Nominé, Jean-Francois

“Cafebabel.com”: A Herald for the European Spirit - 2010.


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“Cafebabel” is a sign of the times, a free-access, pan-European webzine published every day in six languages (German, English, Spanish, French, Italian and Polish). Its target audience is the “Eurogeneration,” “the first generation of people whose daily lives are European.” A network of 31 editorial committees in 13 European countries, coordinated by a central editorial board in Paris, sends out articles that are translated by a network of volunteer translators, before reaching the final copydesk stage where they are revised by professional journalists according to the linguistic area targeted by the translation, and not necessarily in juxtaposition with the original. The variety of topics, the youthfulness of both readership and writers and their shared love of languages, the diversity of its contributors and the “corner café” feel of “Cafebabel” have made it a highly distinctive Europe-wide media outlet, on a different register from “Courrier international, “Euronews,” “Arte” or “Presseurop.”