If you work in translation, conferences and forums are a great way to network with your peers and understand the pulse of the localization industry. Here are some events held in North America over the next two months that allow you to do just that.
February – GlobalSaké Conference 2020
San Francisco – February 19 – 20
A conference designed to help companies develop internationally and sell products and services in new markets.
This year’s agenda will outline insights on communication, multilingual AI, international expansion, international UX design and SEO, global payments, global strategy, Japan new market adoption, and product marketing localization.
Why it is relevant for translators:
Clients looking to export their products and services will need more than a literal content translation. Thus, being aware of their needs and the localization strategies available to meet them is becoming vital for translators and translation agencies.
It is the first step to building a localization strategy tailored to your clients’ complex needs.
View the schedule, and more information here: https://www.globalsakegrowth.com/program
February – Globalization Maturity Model
Palo Alto – February 20
Companies wishing to achieve major growth targets will need to reach out to international markets. In order to do so, they will need to globalize their business processes.
In a two-and-a-half-hour presentation by Common Sense Advisory director of research Rebecca Ray, you will learn about a new Globalization Maturity Model that can support international growth and customer experience.
Why it is relevant to translators:
Achieving efficient business processes when expanding internationally starts with translation but does not end there.
Knowing where our job as translators fits this model is paramount to our clients’ success, and ultimately, to our translation agency’s success.
View all events organized by the International Multilingual User Group here: http://imug.org/events/index.html
February – Information Development World 2020
Palm Springs – February 25 – 27
People are consuming more content via smart machines. This conference introduces the new ways information development teams localize content, but also plan, create, manage and deliver it to their users.
Why it is relevant to translators:
Learning about a company’s voice and tone when translating content will go a long way towards adding value to your translation services. This conference offers four modules on this topic, plus tips on communication, team management, and using plain language.
View the full program here: https://www.informationdevelopmentworld.com/conference/program
February – Rendez-vous Ottawa 2020 and Annual General Meeting
Ottawa – February 27 – 28
Did you know the Canadian Language Industry Association’s general meeting event is open to everyone, including non members?
See how they promote and raise the visibility of the language industry in Canada and network with industry leaders and experienced translators.
Why it is relevant to translators:
This is an excellent opportunity to network with your peers, exchange ideas and set up the building blocks of potential future collaborations.
More information on AILIA and its mission: https://ailia.ca/en/about-ailia
March – TAUS Global Content Conference & Exhibits 2020
San Jose – March 10 – 11
The theme of this year’s TAUS conference is “Powering Language Data.”
With the way machine translation has been evolving, data is responsible for big shifts in the translation industry in terms of productivity and labor costs.
Why it is relevant to translators:
Rather than suffering passively from the disruption generated by data and machine translations, translators have the opportunity to ride this technological wave to reach more customers, offer better services, in more languages, and on a wider scale.
View the programme here: https://www.taus.net/events/conferences/120-taus-global-content-conference-exhibits-2020
March – GALA 2020 – San Diego
San Diego – March 15 – 18
A major actor in the language industry, the Globalization and Localization Association organizes this conference every year in different cities around the world.
This year’s conference will include workshop, localization technology discussions, SEO and ROI for language providers, business development, collaboration, and more.
Why it is relevant to translators:
With attendees ranging from independent translators to major language service providers and technology developers or content managers, the opportunities to network and improve your agency’s service offers abound.
More information on the GALA website here: https://www.gala-global.org/conference/gala-2020-san-diego
March – XTM Live Translation Technology Summit 2020
Redwood City (California) – March 19 – 20
XTM International is a company that provides translation software, technologies and tools to help localization professionals.
This conference will discuss the latest improvements in technology and technological tools available to translators from around the world and be an opportunity for some hands-on training.
Why it is relevant to translators:
On top of actualizing your knowledge of translation best practices, especially when working with technology, this conference is a great opportunity to meet and connect with localization industry leaders from around the world.
More benefits of attending here: https://xtm.cloud/live/silicon-valley-2020/
These events are focusing on the language services industry specifically. However, any event that allows you to connect with your target audience and understand their needs and priorities better is going to be beneficial to your company.
If your clients are mostly in the pharmaceutical industry, or are game publishers, you could also improve the quality and relevance of your translation services by attending events tailored to them.