More languages, more business

For language skills, demand and supply are equally on the rise. As corporations cross borders by default, they need their leaders to understand new customers and workers and cultures. In a recent Forbes survey, half of the 200 companies admitted they needed at least a quarter of employees knowing another language compared to the current 10%.

A good leader sets the standards in this respect, too. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s ability to speak Mandarin is definitely such an example. Starting out to impress the Chinese family of his now-wife, Priscilla Chan, in only four years he managed to awe a university audience, participating in a talk in Mandarin. Many say this is just another way to improve his reputation in a country he wants to win business-wise. But his respect and commitment to the culture did get some of the 1.3 million native speakers to his side.

The founder of media company Bloomberg, also former Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, tackled the foreign language most important for US businessmen. Although his accent is often made fun of, the fact that he can conduct speeches in Spanish has won him the Hispanic community in politics and helped him to important business opportunities, such as the alliance in Mexico with El Financiero.

Maybe a lesser-known name is that of Joseph Rank who was appointed CEO of the Saudi operations of Lockheed Martin. His example proves how language skills and the openness to other cultures it implies can sky-rocket a career. Rank speaks Arabic, a language of 400 million people, and is expected to nurture strategic partnerships on a market where foreigners rarely speak other than English.

Globalization also means more and more people are raised in multiple languages and are not afraid to move around the world for work. According to US statistics from 2016, there were 12 million bilingual kids representing 22% of the total underage population, and 3% of all American children were foreign-born. Many of those children will have the chance to follow the footsteps of prominent business leaders.

Born in India and have Tamil (of over 70 million speakers) as her mother tongue, Indra Nooyi immediately had a competitive advantage when relocating to the US and accepting a senior role at Pepsico. From 2006-2018 when she held the position of CEO, Pepsico increased its revenues by 80%, and Nooyi herself consistently ranked among the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

Meanwhile, Jan Koum possesses the seventh most spoken languages of the world, Russian, being born in Ukraine and only immigrated to the US at the age of 16. He made a fortune by funding WhatsApp, a global product translated to many languages, and then selling it to Facebook for in 2014. Koum still speaks fluent Russian and claimed in a 2016 interview that Russia was their most important market with 25 million monthly active users out of the 900 million total.

So if you are lucky enough to have English as your first language, you might reconsider if speaking multiple languages is just a nice-to-have. And, if you come from a different background, it’s time you realized the huge business advantages of your multilingualism.

 

Written by Anikó Jóri-Molnár

Going zero waste in the office

Nowadays going zero waste is one of the most popular trends – luckily it is one of the most progressive ones as well. You can read many articles on how to apply zero waste policies in your home, but have you ever considered how you can do this in the office? Or, as a manager, how you could support your office in achieving this? In this blog entry, we will look at some tips and tricks to transform your office into a sustainable work environment.

Of course, the first step is the hardest, but there are productive methods to take this initial leap of faith. Setting up a target can be inclusive enough to have every colleague involved in the action, even some sort of a mission statement can be released – nothing serious, but in addition to providing a precise framework for your quest, it can be published on the website as well, inviting your partners to join with your initiative. It might be surprising, but you should start your zero-waste policy by decluttering – how could you maintain a zero-waste environment when the office itself is full of things you don’t use anymore? Get rid of everything unnecessary – but don’t forget about recycling or reusing items, even at this stage.

Maybe the most wasteful area in an office is paper management, so it is imperative to minimise paper waste as much as possible. First and foremost, printing should be avoided as much as possible. While printing cannot be entirely eliminated from the office workflow, you can store files only in their digital form (e.g. cloud storage), and if printing is necessary, use recycled paper and two-sided printing settings. Unused or faulty prints can later be perfect for taking notes. By the way, be aware when using post-it notes as these might not be acceptable for recycling – contact your local authorities for further information and reuse paper waste or opt for digital apps for note-taking. You can go zero waste with your office supplies as well. Try to use refillable printer consumables, pens, and choose highlighter pencils instead of disposable highlighters.

Another important aspect of going zero waste is waste control. We tend to use an immense amount of plastic, so eliminating it from the office is not just a crucial step but also one of the most easily achievable. Ban plastic kitchenware from the kitchen, it can give a personal touch if every colleague has their own mugs and/or glasses for drinking. Forget about coffee capsules as well as you might not even notice how much plastic you throw away – substitute these with instant coffee (but not sachets of coffee!) for quick refreshment. Teabags can generate as much waste as capsules, so it is worth substituting them with tea leaves. Naturally, one of the key elements of a zero-waste office is to collect recyclable waste separately. It might help the efficiency of this method if you provide some quick guidelines on what and how to separate. This can be complemented by composting – small composting containers can be installed in the office or near the office where organic waste can be collected and transformed into fertilised soil. This way, the amount of communal waste is significantly reduced, while recycling techniques might be implemented, even outside the office. While it might not seem relevant at first, a flexible lunchtime that allows for employees to lunch out not only reduces resource use in the office, but it can also be refreshing for the employees to leave for a short while.

It might take some time to find those measures that can be successfully adapted in the workflow and lifestyle of your office, but it is worth gradually including sustainability among the core values of your business. Regardless of whether you try to make the first step, or you would like to expand your eco-friendly tools in the office, several environmental organisations (e.g. WWF) provide guidelines, programmes and certifications to help you reach your set target.

Written by Zsolt Beke

Events with sign language interpretation – practical tips for organisers

Most of us associate sign language interpretation with a person gesticulating in the corner of the screen during a television broadcast of a speech or another event of major importance. However, sign language interpretation is guided by the same basic principle as other forms of interpretation – mediation between languages. In most cases it involves mediation between a spoken language and sign language. Nevertheless, the particular features of sign language mean that organisers have to take a number of important issues into account. This blog post takes a look at some of these challenges.

First of all, just like for spoken language interpretation, it is important to clarify the basics – i.e. the target language and whether consecutive or simultaneous interpretation should be used. Rather than one universal sign language, there are in fact almost 140 different sign languages across the world, with many local dialects. Establishing which sign language is the target language is therefore vital. It should also be noted that sign language can be mediated as fluently as spoken language, so simultaneous interpretation is indeed an option.

One of the key features of sign language is its use of gestures and non-manual expressions. When choosing and preparing a venue, the position of the sign language interpreter is therefore of paramount importance. While a spoken language interpreter does not even need to be in the same room as the speaker, sign language interpreters have to be positioned up front where both the interpreter and the presentation can be seen. Of course, visibility can be enhanced by reserving places for members of the audience who are hard of hearing, allowing the interpreter to address them directly, or screens can be used. Whichever option you choose, it is important to create an environment where equal opportunities means not only that sign language interpretation is available, but that members of the audience who are hard of hearing can learn from and enjoy the event as much as their hearing colleagues.

Given the demanding nature of interpretation, interpreters often work in pairs, especially if the event is long or requires particular expertise. Due to its physicality, sign language interpretation is especially tiring for the interpreter. When planning an event with sign language interpretation, you should be aware of that aspect and make sure to book a sufficient number of interpreters.

Finally, working together with the client and the presenters is also of utmost importance. It is essential for background documents, summaries and even the presentations themselves to be provided to the greatest possible extent, since questions such as names of organisations and terminology (e.g. whether fingerspelling or a sign counterpart should be used) require background work and might present difficulties on the spot. Of course, provision of supplemental materials is strongly advisable when you organise any form of interpretation, but for sign language interpretation you should make doubly sure that the interpreters can use an array of documents and glossaries for preparation.

While event interpretation is an important part of sign language interpretation, Deaf culture as a minority culture often uses sign interpreters for navigating and facilitating everyday life. However, the challenges there revolve not so much around technical or practical issues as the need to keep on improving availability and accessibility.

Written by Zsolt Beke

The final version of EU Copyright Directive ready, uncertainties remain

Following months of debates around the new Copyright Directive of the European Union, the negotiators agreed on a final text on the 13 February 2019. While awaiting formal confirmation, we give an overview of what changes can be expected in content sharing.

Caught in the act?

Originally, the aim of the Directive was the fair remuneration of copyright holders in the digital era, therefore, it focuses on for-profit businesses that stream music, offer video-on-demand services, aggregate news or host user-generated content. These platforms need to contribute to a level playing field by complying with new rules which they widely criticise.

According to Article 11, social sites, news aggregators, or media monitoring service providers are only allowed to publish a hyperlink without a photo or a snippet, unless they obtain licenses from copyright owners first.

Meanwhile, Article 13 goes after the platforms that host user-generated content, making them accountable for any copyright infringements their users might commit. To comply, platforms need to weed out copyrighted content, acquire license agreements from authors, and remove content as necessary.

In the crosshairs are allegedly giant corporations such as YouTube, Twitter or Facebook, and to cut some of their revenues to the benefit of authors. These corporations will have to heavily invest in upload filters and to nod to any license agreement they are offered by publishers.

Winners and losers

Smaller companies, lacking the financial resources and maneuvering options of the giants, will likely skip the expensive upload filters and licenses and, to stay on the safe side, rather sacrifice creative ideas or give in on business altogether. Only if the business is considered a startup by the legislation (has less than USD 10mn yearly turnover, is less than three years in operation or has no more than 5 million monthly unique visitors), will there be more options and less strict consequences for them.

NGOs, educational and research organizations and non-profit encyclopedias like Wikipedia, are also exemptions. No scientific paper has to pay “link taxes”, researchers are allowed text and data mining, and educators to use digital material across the borders without having to pay for copyright. But these institutions still fall under Article 13 and have to be careful with online content sharing.

The Directive also claims to reinforce individual user interests as they don’t have to worry about using copyrighted content due to new licensing rules and upload filters. They will also “continue to enjoy and share news hyperlinks as they do today.” However, critics insist the freedom of self-expression will suffer and envision platforms playing “content police” to prevail.

And it is still not the end of the story: the European Parliament and the Council will cast their votes about the Directive in March/April. And even if they vote in favour of it, there is a lot of uncertainty about practical issues that the Commission has to rule out, by issuing guidelines on the application.

Written by Anikó Jóri-Molnár

The Periodic Table – A Common Language for Science

In 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev presented his version of the periodic table of the elements, and this event fundamentally changed the course, not only of chemistry, but of all the natural sciences. To honour the 150th anniversary of this ground-breaking innovation, the United Nations General Assembly and UNESCO declared 2019 to be the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements.

While the history of the periodic table – like so many things in our culture – harks back to antiquity, the great boom in the discovery of the elements – and, at the same time, the definition of the notion ‘element’ – came in the second half of the 18th century. The first complete list of the elements known in the era was written in 1789 by Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier, who first introduced the distinction between metals and non-metals. At the beginning of the 19th century, the scope of discoveries widened and there was a need for an organised overview of the discovered elements. The keyword was periodicity, all the proposed systems tried to find some similarities by which the elements could be catalogued. It was Mendeleev’s system, however, that not only managed to highlight the periodically repeating nature of elements arranged according to their atomic mass, but also succeeded in predicting with great accuracy the position and the attributes of some missing elements that were discovered later (e.g., gallium, germanium).

Nevertheless, the periodic table is not a static idea, as scientists are still working on discovering further elements while predicting new ones based on the regularities of the periodic table. Most of these new elements (like the most recent one, tennessine) are discovered in laboratory conditions and cannot possibly be found in nature. While, at the moment, the element with the largest atomic number is oganesson (118), scientists are looking for new methods (including quantum mechanics) to further expand the table.

The nomenclature of the elements is another interesting aspect of the periodic table. Many names are of Latin and Greek origin (e.g. helium, neon), but surprisingly we can find names with either Arabic (boron), Egyptian (natrium, i.e. sodium), or Anglo-Saxon (lead) roots. Many recently discovered elements are either provided with geographical names (berkelium after Berkeley, California) or names honouring scientists (curium). In the case of new and undiscovered elements, temporary names are regulated by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), which are derived from their atomic number. For example, element 118, oganesson, was once called ununoctium. Nevertheless, all the discovered elements have now received their permanent names and symbols, thus this systematic nomenclature is only relevant for undiscovered elements beyond oganesson.

There are so many exciting aspects of the periodic table that cannot be explored within the framework of a blog entry. The year-long celebration of the 150th anniversary of the periodic table, however, provides many different viewpoints in order to discover the long-lasting effect of Mendeleev’s innovation, from scientific conferences to online quizzes and art projects.

Written by Zsolt Beke

Common heritage, multiple languages: protecting and promoting ‘unity in diversity’

When a language dies, a way of understanding the
world dies with it, a way of looking at the world.
(George Steiner, After Babel, 1975)

Despite their indisputable value, languages around the world are disappearing at a worrying pace. Indigenous languages – the majority of today’s estimated 7000 spoken languages – are the most endangered, as they face challenges relating to migration, educational disadvantage, illiteracy, assimilation, enforced relocation, and other human rights discriminations (UNESCO, 2019). Taking action to raise awareness of the significant contributions Indigenous Languages make to the world’s cultural diversity, in an attempt to ‘mitigate’ this alarming trend, the United Nations recently declared 2019 the Year of Indigenous Languages (IY2019).

Sharing the same concern about the rapid loss of “endangered languages”, the European Union has joined the UN in this endeavor, following up on a 2018 European Parliament Resolution calling for states’ commitment to IY2019 its commitment to promoting less widely used European languages as a contribution to multilingualism, the EU’s support to this initiative is grounded on an understanding of languages as the most direct expression of culture, as part – and constitutive – of “our universal cultural patrimony and of our individual cultural identity”. Respect for linguistic diversity as set out in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (Art 22) is a core value of the EU; one that goes hand in hand with respect for the individual, mutual tolerance and acceptance; one that underlies the founding principle of post-war Europe, unity in diversity, and makes it a Community with a shared heritage – where cultural specificities, customs, and beliefs come together exalting each other, rather than being overshadowed.

With 24 official languages and over 60 regional or minority languages (RMLs) spoken by some 40 million people – e.g. Basque, Catalan, Frisian, Saami, Welsh and Yiddish – the EU considers the protection and promotion of RMLs central to constructing a Europe based on democracy and cultural diversity, as recognized in the 1992 European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. To that end, besides its ‘advocacy’ efforts, the EU has engaged in a number of projects. Among these are education-related initiatives – both in terms of access to it and of research facilitating the production of RML teaching materials, RMLs in cyberspace, and support to RMLs media dissemination.

With the Council of Europe declaration of 2001 as the “European Year of Languages”, the “European Day of Languages” also started being celebrated annually on 26 September, in an effort to raise awareness of the importance of linguistic diversity, plurilingualism, and lifelong language learning for “understanding each other […] and to embrace other cultures and ways of life” (Jagland, 2018). The potential embedded in languages for building inclusive society – which is linked to their impact on crucial domains such as education, social and cultural life, economy, science, and technology – is what ultimately makes them essential to human development, sustainable development, good governance, peace and reconciliation, as noted by the UN. Sensitization and appreciation in this regard are still much needed – even more so, at a time where the EU faces a number of challenges that threaten to split partnerships forged over more than half a century.

Written by Daisy Bisoffi

10 most important business languages in global market

As the face of international business changes, so do the languages used to communicate. From professional networking and academic collaboration to transport and traveling, the business world requires business owners to use different languages in order to scale up their companies. Even if you’re a small company and aspiring to sell your services and products to different linguistic backgrounds and cultures, you need to take its content to the next multilingual level.

There are more than 6,000 languages worldwide, and it seems difficult to pick the most critical languages in order to impact your overall earnings. When you think about the languages you would like to learn for your business, your first assessment should be looking at your macro level business goals, core target audiences and think about how you see yourself in the coming years.

Your approach also needs to consider global connectivity and how you manage your global content as you devise a globalization strategy. As a matter of fact, languages such as Russian, French, English, Mandarin, and German have dominated the global landscape for doing business.

But these might not be the only important languages in the future. It is imperative to understand which languages are the most important and useful, which will open pathways for securing the most significant return on investments, and which ones will lead the way in the next 50 years.

If you need help deciding the most important languages for your business, we’ve compiled a handy list of the top 10 languages that will help you in initiating global growth for business and marketing content translation.

#1 English- The Language of Globalization

English is the most influential language of academia and the business world, occupying the top in the field of languages, and spoken by over three-quarters of the world’s population. It is used in 94 countries by 339 million native speakers, and it is the de facto language of the United States and an official language of Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and several other countries, making it an essential language for business owners.

Along with this, the English language also retains the number one spot as the most commonly used language by 53% of websites and internet users with 949 million users. Hence, there is no denying the fact that English is the language of globalization, and crucial for those entrepreneurs who want to thrive on the global stage.

#2 Mandarin- The Language that’s Dying to Spend its Money

The Chinese language is the new boss in town, with the most significant number of native speakers (approximately 983 million speakers), while more than 1.2 billion people understand the Chinese Mandarin dialect. It’s the one that you just can’t miss while talking about the best languages for business, as it is the second most popular language among internet users. If Asian markets continue to expand their internet usage, Chinese could be expected to supplant English as the most widely used internet language soon.

The rationale behind this trend is mainly due to the enormous economic shift that China has gone through in the past three decades, from national trade to international trade ties and cross-border treaties to huge leaps in the field of science and technology. And if this trend continues, analysts predict that China will become the world’s leading economy by 2050.

#3 Spanish- The Language of the Fastest Growing American Market Segment

Believe it or not, the United States has recently been cited as the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, where an estimated 37.6 million people speak it as their first language. There is no denying that English is the primary language that comes to mind for the USA, but its 50 million Spanish speakers and their small and large businesses might remind you that it’s not the only language spoken in the country.

As the US has the world’s largest economy and the Hispanic population in the US is projected to double by 2050, this makes Spanish enormously important. If you are willing to start your business in the US, or indeed anywhere in the Western hemisphere, Spanish needs to be one of your chosen languages.

#4 German- The Language of European Industrial Strength

With the advancement of technology and networking opportunities, the German economy proves to be one of the strongest and stable within the European Union, with a GDP of over 2.4 trillion Euros. In fact, being able to speak German provides a significant advantage to anyone wanting to pursue international business. The German language is the fourth most used language by nearly 95 million native speakers and a total of 210 million speakers worldwide.

Not only is Germany one of the most populated countries within Europe, but there are also a large number of German-speaking people within the nearby nations of Belgium, Austria, Holland, Denmark, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg. It is also estimated that the ability to speak German could come with a wage increase of about 4%.

#5 Portuguese- A Continent of Opportunity

Portuguese is one of the top 10 most spoken languages in the world and the second most spoken language in Latin America behind Spanish. Portuguese is spoken around 215 million people in Portugal, Brazil and some parts of Africa. As per the statistics, the Portuguese blasted forward with 6% share growth after several flat years and managed to come in fifth, with a whopping 154.5 million speakers.

For professional business owners, Brazil is the main attraction for doing business. Being the most widely cited science base outside the G8, Brazil has many opportunities to capitalize on scientific cooperation and collaboration, including in the areas of pharmaceuticals and energy.

It’s the largest economy in Latin America, and there are some indicators that recovery is on its way in the next year or so, which means business opportunities there will only continue to grow. Portuguese is also gaining popularity in Asia due to the region’s great diplomatic and economic relations with Portugal and the Lusophone countries. So, if you are aspiring to increase your sales and expand your business globally, learning the Portuguese language will be your best choice.

#6 Arabic- The Web’s Fastest-Growing Language

As the official language of many Middle Eastern countries where business opportunities are growing fast, learning Arabic can be a big plus for business owners. The Arabic language is spoken by 295 million speakers worldwide, and it’s the official language of 28 different countries, including many dynamic, growing economies in the Middle East and Africa. In fact, in the UK’s top 50 export market in goods, six Arabic speaking countries appear with a combined value to the economy that surpasses that of China, Italy and Spain. This is why in a report from the British Council, Arabic ranks as the second most important ‘language of the future’.

#7 French- The Former English

French is the official language of over 29 countries throughout the world, and it is the second-most widely spoken first language in the European Union. The colonial history of France has helped spread this language throughout the modern world in the same way as English. This has led to a situation in which there are more non-native French speakers than native speakers.

The French-speaking world also includes Africa, which is proliferating and rich in natural resources. The top 5 fastest-growing African economies include Tanzania, Rwanda, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cote D’Ivoire, which French is an official language in 3 of them. While it’s not as prevalent globally as it once was, there’s no question that France will remain one of the United Kingdom’s most important trade partners. French language skills are both necessary and essential for businesses here, and it remains one of the top languages to learn.

#8 Japanese

Another Asian language with a bright prospect is Japanese with 130 million native speakers and an equal number of non-native speakers spread out in the world. It’s also the sixth language for internet users with e-commerce sales of $88.06 billion. Being the world’s second largest investor in research and development, Japan is one of the most technologically advanced and integrated nations in the world.

In fact, Japan is renowned as a significant contributor to UK prosperity, both as a substantial investor and an export marketer by the British Council. Although the economy of Japan has revealed some signs of stagnation, it’s pertinent not to dismay the ingenuity of Japanese businesses, where, like Germany, Japan has a reputation for excellence in the science and technology sectors. Japan remains at the forefront of cutting-edge electronics scene and robotics, and speaking Japanese is ideal for many opportunities in these fields.

#9 Russian- The Language of Trade and Diplomacy

With 160 million native speakers throughout central and Eastern Europe and in Russia, it’s the ninth most common language in the world and the second most used in website content after English. Due to the historical power of the Soviet Union, Russian is an official language of the United Nations and cited as the most influential Slavonic language in history. The Russian language is also widely used in many of the post-Soviet states, which provides access to new and up-in-coming business potential.

Russian’s importance is not only due to its large number of native speakers but also to the undeniable political and economic power of Russia. With a deep oil and gas reserves and rich culture, and enormous potential for real estate investment, Russian is one of the best languages to learn for anyone who wants to grow their business into one of the most powerful countries on Earth.

#10 Hindi

Last but not the least, Hindi is the tenth most-spoken language in the world, with 270 million native speakers. But you must be curious why would Hindi be one of the top languages for your localization strategy and business translation? Although India is home to 126 million English speakers, around 85% of the population doesn’t speak English well, and it’s been outpaced by the use of local languages. According to CSA Research report, Hindi increased a massive 67% on the latest on the Top of 100 online languages, mostly due to investment by the government, mobile web penetration, and other initiatives on the subcontinent. All this has set the pace for Hindi on the global stage.

Conclusion

Whether you are hoping to manage a business, improve your international business relations, or just set yourself apart from the mob, learning any one of these languages can give you the competitive edge needed to develop your plans. So what are you waiting for? Optimize your business results with global audiences and gain the first market advantage by learning different languages.

 

Source: medium.com

Greta Thunberg: A teen with an impact

If you have only read the news headlines about Greta Thunberg, you might have thought she is just another teenager with a romantic vision and over-enthusiasm to change the world. But what is it about her that makes her climate protection message get through?

The Swedish butterfly-effect

Greta Thunberg has just turned 16 but she’s already among the biggest names in climate protection. The Swedish schoolgirl first made the headlines with her three-week school-skipping protest in front of her country’s parliament before the general elections on September 9, 2018. This solo call-to-action, aimed at Swedish politicians with a concrete demand to meet the carbon emission targets of the Paris Agreement, has since evolved to worldwide school protests. It has also earned her a seat at the table at events like the United Nations’ COP24 climate change summit in Poland and the recent World Economic Forum in Davos.

Natural born climate warrior

Although the most resonant in the media, the parliament protest was not the first and far from the only attempt of Thunberg having her voice heard about climate issues. In May 2018, she has won a prize with her debate article on the topic in Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet and was nominated for Children’s Climate Prize by Telge Energi. Interestingly enough, her family heritage includes a Nobel Prize winner, Svante Arrhenius, who was acclaimed for his work discovering the warming effects of carbon dioxide to the Earth’s surface temperature.

Underage maturity

Thunberg has earned worldwide respect among top global decision-makers as well as climate activists, not mention her own generation, for a reason. She is speaking up as boldly as a 5-year-old, yet has the depth of thought and means of expressions that match those of the 65-year-olds. “You are not mature enough to tell it like it is” she expressed her conviction at the UN climate summit in Poland. Meaning: the “responsible adults” are procrastinating about making painful decisions to save the planet. While it comes handy explaining Thunberg’s boldness and perseverance with her confirmed condition of Asperger’s, her voice is also strengthened by a zeitgeist of empowerment movements and a purposefully used social media toolbox.

Change is coming

Putting a question mark to many common beliefs that exist only to comfort the welfare societies is never an easy task. Nevertheless, Thunberg has stepped up and become a leader of a generation that is considered passive and self-immersive. She challenges the leaders of her country, Sweden, that is considered a preeminent green economy. She is speaking up in a loud background noise of climate-change denial, dominated by US President Donald Trump. We are yet to see if Thunberg’s movement will be able to have a greater impact than the People’s Climate March at the 2014 UN summit but, if the consistency of the currently ignited protests is of any indication, she has a great chance to succeed. A peaceful army of teen activists all around the world has been taking action in Finland, Australia, France, and most recently in Belgium. They are here to let us know that “change is coming, whether you like it or not.”

Written by Anikó Jóri-Molnár

The real #10yearchallenge we all need to care about

A new social media craze, the so-called #10yearchallenge, has taken the Internet by storm, with millions of people posting photos of themselves from 10 years ago to show the world how much they have changed.

The trend initially aimed to foster positivity about ageing and physical appearance. And while showing how much we have “glowed up” over the years is clearly fun, there are more fruitful ways to use the viral hashtag: politicians, EU institutions and charities quickly recognised that the #10yearchallenge is a great opportunity to raise awareness of global issues and convey meaningful messages to the public.

So, here it is, the real #10yearchallenge – straight from Brussels!

What happened in Brussels?

The next European elections will take place in May 2019. Ten years ago, the European Parliament was also preparing for the same elections. A lot has changed since then: over the past 10 years, they have been working on their social presence by growing a supportive and engaging community of more than 2.5 million people on their Facebook page.

Therefore, the institution decided to use the popular challenge to promote their #thistimeimvoting information campaign to raise awareness of the importance of voting.

The European Commission, on the other hand, used the hashtag to look back at important achievements over the past decade. Amongst other things, they highlighted the fact that roaming charges for all EU travellers ended in 2017.

Climate change in focus

A large number of celebrities, charities and institutions stepped up to the challenge to show how much the Earth has changed over the past 10 years.

“Do you know what the real 10-year-challenge is? It is climate change” – tweeted SDG Academy, a UN initiative. They also added that we have just over 10 years to act on the climate before we cause irreparable damage to our planet, encouraging Twitter users to take their free course on #ClimateAction.

The striking images of dying forests, starving animals and shrinking glaciers speak for themselves. Greenpeace used the publicity surrounding the challenge to promote clean energy over fossil fuels, while WWF raised awareness of the fact that the plastic we throw away now will remain almost exactly the same for the next 10 years.

The #10yearchallenge for humanity

There is no doubt that we have come a long way in the past few years. Despite tragic events and the political turmoil of the past decade, it seems that the world is slowly getting better and better.

In fact, the #10yearchallenge post of the Swedish author of several books about economics and globalisation, Johan Norberg, shows that extreme poverty, child mortality and youth literacy dropped significantly, while life expectancy has increased since 2008.

But as we all know, the fight for humanity should never cease. And as Amnesty International’s powerful #10yearchallenge message about the decriminalisation of abortion demonstrates, there is still a long way to go.

We are delighted to see that so many people and organisations found a creative way to convey important messages by using the #10yearchallenge hashtag. Don’t forget, looking back at important achievements is just as important as tackling global challenges – that is why the #10yearchallenge is so popular.

Written by Dóra Rapcsák

 

 

The euro turns 20

The New Year began with important news: 1 January 2019 marked the 20th anniversary of perhaps one of the most monumental decisions the EU has ever made – the adoption of the euro.

Although the euro is a relatively new currency, it has become the second most traded currency, behind only the US dollar.

On its 20th birthday, we collected some interesting facts about the euro. Read on and find out what you didn’t know about Europe’s single currency!

Interesting facts about the euro

The Economic and Monetary Union – also known as the eurozone – came into effect on 1 January 1999 with 11 countries who decided to stop using their national currency in favour of a single currency, the euro. For ordinary citizens, however, little changed until euro banknotes and coins were introduced in 2002.

As of 2019, the euro is the currency of 340 million Europeans in 19 Member States. It is also used by four non-EU countries, including Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City.

The symbol of the euro is €, based on the Greek epsilon (ε) character, representing “E” for Europe. The two parallel lines across the centre symbolise stability.

There are seven different banknotes, each one with a different colour, size and face value, while coins are of eight different amounts. The euro notes represent both the EU and the countries: each banknote and coin has a standard EU design on one side and a country-specific design on the other side.

The symbol of the European family

Those who live at the heart of Europe quickly embraced the idea of a single currency. Austria, for example, is only 250 km from Slovenia. Exchanging currencies is expensive, and you can lose even more by changing back what is left at the end of the trip. Thanks to the euro, however, for the last 20 years citizens can travel in the eurozone without having to exchange their currencies.

The euro has also made it easier for Europeans to compare prices across borders, encouraging tourism and international trade among Member States.

Altogether 20 currencies were replaced by the euro, including the German mark, the French franc, the Italian lira and the Austrian schilling. And although adapting to a new currency always raises challenges, the euro is widely recognised as an important element of European integration, and there is little support for abandoning it.

By and large, the adoption of the euro is a success story. Despite its imperfections, it has survived and helped to bring European people and countries closer together. What will the future bring for Europe’s single currency? Only time will tell…

Written by Dóra Rapcsák

The contemporary challenges of electric vehicles

Electric vehicles (EV) have been around since the mid-19th century and, at one point, they seemed to be the future of transportation. However, with the advent of mass production, the affordable price of petroleum, and the technical limitations of the electric motor, internal combustion engines (ICE) gained many advantages over EVs, and they became the standard for car manufacturing, reducing EVs to public transportation (trams, trains etc.), and experimental vehicles. In recent decades, prompted by an environmentally-friendly attitude and a series of oil crises, vehicle manufacturers have been aiming for a more sustainable form of transportation. In this article, we will look at the challenges EV manufacturers have to face in order to become a common sight on our roads.

Unsurprisingly, the most obvious hindrances are cost-related. On the one hand, producing an electric motor is indeed an international venture as the materials needed for the lithium battery are delivered from all over the world. While nickel and aluminium are easily available, the price of lithium is going up due to demand, while cobalt is supplied from the politically-unstable Democratic Republic of Congo, and the majority of the production is used for personal electronic devices, which means that it is not sufficient to satisfy the needs of the EV industry. In addition to that, while in many cases ICEs can be repaired or fixed using DIY methods or at any workshop, EVs are way more complex machines, thus in many cases repairing can be quite an expensive and complicated ordeal; and, on a similar note, the issue of battery recycling is still to be solved.

In the long run, however, electricity is a cheaper fuel and with the adoption of time-of-use pricing by utilities, the recharging costs can also be controlled. Furthermore, new formulae and synthetic materials are being tested and used for the sustainable production of batteries. Finally, the price of EVs has been nosediving since the last decade, while vehicles have become able to travel further on just one charge.

Nevertheless, electricity is still a problematic point. First and foremost, it should be noted that a significant proportion of electricity production is not eco-friendly at all and, as such, it undermines the ecological objectives of EVs. Furthermore, the grid system in its present state will not be able to sustain the capacity required for charging EVs. This is not the only infrastructure obstacle at the moment: the lack of charging stations also hinders the prevalence of EVs.

Still, it should be noted that the transformation to EVs is and continues to be gradual, therefore there will be enough time for utilities to adapt to changing energy consumption habits, which will provide them with new income possibilities. At the same time, EV manufacturers are also experimenting with more effective energy consumption solutions, converting the vehicles from a mode of transportation to mobile energy storage.

Electric vehicles are in constant transformation and car manufacturers are coming up with new solutions to make EVs more and more sustainable and available, with experts expecting that the adoption of EVs will go past the tipping point sometime in the 2020s.

Written by Zsolt Beke

Old Habits Die Hard – The Case of New Year Resolutions

It is a common perception that breaking habits is difficult. In January, this problem is even more accentuated when people are making resolutions in order to change their lives. While most common promises aim to enhance the quality of life (to improve health/self-care/social relations), most of them do not last until the end of January. In this article, we will list a few tips on how to make a better commitment to your resolutions.

From a psychological point of view, habits are automatic behaviours triggered by the environment, therefore a new habit needs a new environmental trigger. The difficulty here is that it needs to be continuously repeated so that the new behaviour should become automatic, otherwise, the change will wear thin soon. Repetition can be achieved by writing a journal about your resolution, or just leaving a memo somewhere visible; but an accountability partner or a group can also help with reaching the set target – this way you do not just keep each other in line but can share your experiences as well.

One of the most important elements of staying committed to your resolution is if you aim for small changes. When setting a goal, you should not aim high but still be as specific as you can, since the clearer the objective, the easier it is to commit yourself to it. Small changes can be cost-effective as well, for example, you do not have to get a gym subscription to exercise more, you can find a lot of useful videos and guides online to keep your workout varied and still productive. If you decide to develop yourself in smaller steps, it is also easier to adjust your intentions in case you face some difficulties.

Self-motivation is just as important. Resolutions require less effort if they are inspired by a proper reason and not just some general sentiment; also, a resolution with emotional attachment provides some “added value” to your commitment. You should, however, keep in mind that there will always be tough moments or situations; you can easily overcome these if you prepare yourself for such instances. It is also worth mentioning that an occasional relapse is a normal part of habit formation, so do not be hard on yourself if there are days when you simply give in to your old self.

Still, resolutions are long-term commitments, and their objectives are reached gradually, step by step. Therefore – and it is crucial – do not regard it as a failure if you fail one or two steps or even your whole resolution falls through; consider it as part of the learning curve and, if possible, re-evaluate and adjust your goals. All in all, the main reason behind your resolutions is to enhance your life, and while they do indeed require patience and perseverance they should, in the first place, make yourself feel better about yourself, and once this is achieved, you will be unstoppable.

Written by Zsolt Beke

More than 1,000 decision-makers from the chemistry industry and its related industries expected

26 February 2019, 3rd European Chemistry Partnering

The European Chemistry Partnering is the leading industry Speed-Dating event for the chemistry industry and its user industries. On 26 February 2019 the ECP takes place for the third time, offering an exchange about innovation along the value chain in the chemistry industry. The classic chemical industry of basic, special and fine chemicals is represented as are the processing industry and manufacturers of consumer and industrial goods.

The focus will once again be on partnering discussions. Participants agree on these discussions in advance via Internet-based software. In addition, entrepreneurs can present their innovations in short presentations (Pitches). Workshops, an exhibition and extensive networking opportunities round off the day.

80 percent of ECP participants come from the industry. Investors and experts from service companies, management consultancies, associations and clusters complement the expert audience. The Start-up companies that take part in the ECP in large numbers and come from very different areas of chemistry with all its very different facets, as well as biotechnology and nanotechnology, engineering, digitization and software, and many more are very much in demand. This mixture clearly shows the need for interdisciplinary exchange in order to make innovation happen even faster.

Registration of participants, presentations, workshops and exhibition stands is now possible.

26 February 2019
3rd European Chemistry Partnering
Frankfurt am Main, Kap Europa
www.european-chemistry-partnering.com
www.ecp2019.com

Eurideas Language Experts is a supporter of this event.

Single-use plastic ban: Europe confirms its leadership in environment protection

The European Parliament has finally approved the ban against single-use plastic. The new regulation will impact certain products such as cutlery, cotton sticks, plates, straws, beverage mixers and balloons sticks , which make up 70% of marine waste. Now, as soon as EU ministers have established their common position, the Parliament will start negotiations with the Council on the matter.

Fast-food containers made of expanded polystyrene and oxy-degradable plastic articles (such as bags or packaging) were also added to the list of prohibited plastics. Strasbourg also declares war on cigarette butts containing plastic, whose quantity in waste must be reduced by 50% by 2025 and by 80% by 2030. Tobacco producers will have to bear the costs of treatment and collection, including transport.

The single-use plastic ban has been welcomed by the majority of the population across Europe but (of course) not by all the stakeholders. This new regulation, in fact, is going to affect several producers that will have to adapt to it finding new solutions for their business. Although it is definitely too early to evaluate the ban, the definition of single-use is going to be one the most important points, since it may be easily manipulable to elude the rules. For sure, the EU Parliament has sent a very strong message to the rest of the world, reaffirming the European leadership in the environmental protection.

Written by Jesse Colzani

What is translation?

Translating does not consist only in pouring a content from one language to another one. It also means transmitting the effect that a content should produce in the reader and moreover in different worlds and cultures; here is where its great problem is hidden.

Languages are the vehicles of expression of real worlds, very different from each other and, for this reason, the search for equivalent terms between one language and another is particularly complex; some obstacles become more insurmountable when the two cultures are far from each other. In some cases the distance is such that the translator is obliged to intervene, with greater or lesser success, to obtain with his readers the same effect, or at least an equivalent effect, of that intended by the author.

In this sense, the translator is essentially a mediator between interlocutors who cannot establish direct contact between each other because of the barrier imposed by the language and he acts as a channel of communication between those who produced the original text and their readers in the target language, as a way that facilitates and encourages cultural transfer.

Written by Jesse Colzani