NABU is a tech-enabled publisher of multilingual children’s books. Their focus is on  creating and publishing culturally responsive, mother tongue stories and books at scale to ensure that children have access to literacy through mother tongue books. NABU endeavours to solve the global literacy crisis so that children around the world can read and rise to their full potential. Their vision is to provide every child with equitable access to literacy by 2030. 

NABU South Africa have launched their ‘Transadaptation Creative Fellowship’

The NABU Transadaption Fellowship is a program for skilled writers and translators who want to learn how to transadapt children’s books. The result of this work will be a collection of 40 NABU books transadapted into Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans. Transadaptation is a process that goes beyond traditional translation to convey not just the words of a text, but also the intended emotions, cultural nuances, and creative elements.

The program offered by NABU is a 4-week online transadaptation module organized in 6 classes, for fellows who are looking to strengthen their careers, refine their linguistic abilities, connect with their heritage and rediscover their inner child. Writers of Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans will work together and enjoy a sharing and community experience.

NABU is looking for professionals to join their Transadaptation Fellowship in two capacities:

All imagery courtesy of NABU

LANGUAGE SPECIALIST:

Language specialists are responsible for utilising their expertise in literary and language arts to ensure effective communication, comprehension, and interpretation of children’s stories in the mother tongue. This role involves assisting participants in exploring the nuances of language, literature, and cultural context within the workshop’s curriculum. This individual will also help select books from the NABU blueprint to be transadapted into the South African context.

Key Responsibilities:

• Recruitment support: assist the NABU team in selecting the best candidates for the fellowship. Using their proficiency in the mother tongue, assess the translation tests and provide feedback.
• Language Development: assist participants in improving their language skills, including vocabulary, grammar, and writing, to enhance their ability to engage with and express their thoughts about literature effectively.
• Fellow-centred Mentorship: offer one-on-one consultations to address participants’ specific language and comprehension challenges, tailoring support to their unique needs and goals.
• Assessment and Feedback: evaluate the participants’ progress and provide constructive feedback on their language and literary skills, helping them to continuously improve their output.
• Proofreading of the fellows’ work: before translations are uploaded, proofread for grammar, punctuation and accuracy.

Qualifications:

• Native speaker of the mother tongue and having a demonstrated record of using the mother tongue at a high level of skill Bachelor’s degree in Literature, English, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).
• Strong background in translation and language teaching.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience in conducting workshops, seminars, or educational programs.
• Knowledge of diverse literary genres and a passion for literature.
• Cultural sensitivity and the ability to explain cultural nuances in literary texts.
• Patience, adaptability, and a passion for helping others learn.
• All language expert applicants must submit a CV and a portfolio of activities in the mother tongue (class materials, translations, study materials etc.).
• Number of work hours estimated: 20, over 6 weeks (recruitment stage included)

Stipend available for the duration of the fellowship is $500 (R 9 178) 

FELLOW:

A Fellow is a mother tongue enthusiast, ideally with an educational or creative writing background. NABU is looking primarily for creatives, teachers and educators with an excellent command of the mother tongue, experience in translation and good knowledge of children’s books. All fellowship applicants must submit a CV and a portfolio of activities in the mother tongue (class materials,translations, study materials etc.). All fellowship applicants will take a translation test before being accepted into the fellowship. NABU is looking for 5 fellows at this stage.

• Number of work hours estimated: 12 hours/week for 4 weeks

Stipend available for the duration of the fellowship is $300 (R5 505)

Class presence is mandatory in order to receive the stipend. 

Timeline and application process steps:

Language specialist:

• Apply by March 17th 2025 by sending CV and portfolio to [email protected] and [email protected].
• The interview focuses on their experience as language specialists, working with and for children, having edited and proofread others’ work.
• Receive acceptance/rejection message March 21th accepted specialist receive Contractor Agreements March 24th assess fellows’ translation tests March 24th-28th.

Fellows:

• Apply by March 24th 2025, sending CV and portfolio to [email protected] and [email protected]. They will receive a translation test that they need to finalize in 24 hours and send back (to be analyzed by the Language specialist).
• The interview focuses on their knowledge of the language, experience working with children and/or children’s literature, teamwork and openness to critique and review. 
• Receive acceptance/rejection messages March 28th EOD accepted fellows receive Fellowship Agreements March 28th

APPLY via the NABU website here

Press release courtesy of NABU

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