XXIII SYMPOSIUM ON TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING STUDIES
KäTu2026: Conflict and Harmony
University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Friday, 17 – Saturday, 18 April 2026
KäTu2026 SYMPOSIUM THEME
The theme for the 2026 KäTu Symposium is Conflict and Harmony
The theme allows for broad discussion on the internal conflicts and seeking harmony within the translation and interpreting field, as well as its relationship with society. The theme encompasses the differences of opinion of the various parties in the field, paradigm conflicts, the conflict between human and technology, future prospects of the field, and translation and interpreting in conflict situations.
You may approach the symposium theme of conflict and harmony in the translation and interpreting field from various perspectives, including the following:
- Differences between various parties and solving them, conflict theories: the position of the researcher, the position of the translator/interpreter, power positions and differences, activist translation
- Paradigm conflicts within translation and interpreting studies and between TIS and other disciplines: differing views on key concepts of the field: what is translation, the multidisciplinary nature of translation
- Where is the translation and interpreting field going: competences, future language professionals, AI, linguistic/translation work in the work of non-translators
- Human–technology conflicts and coexistence: human and inhuman aspects in translation, posthumanist translation
- Translation and interpreting in conflict situations
- Diversity and discussion as an asset
In keeping with established KäTu symposium tradition, we also invite papers on other issues related to translation and interpreting, their research and pedagogy.
PURPOSE OF THE KäTu SYMPOSIA
The annual KäTu symposia offer researchers, teachers and practitioners of translation and interpreting a forum in which they may discuss the diverse phenomena of the field, their ongoing research projects, and the state and development of Translation Studies in general. Doctoral students in particular are offered the opportunity to present their work at the KäTu symposia and receive valuable feedback from experts in the field.
For over twenty years, the KäTu symposia have brought together translators and interpreters of spoken and signed languages, as well as translation and interpreting researchers, teachers, students, and those otherwise interested in the field and its research. Each symposium is a collaborative undertaking: Every year one of the Finnish universities which offers translation and interpreting studies hosts the KäTu symposium together with the Teachers’ and Researchers’ Section of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (SKTL).
The 2026 symposium, our twenty-third KäTu symposium, will be hosted by the University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu.
PLENARY SESSIONS, PRESENTATIONS, WORKSHOPS AND POSTERS
The 2026 plenary presentations will be delivered by Professor of Translation Studies Stefan Baumgarten (University of Graz) and Professor of Cultural Studies Tuija Saresma (University of Eastern Finland). In addition to the plenary lectures, the programme will consist of presentations in parallel sessions (20 minutes + 5 minutes for discussion), workshops and poster presentations. The workshops will be allocated approximately two hours, which makes them well-suited for addressing a broad topic in general terms (as panel discussions or in small groups) or for investigating a specific problem-based topic together. There will be a separate session for poster presentations, and an award will be presented for the best poster.
KäTu 2026 will feature four workshops. Please note that Finnish is the working language for Workshops 1, 2, and 3. The topics and conveners are:
- Workshop 1, in Finnish: Käännös- ja tulkkausalan asiantuntijuus muuttuvassa työelämässä ja koulutuksen perinteiset sisällöt: kohti konfliktia vai harmoniaa? Kääntämisen ja tulkkauksen opetusmenetelmävaranto -työpaja, Päivi Kuusi, Minna Ruokonen ja Satu Valkiainen.
- Workshop 2, in Finnish: Suomalainen kääntäjätutkimus – paradigman menneisyys, nykyisyys ja tulevaisuus. Mikaelin teemanumero -työpaja,Turo Rautaoja, Minna Ruokonen ja Tiina Tuominen.
- Workshop 3, in Finnish: Rajaseuduilla ja kulkemattomilla korpimailla: Käännöstieteen tulevaisuuden suuntia ja rajoja, Annamari Korhonen ja Riku Haapaniemi.
- Workshop 4, in English: Testing interreal translations: a hands-on workshop on translation and virtual worlds, Mattia Thibault, Cláudia Mendes, Xinyan Zhao.
Workshop abstracts and the call for workshop presentation proposals will be published on the KäTu symposium website.
Proposals for session presentations and posters are at the latest by Monday, 12 January 2026. (Please note that the date has changed!)
Proposals may be a maximum of 2,500 characters in length including spaces (but excluding references). Proposals should be written in keeping with the template found here. Proposals are to be submitted as an attachment in rtf, doc or docx format. Proposal document names should adhere to the following format: poster_surname_firstname; abstract_surname_firstname; workgroup_surname_firstname. Please email your proposals to: katu2026@uef.fi. You must specify in the subject line of your e-mail message, as well as in your proposal, whether you are proposing a workshop, a section presentation or a poster.
Further details concerning workshops will be provided in the second circular; notification of presentation proposal acceptance will come no later than Thursday, 5 February 2026. Please click here for more information concerning evaluation criteria and the abstract evaluation process.
TRAINING EVENT FOR PhD STUDENTS
A pre-symposium training event will be organised on Thursday, 16 April 2026. It is aimed primarily at doctoral students but is open to everyone. The workshop is organized in collaboration with the Langnet network, the UEF FILOTO Doctoral Programme, and the network International Doctorate in Translation Studies (ID-TS). The topic of the event is What to do when plans go wrong? The event consists of a panel discussion and a text seminar for doctoral researchers in Translation Studies.
The working languages of the workshop are English and Finnish. More information about the training event will be available on the KäTu symposium website in January.
SYMPOSIUM LANGUAGES
The primary working languages for the symposium and its sessions are Finnish, Swedish, and English. Please contact the symposium organisers if you would like to present in a language other than these or for information regarding the feasibility of interpreting services.
TIEDON HELMI (PEARL OF WISDOM) AWARD
For the eleventh time in conjunction with the KäTu Symposium, the Teachers’ and Researchers’ Section of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (SKTL) will present the Tiedon helmi (Pearl of Wisdom) award. The deadline for the nominations is 15 February 2026.
As of 2026, the award is granted for merits in teaching, research or societal impact. The award is presented to an individual or organisation for an extraordinary achievement, long-term activity or a person’s life’s work.
The decision concerning the award recipient is made by the board of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (SKTL) based on the recommendation of the Committee of the Teachers’ and Researchers’ Section, serving as the award jury. Nominations may be submitted by any member of the Teachers’ and Researchers’ Section. Members must carefully observe the nomination principles, which are available in Finnish to SKTL members here. The list of earlier award recipients is available on the SKTL website.
Please submit nominations, including the grounds for nomination, to both section Chair Kristiina Taivalkoski-Shilov (kristiina.taivalkoski-shilov@utu.fi) and section Secretary Satu Valkiainen (satu.valkiainen@tuni.fi) on 15 February 2026 at the latest.
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE
Thursday 16 April Doctoral researchers’ training event
13:00–16:40 Panel discussion and workshop
Friday 17 April
9:00–11:00 Workshops and session presentations
11:00–12:30 Lunch break
12:30–14:00 Opening of the Symposium and a plenary presentation
14:00–14:15 Tiedon helmi (Pearl of Wisdom) Award presentation
14:15–15:15 Coffee break and poster presentations
15:15–17:15 Workshops and session presentations
17:15–18:30 Meeting of Section V of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters
~19:00 Symposium dinner
Saturday 18 April
9:00–10:00 Plenary presentation
10:15–12:15 Session presentations
12:15–13:15 Lunch break
13:15–15:15 Session presentations
15:15–15:45 Coffee and Closing of the Symposium
SYMPOSIUM PUBLICATION
Peer-reviewed articles and discussion articles based on KäTu symposium presentations, posters or workshops (primary languages Finnish, Swedish or English) may be submitted to Mikael 20:1 that will be published in the spring of 2027. The manuscript deadline is 31 August 2026. Contrary to previous years, exceptions to the deadline are made only for compelling reasons. Contributor guidelines and previous publications are available on the Mikael website: https://journal.fi/mikael.
INFORMATION AND CONTACT DETAILS
Circulars pertaining to the KäTu2026 Symposium as well as information on registration, fees, accommodation and related practical matters will be published on the symposium website katu-symposiumi.com. For all correspondence concerning the symposium, please use the symposium email address: katu2026@uef.fi.
ORGANISING COMMITTEE
University of Eastern Finland
Veera Hämäläinen
Tuuli Ahonen
Svitlana Firsova
Nina Havumetsä
Anna Merikallio
Juho Suokas
Niina Syrjänen
Erja Vottonen
The Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (SKTL)
Teachers’ and Researchers’ Section
Eliisa Pitkäsalo, Tampere University (Section Chair –31/12/25)
Kristiina Taivalkoski-Shilov, University of Turku (Section Chair 1/1/26–)
Juha Eskelinen, University of Helsinki
Satu Valkiainen, Tampere University (Secretary)
Minna Ruokonen, University of Eastern Finland (Section Vice-Chair –31/12/25)
Lena Segler-Heikkilä, Diaconia University of Applied Sciences
Turo Rautaoja, University of Turku (1/1/26–)
Niina Syrjänen, University of Eastern Finland (1/1/26–)
WELCOME TO JOENSUU!
Kääntämisen ja tulkkauksen tutkimuksen symposiumi 