ATC News, October 2002 - Association of Translation Companies

ATC Conference 2002:Association’s annual conference looks at “Beyond Translation”.The Association of TranslationCompanies’ annual conference, held atthe School of Oriental and AfricanStudies, University of London on the firstanniversary of the attacks on the WorldTrade Centre adopted the theme‘Beyond Translation’ and attracted morethan 100 delegates over the two dayevent.“The aim of the conference” said YahiaRezgui, chairman of the ATC conferencecommittee and a director Language LineLimited, “was to provide a range ofpresentations designed to help ourmembers identify ways of growing theirbusiness”.To achieve this, the conferencecommittee assembled a wide range ofspeakers from Britain and overseas.Anne Rigg, a director of The BusinessResearch Unit, the company thatconducted the first comprehensiveresearch into the purchasing intentionsof translation buyers on the ATC’s behalf,gave an insight into how translationcompanies can use market research toidentify new or niche markets.Public relationsThis year though, rather thanconcentrate on the broader objectivesof the EUATC’s quality initiative theconference heard presentations thathoned down the quality agenda to twospecific areas. Helen Eckersley, whoheads up ATC member companyInternational Translation ResourcesLimited, looked at the necessity oftranslation companies using objectivetools to measure the quality of theoutput produced by individualtranslators.Dr Adriane Rinsche of LanguageTechnology Centre demonstrated howthe use of software packages – in thisinstance LT Organiser — could improvethe workflow of simple and complicatedprojects alike. Her example was acomplex localisation project.This linked neatly to another topic thatlooked at a restructuring of thelocalisation industry with the advent of anew kid on the block, Globalization andLocalization Association. Foundermember Daniel Carter of InternationalSoftware Products, who presented atvery short notice on behalf of his fellowGALA member Renée Szabelski, thechief executive of Hitext SA, told theconference that the new not for profitgroup was dedicated to promotecollaboration between all companiesproviding products and services in thetranslation, localisation,internationalisation and globalisationindustries. Such collaborative workingwill lead to increased knowledge, areduction in operational expensesthrough increased purchasing power and,above all, will provide customers withtailor-made solutions by means of aunified approach.Once translation companies haveidentified their niche markets, exploitingthem effectively calls for some carefullytargeted public relations, according toChris Theobald an independent mediaconsultant, who gave delegates awhirlwind, but practical guide toachieving PR successes.Quality has always been high on theATC’s agenda and it has been playing aleading role, alongside its Europeancounter-parts in the European Union ofAssociations of Translation Companies(EUATC), to steer the quality standardfor translation providers through theCEN process. It was therefore inevitablethat part of the programme wouldaddress quality issues.Some of the conference speakers:Back row, left to right: Nick Rollin, Spanish Dictionary Editor, Oxford UniversityPress, Academic Division; Rolf Blum, President and CEO, Localize-ITCommunication Services GmbH; Robin Brown, ATC Chairman.Front row, left to right: Professor Kirsten Malmkjaer, Centre for Research inTranslation, School of Arts, Middlesex University; Trina Fitzalan-Howard, ProjectManager, Nottingham City Council; Helen Eckersley, Managing Director,International Translation Resources.Continued \...the mark of a quality translation2 A T C