The world celebrates International Translation Day every year on 30 September following the United Nations’ decision to mark the occasion through Resolution No. 28871, issued on 24 May 2017, in response to the request of the International Federation of Translators, which has celebrated the day since 1991. The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) avails itself of this opportunity to commend the pivotal role played by translators in facilitating civilizational dialogue, understanding, and cooperation between nations, as well as the exchange of knowledge between the peoples of the world. This, in turn, contributes to mutual development, prosperity, and the promotion of peace and security.
On International Translation Day, celebrated this year under the theme “Translation, an Art Worth Protecting,” ICESCO highlights the urgent need for joint efforts and solidarity to protect this noble human art, which has always served as a bridge between peoples by transferring the intellectual products of creators across all fields from their native languages to other languages.

Although ICESCO has adopted Arabic, English, and French as its official working languages since its establishment in 1982, it has not overlooked the importance of engaging with other languages. Translation has been its primary means of conveying its civilizational mission to the world. Over the past four decades, the Organization’s Center of Translation has provided translation services to various ICESCO sectors and departments, successfully translating and publishing thousands of documents, studies, research papers, and books across all fields of its work.

In response to the rapid developments in the field of translation in recent years, particularly due to the increasing role of artificial intelligence technology in applied languages, providing impressive translation services that grow in quality by the day, and in line with ICESCO’s new vision and strategic orientations, the Organization has undergone significant development. The Center of Translation has been restructured to expand its functions and responsibilities, leading to the establishment of the Translation and Publishing Center. This new center operates as a programmatic unit similar to other ICESCO sectors, responsible for translating books and documents, publishing works related to education, culture, science, and communication, organizing scientific forums in the field of translation, enriching scientific and cultural content by publishing academic and specialized works, and fostering cooperation and coordination with global publishing houses.