International polyphony of the Declaration of Human Responsibilities

We start this week with great news about the results of the translation of the Declaration of Human Responsibilities. The Foundation’s Ambassador in the United Kingdom, as well as the initiator and author of the project, Victoria Startseva, talks about the purpose, process of translation and further plans to disseminate the Declaration. So far, the document has been translated into 22 world languages. But you can join and increase that number!

How the translation project of the Declaration of Human Responsibilities (DHR) appeared

The idea of ​​translating the Declaration into different languages came up with the creation of a team of Ambassadors, who are the graduates of the programs, in 2020. One of their tasks is to represent the Foundation and spread Bohdan Hawrylyshyn’s ideas in their regions. Today we have Ambassadors in all regions of Ukraine (except the occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea), as well as in Germany, Austria and Great Britain. In the latter, in particular, the Bohdan Hawrylyshyn Family Foundation is represented by Victoria Startseva, a graduate of the Youth Will Change Ukraine 2018 program and a doctoral student at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Management at Loughborough University in London. 

“My first degree is in linguistics and translation. Therefore, planning personal contribution to the dissemination of the Declaration of Human Responsibilities, I thought that I could use my professional experience and direct the promotion of the Declaration to the international level. After brainstorming with the Foundation’s team, we outlined the directions of the project development and made a strategy for its implementation. That’s how this initiative was born,” Victoria shares her memories.

 

Translation of the Declaration: purpose and stages of implementation

The translation of the Declaration of Human Responsibilities is, first and foremost, about cultural diplomacy, about an important dialogue between different countries, nations and continents, the international community and public opinion leaders. The basis of the project  was the project “bh15”. Its goal is to popularize and disseminate the Declaration created by Bohdan Hawrylyshyn in 2014 for the positive development of the world and society through responsible behavior at all levels.

“The project was launched before the Day of Knowledge in September 2020. We divided it into three stages: the first one is the translation into UN languages; the second one is the translation into 15+ of the world’s most popular languages; the third one is a creative part of making a video version of the Declaration, voiced in different languages ​​of the world,” said Victoria.

The first stage of the project is the translation of 15 points of the Declaration into 6 UN official languages, namely:

✅English;

✅Arabic;

✅Spanish;

✅Chinese (Putonghua);

✅Russian;

✅French.

In the second stage, the following languages ​​were added to the above translations:

✅Ukrainian;

✅Ùrdu;

✅Hindi;

✅German;

✅Portuguese;

✅Swedish;

✅Turkish;

✅Italian;

✅Romanian;

✅Belarusian;

✅Greek;

✅Hungarian;

✅Korean;

✅Indonesian;

✅Polish;

✅Bulgarian.

“It is important to add that we set ourselves the goal of translating the Declaration into two versions – full and short. In addition, we collected a number of videos from our translators, in which they recited the paragraphs of the Declaration. It was an incredible part of the project when you hear how the Declaration sounds in different languages ​​and dialects,” says Victoria, adding that while working on the translations, volunteers often shared feedback on how DHR points inspire each and every one of them.

The current result and further plans for the project

Nowadays, the Declaration has been translated into 22 languages, 38 volunteers have joined the translation process. The next step is to work in the field of cultural diplomacy, namely, cooperating with embassies and diplomatic missions of those countries in whose languages ​​the translations are ready. The goal is to jointly spread the main theses of the Declaration of Human Responsibilities among the youth of national communities.

“I sincerely believe that this can be a new stage in the development of joint youth exchange programs. It can also unite public youth activists from different countries to combat the common challenges and challenges of today. The Declaration should become a common platform for international youth initiatives aimed at educating a conscious society through conscious youth. This is cultural diplomacy in action.”

Victoria also notes that the number of translations is increasing, and this indicates a great deal of attention to the project. Among other planned activities:

  • printed collection of translations and online directory of DHR in the most used languages ​​of the world;
  • art exhibitions of paintings with translations of the Declaration;
  • presentation of the translation project by the Youth Delegates to the UN at the UN General Assembly in New York;
  • creation of the Declaration in Braille.

Recently, students of the Pechersk International School have also joined the project. They have recorded a wonderful video in which they recite the points of the Declaration of Human Responsibilities in different languages. Watch, get inspiration and share this video.

Sincere thanks to all involved in the project

“Finally, I would like to sincerely thank all those who joined the work on the translation of the Declaration of Human Responsibilities, namely volunteers from around the world; active participation of a large number of ambassadors of the Bohdan Hawrylyshyn Family Foundation; team work on the project of the participant of the program “Creative Youth will change Ukraine” Katya Rudenko; friends and partners of the Foundation; the Foundation team and Bohdan Hawrylyshyn’s children. Without all these people, the project would have been impossible, but together we have done and continue to do great and socially important work on the way to the development of a smart and responsible society,” – speaks gratefully to all the participants of the project Victoria Startseva.

We invite everyone to join the project by translating the Declaration of Human Responsibilities into the language that is not yet on our list. If the document “speaks” your language, just share it with friends, family, and colleagues. Discuss each point, choose the ones that are important to you.