The translation industry usually moves along the trends in economic models and technological innovations, affecting how translations will be used and produced in the future. Almost all industries, including the translation industry, were affected by the pandemic. Today, the field of translation continues to translate various types of content, as more people go online to search for information. Businesses realize the importance of translation in emergencies, particularly today when face-to-face contact is discouraged, and travel is still limited. As businesses continue to keep the economy moving, translation of much-needed information, especially those concerning health and medical issues, is a top priority.
Despite the setback that COVID-19 brought about, the translation industry is expected to grow to about $56.18 billion next year. While organizations will continue producing their products and services in different languages, the delivery may be slower in some sectors. But the pandemic showed that there is a need for co-creation and innovation. Likewise, translators need to update their knowledge and skills to go with the times.
Must-attend translation events 2021
The translation industry is a dynamic and active sector that hosts various events, seminars, and conferences worldwide. Some are very thematic, and others are for general knowledge. Here are some of the must-attend events for the coming year.
Translation, Transcreation, Transadaptation and the Science Behind Them
This is a virtual conference on localization and translation, focusing on the language services industry changes based on social sciences and cultural studies. The conference is on January 21, 2021, from 6:45 PM to 9:00 PM PST.
20th ITRI International Conference: The Roles and Identities of Interpreters and Translators in an Ever-Changing World
Online conference on January 22-23, 2021. It will focus on international mobility, Big Data, using ICT technologies, and translation tools, programs and systems, including machine translation. The conference is sponsored by South Korea’s Interpreting and Translation Research Institute.
LocWorldWide43
An online event on January 27-28, 2021. For translation and localization specialists.
GALA Connected 2021
Happening on March 23-25, 2021, the online event’s theme is (R)evolutions Unfolding: How Digital Acceleration is Impacting the Global Language Industry. The conference will discuss the effects of digital acceleration on the language industry worldwide.
TAUS Massively Multilingual Conference & Expo 2021
The event will be held in San Jose in the U.S. on March 29-31, 2021. The theme will be World-Readiness. The conference will focus on examining the world-facing localization challenges, such as adding more new languages, adding more users and scaling businesses. It aims to inform localization experts on how to kickstart solutions to some of the big issues the world faces.
National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators (NAJIT) Annual Conference
This will be held on May 14-16, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Open for language professionals, the conference offers learning sessions for the continuing education of judicial translators and others.
AELFE-TAPP Conference
Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos/European Association of Languages for Specific Purposes/Trans-Atlantic and Pacific Project. It will be held at the Vilanova i la Geltrú in Barcelona, Spain in July 2021. It will explore the realm of virtual exchange and advances in professional and academic communication.
New Trends in Translation Technology (NeTTT) Conference
This interdisciplinary conference will happen on July 5-7, 2021 at Rhodes Island, Greece. The conference will introduce and review the new practices and developments in translation technology, usually attended by leaders in the localization industry and academics.
Languages & the Media 2021
This will be held in Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 3, Berlin, Germany on September 20-22, 2021. Many stakeholders will attend the event, from language services providers, content creators, hardware and software developers, trainers, researchers, broadcasters, and others engaged in the production, marketing, and distribution of materials for educational, entertainment and information purposes.
Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (International Federation of Translators)
It will hold its Statutory Congress (November 30-December 1, 2021) and World Congress (December 2-4, 2021) for its members in Varadero, Cuba.
Reasons why translators need to attend translation industry events
Translators should be active in the industry as it provides them with various benefits, aside from the opportunities to network and catch up on the latest industry trends. Here are seven reasons why you should participate in industry conferences if you are feeling skeptical.
- You help yourself or your company put your name out there.You need to remind your current clients and attract potential clients that you are in the business. It is your chance to network. If you participate as a panel speaker, you increase your worth by sharing your knowledge and telling other organizations and clients that you are an expert, making potential clients notice you.
- It is an easy and inspiring way to build networks.While you may know other organizations’ existence, attending translation conferences allows you to meet them personally. You connect with analysts, localization experts, language specialists, professional translators, potential clients and developers of translation tools.
- You learn new things. In this industry, you need continuing education. Attending translation conferences is a chance to refresh what you already know and learn new things. It is vital to know the trends in your industry niche and learn new things from experts in the industry, that will be valuable for your personal and professional growth. You can learn about digital trends, artificial intelligence, new translation tools, business globalization and best practices for localization and translation. You can learn strategic and practical solutions to make your business grow.
- You learn new ideas regarding the needs of clients.Clients’ needs change, and you can learn new things about client preferences. The global market evolves continuously, so learning what other clients’ expectations can help you tailor your services to current needs or offer new services to fill the needs in the face of new challenges.
- You learn new technologies and tools.With the digital transformation, you need to learn different tools and technologies to make your services more effective. The needs of clients today are immediate, so you should use tools that can make you translation work faster, maintain consistency and improve translation quality. Some conferences are dedicated to specific topics, such as new tools for localization and translation projects.
- Potential for new business opportunities.You do not have to rely solely on generating business through your repeat clients and what your sales agents can create. Attending translation industry conferences offer you a fertile ground to discover new ideas and prospects for business growth.
Language industry insights 2021
It isn’t easy to assess what the future holds for many industries. But the outlook is still optimistic for the language industry.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment potentials for translators and interpreters will continue to grow at a faster rate until 2029. Most prospective employers will be looking at those with at least a bachelor’s degree and those with professional certification. The expected growth is around 20%.
The market for interpretation services in North America is expected to grow by as much at 5.26% from 2019 until 2026. On the other hand, the global language services industry has a potential growth of 4% between 2020 and 2024.
From 2020 to 2025, the translation service industry is foreseen to grow as the downstream markets rebound from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on the immigration and globalization patterns. The industry’s growth remains reliant on globalization for much of its revenue because the growing economy will again focus on the opportunities overseas.
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