting translations from Romanian: participation in international book festivals and fairs, ICR Residency Programmes for translators in training, ICR scholarships for professional translators, Romanian Books for Children - a programme dedicated to foreign publishers interested in publishing literature for children and young people in translation, Retrospective of the Romanian Publishing Year and Others.

Also, the recently concluded edition of FILIT Chisinau was successful, consolidating the role of the capital of the Republic of Moldova on the European literary map as a meeting space for literary dialogue and cultural exchange. The festival started on September 25 with eight translation workshops in bookstores and libraries in Chisinau and with the opening event at the Nameless Theatre, with the special participation of translator Ernest Wichner.

International Translation Day is also marked by ICR Warsaw together with EUNIC Warsaw, the Polish Association of Literary Translators, the Representation of the European Commission in Poland and the PIW Publishing House, on Tuesday evening, at the PIW Bookstore in Warsaw, where the debate 'The challenges of translating Max Blecher's literary work into Polish' takes place. The discussion will be moderated by Jakub Kornhauser, writer, essayist and university professor, coordinator of the edition.

So far, about 60 titles have been translated into Polish alone under the ICR programme for supporting translations from Romanian.

September 30, International Translation Day, has been observed since 1991 at the initiative of the International Federation of Translators and officially recognised by the UN in 2017. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Petronius Craiu; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)