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January 9, 2019 |

Top 7 Translation Conferences to Attend in 2019

Translation conferences are an excellent opportunity to learn about new trends in the translation industry, find practical solutions for the challenges in your niche, and increase your network. You can connect with other professional translators, interpreters, and language experts, as well as find new clients to work with.

Besides invaluable industry knowledge and business exposure, translation conferences in the language service industry generate fresh ideas and business opportunities. Moreover, you can learn from other businesses how to implement new tools and technologies to improve industry-specific workflows.

Better yet, translation conferences often include workshops and seminars, where experts share in-depth information about industry best practices and updates, to give you a fresh perspective on the way you manage your company.

Whether you’re a freelance translator or a language service provider working with hundreds of translators worldwide, attending conferences and industry events can help you grow your business and improve your global reputation.

Here are top seven translation conferences you should have in your calendar in 2019.

1. GALA 2019 – Munich, March 24 – 27

GALA 2019 focuses on the future of the industry shaped by the new AI technology. The event organized by the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) provides a wealth of knowledge for specialists in the industry who want to develop a powerful network and consolidate their ideas.

The interactive panels propose powerful topics such as AI and its effects on the localization industry, the human response to an industry that has seen many changes lately, and what happens to people when machines take over. Other short talks will concentrate on operations management, business models, quality and user engagement, and interpreting.

During GALA 2019 workshops and panels, you’ll have the chance to hear GALA’s Executive Director Allison Ferch, as well as many other managers, CEOs, AI experts, machine translation specialists, and freelance translators.

2. BP19 Translation Conference – Bologna, May 2-3

The BP19 Translation Conference includes 18 informative sessions divided into three parallel tracks and 12 short talks followed by 10-minute Q&A blocks. Speakers come from Europe and the US to guide participants through multiple topics, with valuable tips, tricks, and industry insights.

The sessions in 2019 will concentrate on topics such as “Learn what is what about terminology extraction tools,” “What legal clients want – As told by a former client,” and “GDPR and Translators: Easy steps to protect your and your clients’ data.”

The small talks provide, among other things, productivity hacks for translators, tips on how to manage difficult customers, and advice on how to set up a successful translation business.

Since the conference takes place in Italy, you’ll get long coffee breaks, an extended lunch, a closing aperitivo, stylish dinners, and the opportunity to take a day trip to Florence.

3. Annual NETA Conference – Boston, May 4

If you’re not ready to take off for Europe to participate in translation conferences, you can join the 23rd NETA Conference. This translation event is built around the theme “Innovation from Within: How Interpreters and Translators Are Shaping the Present and Future of the Field.” It features tracks in interpretation, translation, and auxiliary technology.   

The conference organized by the New England Translators Association brings together language specialists, researchers, and industry experts. This year’s event promises to provide a great networking opportunity for the attendees.

The keynote speaker is Jonathan Levy, a professional educator and language services consultant, Co-Director at The Professional Language Development Project (University of Arizona), and Commissioner in the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI).

4. TAUS Global Content Conference – Salt Lake City, June 27-28

The TAUS Global Content Conference & Exhibits 2019 aims to provide “the right solutions and technologies” for professionals who want to deliver future-proof global content. This event concentrates on new technologies and best practices for translation and localization projects. Other central themes of the conference are artificial intelligence, business globalization, and digital transformation.

Besides educational purposes, this conference is meant to create invaluable networking opportunities for translators and interpreters.

TAUS organizers anticipate the participation of language service providers (40 percent of attendees), clients (40 percent), translators (3 percent), technology providers (10 percent), and representatives from local and foreign governments, NGOs, analysts, consultants, and journalists (7 percent).

5. Machine Translation Summit – Dublin, August 19-23

The Machine Translation Summit targets mainly MT-related communities. However, one of the three tracks of the event is entirely dedicated to translators and the impact of machine translation (MT) on their work.

Professional translators and language experts will have the chance to discuss their role in the development of innovative MT, as well as the confidentiality issues that arise when using automated translation. They’ll also discuss the social aspects of MT adoption (including translators’ preconceptions).

In the past few years, the workshops organized during the summit have included, among other topics, lexical resources, monolingual aspects of MT, post-editing, and collaborative translation.

6. EST Congress 2019 – Stellenbosch, September 9-13

The 9th Congress of the European Society for Translation Studies will take place in South Africa, at Stellenbosch University. This event mainly targets scholars, researchers, and professionals interested in the scientific side of the language industry. The theme of the event is “Living Translation: People, Processes, Products.”

Panels include the use of data mining and Big Data approaches, the importance of the human translator in the next decade, translating minority voices in a globalized world, and research in legal translation, among other interesting themes.

Like other translation conferences, the EST Congress also includes a series of workshops for students, postdoctoral students, and researchers.

7. ATA Conference 2019 – California, October 23-26

ATA 60 marks the 60th annual conference organized by the American Translators Association. The event’s program hasn’t been decided yet. However, based on the previous editions, attendees can expect to see no shortage of panels, discussions, and networking events.

All activities are specially designed to help professionals in the industry expand their knowledge and network.

Besides professional development, the ATA Conference is also a good opportunity to meet new clients, as well as to discover new tools and technologies that can increase translation productivity.

ATA will publish the preliminary conference program in July 2019.

Top 7 Translation Conferences to Attend in 2019

Depending on your interests, travel preferences, and the type of translation services you provide, not all translation conferences offer the same personal and professional opportunities.

Most of these conferences require a significant investment in resources, so choose the events to attend wisely, and make the most out of every discussion and workshop that you take part in! This way, your investment will pay off and you’ll work better, increase productivity, and reach more clients as the year unfolds.