About two months ago, our colleagues from the Partnership Department approached us with an idea of creating a digital magazine. The magazine- which first issue was published in the beginning of May- is a joint initiative of the Partnership Department and Pixel Team. Together, they set out to create a monthly magazine which would highlight all the issues close to our heart, and serve as a dissemination method for all the activities and projects carried out by Pi Youth Association.
Right now, we’re just a few days short of publishing the second issue of our magazine, which was given the name ‘Youppi’ (combining together the word ‘youth’ and Pi). Every month, the opening article of the magazine is a foreword from our President Begüm İntepeler, who sums up the highlights of the month. Then, we proceed to an interview with one of the members of the Office Team. The Office Team is the core of our organization and, as a thank you for their tireless and diligent work, we dedicate a whole section of the magazine to them, so that the readers could get to know them better. In the interviews that we’ve conducted so far, our colleagues discussed their backstories a little bit, as well as briefed us on how they got involved in the works of the association, why they consider youth work to be of such great importance, and what are their plans for the future. Next up, we give the floor to our volunteers who write about their experience of being a member of Pixel Team. More specifically, they talk about Erasmus+ projects (such as training courses and youth exchanges) that they had the opportunity to participate in, as a reward for their hard work and dedication to our association. As a member of the Partnerships Department (so the team responsible for finding opportunities in Europe for the local youth), I find their enthusiastic reports from their trips abroad especially heartwarming.
Due to the fact that we want to reach a broad public with our magazine, it was obvious from the beginning that ‘Youppi’ should be published both in Turkish and in English. And that’s where Barbara and I come in. Because our English level is not too shabby, we help with making sure that the English version of the magazine is at its best. We aren’t responsible for translating the articles per se- our Turkish isn’t enough for that. Instead, we cooperate with a team of volunteers who do it, and then we proofread the translations and correct them accordingly. I admit that even though it’s a very demanding and time-consuming task, I enjoy it tremendously. Long time ago, I had an idea to become a translator professionally, however, I eventually gave up that notion after brief snapshots into their work. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize how taxing and difficult that profession is. Not only do translators have to master the language perfectly, but also be aware of cultural differences and how they are mirrored in various languages.
All in all, I really appreciate the opportunity to work on ‘Youppi’. Not only do I learn a lot and have something to keep me occupied during the quarantine, I also get to be a part of the team of great people, who dedicate their time and put in the effort to make the hard work of Pi Youth Association more visible.