Since 2014, graduate students in English Translation and Interpreting in the School of Foreign Languages at collaborated with the Yearbook Unit of the United Nations Department of Global Communications in the context of a compulsory course in rendering the chapter introductions of Yearbook of the United Nations volumes that make up the Yearbook Express from English into Chinese, with a total of thirty-one editions of the Yearbook Express covering the period from 1983 to 2013 having been translated. Recent years have also witnessed their further contributions to producing translations of other significant United Nations publications, including the commemorative volume Achieving our common humanity: Celebrating global cooperation through the United Nations, the timeline publication Building the future: Stepping stones in United Nations history. This work is now being capped by their preparation of a bilingual English-Chinese edition of the first volume of the Yearbook of the United Nations (1946–47), which features an extensive portrayal of the founding of the Organization amid the turmoil of the Second World War and its initial steps in the immediately ensuing years—the first part of which is now available on the Yearbook website.
In concert with those efforts, the Yearbook Unit regularly provided a number of qualified Soochow University students with the opportunity to serve as interns at United Nations Headquarters in New York, where they have been able to gain invaluable hands-on experience in research, writing and editing and so further enhance their language skills. In 2023, this collaboration saw two Soochow University students, Jialei Ren and Chenying Rong, undertake internships in the Yearbook Unit. Like their many predecessors, after several weeks of intensive training focused on research into official United Nations documents in relation to the numerous reports to as well as the resolutions and decisions of the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and the Security Council, Chenying and Jialei began their work in earnest. Their focus was on supporting production of the forthcoming 43rd edition of the comprehensive guidebook Basic Facts about the United Nations, including through sourcing photos and graphics complementary to their document research—all on such topics as the Charter of the United Nations, the structure of the Organization, international peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian action, international law, the response of the United Nations system to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the renewal of multilateralism. This work served not only to enrich their knowledge and understanding of the role of the United Nations in striving to make the world a better place for everyone, but also to enable them to become familiar with the many dimensions of storytelling that play into successful global communication. As a final task, both helped prepare the bilingual English-Chinese edition of the first volume of the Yearbook for website publication.
In addition to their regular internship duties, the two Soochow interns were also active as volunteers during the high-level period of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023. Jialei—an interpreting student at Soochow—was assigned to the media center, where he supported international media outlets in their coverage of this annual event. That exposure to the dynamics of international communication and collaboration provided him with an unparalleled opportunity for engaging with individuals from around the world, which for him represented a singular occasion for applying his academic knowledge. Chenying—a translation student at Soochow—was mainly responsible for escorting journalists throughout the premises. That work, which allowed her to meet many interpreters, delegates and even world leaders, gave her an exceptional opportunity to practice her spoken English, enjoy a unique glimpse into high-level meetings and learn more about effective communication with different audiences.
Through this dynamic collaboration between the School of Foreign Languages at Soochow University and the Yearbook Unit, students in the Master of Translation and Interpreting programme—whether in the classroom or in the offices at United Nations Headquarters—have sharpened their linguistic capacities while learning more about what is happening around the world, along the way gaining deeper insight into how the Organization works towards international peace and development even as they themselves have made tangible contributions to fostering multicultural and multilingual understanding.
