J-Net Webinar Series 2020
Theme: Trade unions and standing up for the self-employed
Speaker: Kate Dearden, Head of Research, Policy and External Relations at Community trade union https://community-tu.org/
Date & Time: Saturday 30 May, 10-11am
Cost: Free
Please register from Eventbrite
Kate Dearden is Head of Research, Policy and External Relations at Community trade union. Kate’s research interests include the future of work, self-employment, the gig economy, as well as skills and lifelong learning. Kate is also a fellow for the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and researcher for the Changing Work Centre.
Kate will explore the current UK self-employed labour market, the research Community have undertaken with regards to the self-employed including those who are vulnerable and disabled, and how Community are modernising and developing their model to organise and represent self-employed and freelance workers.
Our guest speaker at the workshop is Polly Barton. Polly is a translator of Japanese literature and non-fiction. She was the winner of the inaugural JLPP Translation Competition in 2012. Recent publications include Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki (Pushkin Press), Friendship for Grown-ups by Naocola Yamazaki and Mikumari by Misumi Kubo (both Strangers Press). Her translation of Aoko Matsuda’s Where the Wild Ladies Are is out with Tilted Axis Press in early 2020. She currently lives in Bristol. Find out more about her at 
For interpreters, Aya Lewis will be sharing her experience of how she has expanded her areas of specialisation as an interpreter. Aya is an English–Japanese business and conference interpreter and translator with 20 years of experience. She has been working in engineering-related fields such as automotive, production and renewable energy, as well as in the areas of marketing and government policy. Recently, she has expanded her repertoire to include medical and pharmaceutical interpretation. A committee member of the ITI, she is married with two teenage children and lives in Birmingham.
For translators, Akiko Sakamoto will lead a session titled “To accept or not to accept: All you need to know when you are offered post-editing work.” Post-editing is a job which requires a different skill set from translation. It also entails different working conditions and has a different professional image from translation. When a translation company asks you to do a post-editing assignment, how can you make the right decision about whether to take it up or not?
The session on career development, including mentoring, will be facilitated by Jennifer Allen. Jen is a translator and proofreader working from Japanese, German or French into English in the areas of medical, technical, and general translation. She currently serves as the Mentoring Officer for the network after serving a 3-year stint as Membership Officer. She has been a member of the network since 2012 and always looks forward to workshops and other networking events.
The day will conclude with a sake tasting directed by Arline Lyons. A Japanese to English translator specialising in pharma and IT, Arline became fascinated by sake a few years ago when a long-standing client in the wine industry started to promote sake as well. She enjoys collecting sake qualifications, and holds regular tastings in Zurich while developing promotional and educational material to help more people discover the wide and wonderful world of sake. Join her for a fast-moving one-hour introduction to help you select, store, pair and serve sake!