ALC & GALA: Language Industry Association Cooperation
Brett Gallagher July 5 2011 10:08:41 AM
ALC & GALA: Language Industry Association Cooperation -
A hop across the pond for me, a giant leap for the language industry
At the end of March, I attended the Globalization and Localization Association's (GALA) third Language of Business Conference in Cascais, Portugal. I was there representing the Association of Language Companies (ALC) as the ALC's Immediate Past President, along with current ALC President, Sandy Dupleich. The ALC is a US-based national trade association representing businesses that provide translation, interpretation, localization, and language training services. GALA is an international non-profit association that promotes translation services, language technology and language management solutions.
When I first took over the running of Schreiber Translations, Inc. (STI) in the late nineties, I was astounded to learn of how little conversation and cooperation existed between language companies and language company owners. Over the years since then, I've been gratified to be a part of the movement to change this and to bring maturation to our industry. STI joined ALC as a Charter Member in 2004, and in 2008, I was elected President of the association. ALC, along with GALA and many other language groups, brings language companies together to exchange ideas, raise the profile of the industry and even to influence policy.
However, as fabulous as these associations are, and as much as they've brought positive progress, their very existence has caused some divide and the many events put on each year by all the various groups has caused a challenge and a competition for language companies' time and dollars. This year, ALC and GALA came together to begin to address this situation. Our two groups announced a collaboration to exchange member rates at each others' 2011 conferences and to exchange signature sessions at each others' events as well.
Which brings me back to my trip to Portugal. GALA put on a wonderful event, with well over 200 attendees and sessions focused on business, technology, content, tools demos and more. One of the most rewarding parts for me was leading our ALC's signature Town Hall session along with Sandy Dupleich. We were able to introduce GALA members to our dynamic presentation geared solely towards topics of interest to session attendees, which they face in running their language companies. In Cascais, issues centered around European or other non-US-based companies looking to do business in or with the United States. Areas covered include motivating U.S.-based salespeople, ensuring payment from U.S. clients and working with the U.S. Government.
Equally rewarding for me was the opportunity to be a member of the panel for the last day's plenary session, State of the Industry. Led by GALA Chair Hans Fenstermacher, the panel also included leaders from the EU Translation Division, ATA, FIT, Rosetta Foundation and Translators without Borders. The panel addressed a wide spectrum of industry issues, including translators' attitudes towards Machine Translation, a suggestion that the industry needs to focus on being a conduit for global communication vs. financial gain, mobile communication as the next front line and more. At the ALC's annual 2011 conference, in Las Vegas May 18-21, I will be leading a follow-up discussion, a panel called The Future of the Language Industry, with some of the same participants from the GALA panel along with some new ones.
I would like to thank GALA for allowing to me attend their conference in Portugal on behalf of the ALC and I look forward to welcoming GALA to our ALC conference in Las Vegas. Greater cooperation among industry groups and associations is the next frontier we need to conquer together.
Written by Marla Schulman
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About STI, Inc.
STI has been a leading provider in the patent & IP translation industry for more than 30 years, helping numerous government and private sector clients to meet their translation, localization, and interpretation needs. STI integrates the best in human and technological resources to help our clients break down language barriers and face the demands of increasingly rapid globalization. With an effective, personalized, and proven system of project management, there is no project too big or too small.
STI is a Corporate Member of the American Translators Association (ATA) and a Charter Member of the Association of Language Companies (ALC), the only trade association in the U.S. devoted to the language industry. STI?s President, Marla Schulman, is the Immediate Past President of the ALC.
STI is located in the Washington D.C. metro area. To learn more, please contact STI at www.schreibernet.com, or call (301) 424-7737.
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