United Nations Academic Impact is fortunate to work with a group of volunteer translators who make an invaluable contribution to our outreach efforts to audiences around the world by advancing multilingualism through the translation of content into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. Get to know our translators in their own words. Here we introduce Yuexi Du, one of our volunteer translators for the UNAI website in Chinese.
My name is Yuexi Du.
Joining the online volunteer translators’ team of UNAI has been one of the most rewarding things I have done. I am an undergraduate student at the Beijing Jiaotong University in China, majoring in English Language and Literature and minoring in Finance. Interdisciplinary academic experience in college boosted my desire to explore how to use my skills in different fields. A relevant and good example is that I use such skills to spread Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stories while developing my foreign language abilities through volunteer work with UNAI.
Assisting with the translation of articles and stories published on the UNAI website not only results in the information being more accessible to speakers of different languages, but also means there is a beneficial opportunity for us young volunteers to contribute with the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. I have always been passionate about sustainability issues and it is a dream of mine, to find a job that enables me to work on that. My work with UNAI allows me to connect with a multicultural stage while putting my theoretical knowledge into practice.
It has been almost a year since I started this volunteer work, dealing mostly with stories from the SDG Hubs and also special series. A well-translated version requires me to read the original article carefully and fully understand its key points, which leads to me to gain a deeper insight into the progress of sustainable development in every corner of the world, ranging from Japan to India, from developed countries to developing ones. I see actions taken in different areas considering various angles and perspectives, such as economic growth, cultural environment and even social trends.
This is quite thought-provoking for me, making me think about what factors should be taken into consideration when policymakers launch a program or invest in a community initiative. Personally, college students in those stories inspire me and improve my understanding about the power of youth. I also feel honored to make their stories accessible to more people and amplify the message of how they turned those existing policies into more appropriate solutions within their own communities and made the world a much better place.
I feel that through my translating work, an increasing number of people can learn from these stories and be inspired just like me. As a young person myself, I am glad to witness how UNAI makes efforts to raise public awareness on pressing global issues and take steps through cooperating with academic institutions and mobilizing youth. And as a translator, I am proud of my work while sincerely hoping that I’m contributing to sharing with more Chinese speakers how they can fulfill their responsibilities as global citizens for a brighter and more sustainable future.