CEO at EICOM, Robert Etches has been in the translation business since the mid-1980s, working with everything from translation, revision and copywriting through developing online proofing tools and terminology portals to connecting know-how. Among much else Robert also took the initiative to form the Nordic CAT Group in 2010 and served on the planning committee for the March 2011 GALA conference in Lisbon. One of his areas of responsibility in TextMinded is to monitor new trends and ensure that our clients are geared to meet tomorrow’s world. View from the Edge is a collection of some of Robert’s speeches and writings.
Closing session GALA 2011
Draft text for the closing session of the 3rd annual GALA conference, held in Cascais, 27-30 March 2011.
The speakers were, Xavier Maza, Language Services Manager at iDISC, and Robert Etches, CEO at EICOM.
Well, welcome everyone to the beginning of the end of the GALA 2011 conference here in Lisbon.
Xavier and I are more than aware that we’re talking to a very tired audience. And you should be! 2½ days of intense learning, sharing, drinking, networking – eating, drinking some more … yeah, we’re ready to head home and replace the hustle and bustle of GALA for the hurly-burly of running our companies.
Living and working in a rapidly changing world, busy professionals need a dynamic, professional and yet friendly forum such as GALA to keep them abreast with the latest trends and developments in our industry. The goals of a conference such as this are manifold, but one thing’s for sure: we have to go home wiser and more hyped about what we do than when we first walked into the hotel lobby.
While preparing for today we were discussing whether we could think of one word that could encapsulate the spirit of this GALA conference, but concluded that one word couldn’t cut it.
Instead we needed a handful. Words like energy, vibrancy, momentum … and fun. Thanks to the warm-blooded Latinos, the cool Scandinavians, the exuberant Americans and the happy Egyptians, it’s been a fun conference!
You could almost cut the energy with a knife at Sunday’s reception – and even the terrible weather Monday evening couldn’t fight against our determination to have a good time. Or maybe that was just because we were thirsty!
A good conference doesn’t happen all by itself, and we’d like to take a moment to thank those that have made this one possible.
First, our many sponsors, from our Platinum sponsor, L10N Studio through the many wonderful gold and silver sponsors. Let’s not forget: without their fantastic support, we would have never made it to Lisbon.
Next, the exhibitors trapped in their booths and making sure there’s no break in the learning process, even in the breaks from the seminars.
Next, our Portuguese colleagues, who have been so friendly and helpful in making us feel at home in their wonderful country.
And then the speakers: Sharing know-how, connecting know-how, inspiring your colleagues: This is the heart and soul of any healthy industry and we thank you for your efforts. There were many highlights, and it is almost unfair to mention some and not others, so I’m going to mention just the one.
The programme committee had as a key goal to select speakers who could provide us with no-nonsense, hands-on help in implementing new tools, technology and ideas. For me this approach was epitomised by Jörgen Danielsen in his 40-minute seminar entitled Asking the Right Questions about Machine Translation. I’ll be heading back to Denmark the wiser for it, and both my company and my clients will benefit from Jörgen’s 40 minutes.
Xavier – do you have a favourite? …
Next, Jean-Luc and the Clients! Sounds like a rock band and we do well to listen to them. We’re here to help meet their translation and localization needs, and it’s great that they take the time to share their thoughts and ideas with us. Those of you who brought a client with you will no doubt notice that you’ll have gotten yourself a happier, more knowledgeable client to work with. We can only encourage that more of us bring along their clients to GALA conferences. Ask anyone who has already done so: There is nothing to lose and everything to win. They go home confirmed in their choice of language partners.
Next – the fantastic GALA staff, keeping the wheels turning in this well-oiled machine. Great job girls!
There are of course many others who deserve a mention, not least our host and hostess for the Film Fest – great job guys!
But we’d like to end by saying a big THANK YOU to all of YOU. You after all are the most important factor of all. GALA can create the forum, but it has been the 260 people from about 40 different countries that have made it a true meeting of minds.
The energy and momentum from Prague 2010 has attracted more energy and momentum to Lisbon in 2011, and we look forward to seeing an even bigger, more vibrant crowd in Monte Carlo in 2012.
OK – enough talk from us! The moment you have all been waiting for: the draws for some fantastic prizes provided by some of our sponsors. We’re going to ask you in turn to come up here, draw a business card from the bowl, and present your prize to the lucky winner. Here goes. First:
The draw was made
So … thanks again to our sponsors and congratulations to the lucky winners!
And, one last thought as you head for the door and a taxi to the airport:
No matter how many ideas you bring to a GALA conference, you always go home with more.
Thanks for a great conference!
