Replication Project: The Guild from Turkey

The Guild from Turkey

The Guild is a cooperative founded by students of Marmara University aspiring to improve the working conditions of translators in Turkey and specifically create a business model aiming facilitation of the employment of young graduates within the translation industry. As an autonomous cooperative, the Guild aims to implement a democratic, un-hierarchical administration where the voluntary contribution of the partners in the economic activities is the pillar of the cooperative’s work. The Guild intends to provide an innovative business model, horizontal relationships, fair pay and ethical working hours, thus creating a safe environment for newly graduated translators, where they can work, continue their training and focus on the quality of their services.

The Guild plans to achieve this with the structure of a cooperative with only translators as partners, where the roles of translators, proofreaders and project managers will shift constantly and the need for translation companies, where there isn’t a fair distribution of the economic benefits of the commercial activity, will not be present. The Guild focuses on localization since there is an apparent and increasing demand for such services targeting Turkish market, and in line with such, our partners are already familiar with the “new economy” shaped around online services, SaaS, and the IT environment that enables such a new phenomenon. The Guild desires to cooperate with other co-ops and endorse the cooperative model while supporting each other. The Guild aspires to set an example for translators’ rights in Turkey, as it is the first cooperative in Turkey to be established for translators and the second one in Europe.

Additional support needed

Cooperative development: Training in marketing, financial literacy such as book keeping, project management, leadership skills and coop governance.