Translation students, Jhonny Pedraza (front left) and Angelo Berbotto (back left) enjoy lunch out with ACAP Executive Secretary, Dr Christine Bogle. Jhonny and Angelo spent a week with the ACAP Secretariat as in-house translators as part of ACAP's Translation Student Internship Programme

The ACAP Secretariat was delighted to welcome back translation students to its internship programme this year, after a two-year pause due to the pandemic. 

In February two Postgraduate students spent a week with the Secretariat, helping with translation into Spanish of technical reports, information on the website, press releases and other material.  

The two students were Angelo Berbotto from the University of New South Wales and Jhonny Pedraza from Macquarie University. This was the first year that Macquarie University took part in the internship programme which has been in place since 2013.

The pandemic was a catalyst for change for many people across the world, and this was the case for Master in Translation and Interpreting student, Angelo Berbotto, who decided to step back from practising law in order to pursue a previous passion in translation. Far from leaving his expertise in law behind though, Angelo has discovered a keen interest in the transfer of meaning across legal cultures.

Speaking about his week with the Secretariat Angelo said: “I really enjoyed the terminology work.  Applying my legal knowledge, I took it upon myself to read the English and Spanish versions of the Agreement and add expressions to the glossary.  One of the biggest challenges I found was maintaining consistency across the large volume of documentation.”

International student Jhonny Pedraza, who hails from Colombia, is completing a double master’s degree of Applied Linguistics and TESOL and Translation and Interpreting Studies. He found completing his internship in a small international organisation had big benefits and hopes to provide ongoing translation support to ACAP. 

“I had a sense of what working as an in-house translator for an organization whose impact goes beyond borders means. I was able to get insights and ask for clarification directly from the staff who were an endless source of knowledge and awareness regarding political and technical aspects concerning bird conservation,” he said of his experience as an intern.

Reflecting on the students’ week in the Secretariat, ACAP’s Executive Secretary said: “It’s a pleasure to be able to engage in some in depth discussion about language issues. The assistance from the students is invaluable for ACAP and we receive very positive feedback from the students about their one-week immersion in ACAP’s work.”

27 March 2023

ACAP is pleased to unveil our newly redesigned website. The site has been under development for a few months with Melbourne-based web developers, Preflight.

The homepage has undergone the biggest transformation with the addition of links to ACAP resources and documents including: Best Practice Advice, Mitigation Fact Sheets, the Seabird Bycatch Identification Guide, Text of the Agreement, ACAP Species Assessments and the Data Portal, now accessible via their prominent display on the homepage.

ACAP Latest News can still be found on the homepage just below the links to the aforementioned resources and documents and alongside the upcoming meetings and events noticeboard.

Though it may have a new look, all the content from the previous website has been brought across and remains in the same position as on the previous site, though if while navigating the site you notice any issues, please do inform us.

24 March 2023

Federico Alfonso Méndez Sánchez (Director General, Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, Mexico) has written to ACAP Latest News with the latest news about the 7th International Albatross and Petrel Conference (IAPC7) to be held next year.

“Do you work with albatrosses, petrels or shearwaters, or are you simply interested in learning more about these wonderful seabirds?

Then you have to be in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico in May 2024.  This area of the Mexican Pacific is the storm petrel capital of the world and home to the Black-vented Shearwater and Laysan Albatross.

Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas (GECI) in collaboration with the Seabird Ecology Lab of the University of Barcelona, the World Seabird Union and Pacific Rim Conservation are organizing the 7th International Albatross and Petrel Conference (IAPC7).

We invite you to pre-register to stay updated on the conference here.

¿Trabajas con albatros, petreles o pardelas, o simplemente te interesa conocer más acerca de estas maravillosas aves marinas?  Entonces tienes que estar en Ensenada, Baja California, México en mayo de 2024. Esta zona del Pacífico mexicano es la capital mundial de los petreles de tormenta y hogar de la perdela mexicana y el albatros de Laysan.

Conservación de Islas en colaboración con el Seabird Ecology Lab de Universitat de Barcelona, World Seabird Union y Pacific Rim Conservation estamos organizando la Séptima Conferencia Internacional de Albatros y Petreles #IAPC7.

Les invitamos a pre-registrarse para mantenerse actualizados sobre la conferencia en: https://www.islas.org.mx/iapc7/”

Federico adds “We will soon have the banner in both English and Spanish, and hopefully the official logo and webpage will come soon after that”.

Read an earlier ALN post on IAPC7 here.

With thanks to Federico Alfonso Méndez Sánchez.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 22 March 2023

The Albatross and Petrel Agreement’s series of ACAP Species Infographics has expanded with the addition today of an infographic for the abundant and widespread Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophris.  The new infographic has been sponsored by the Australian Antarctic Program.  This brings the number of ACAP-listed species with infographics produced so far to 11.  French and Spanish versions of the latest infographic will follow in due course.  As for all the others produced so far, the new infographic has been designed and illustrated by Namasri Nuimim, who is currently based in Bangkok, Thailand.

One more infographic is currently in production, for the globally Endangered Northern Royal Albatross D. sanfordi, endemic to New Zealand.  It is being sponsored by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.  Both the Black-browed and Northern Royal Albatross infographics are being produced in support of World Albatross Day on 19 June and its theme for this year of “Plastic Pollution".

The infographics have been designed to help inform the general public, including school learners, of the threats faced by albatrosses and what is being and can be done to combat them.  They serve to complement the more detailed and referenced ACAP Species Assessments, the concise and illustrated ACAP Species Summaries and the ACAP Photo Essay series.

All 11 ACAP Species Infographics produced to date are freely available for downloading from the ACAP website at a high resolution to allow for printing professionally in two poster sizes (approximately A2 and A3). English and Portuguese language versions of infographics are available to download here, whilst French and Spanish versions can be found in their respective language menus for the website under, Infographies sur les espèces and Infographía sobres las especies. ACAP requests it be acknowledged in their use for conservation purposes.  They should not be used for financial gain.

Infographics for three ACAP-listed petrels, to be sponsored by the Australian Antarctic Program, will follow in the second half of the year.

With thanks to Richard Phillips and Cristián Suazo for their reviews, and to Jonathon Barrington, Australian Antarctic Program for arranging the sponsorship.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 21 March 2023