Newsletter - Events
Localization World: Post-Event Report
Amy Barnhart, GALA
500 participants from a record setting 37 countries gathered in Berlin, Germany, June 19-21, 2007 for Localization World's ninth conference.
The conference commenced with a welcome from Joachim Wuermeling, the Administrative Secretary of State in Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. Plenary sessions included an open discussion with Mark Lancaster, CEO and Founder of SDL and the GALA hosted "Joys and Pains of Growing" session where a panel of GALA representatives discussed some of the success they've enjoyed and the challenges they've faced as business owners of growing companies in the industry.
Program sessions focused mainly on localization process and translation automation. A new "Introduction to Localization" track was offered for industry newcomers as well as veterans seeking a brush up on the basics. Another first for the conference was the new Games Localization Roundtable held on the pre-conference day.
GALA hosted a number of events throughout the conference. Along with its semi-annual meeting where the GALA board unveiled the beginnings of "GALA 2010", a visionary plan for the future of the association, members also participated in two afternoon sessions on the pre-conference day organized by GALA. Andre Pellet of Welocalize presented " Mergers and Acquisitions Uncovered: From Seller to Buyer in 12 Months - An Insider's Guide to M&A", a session which focused on conditions and decisions a company faces in deciding to sell as well as the process that leads to a sale. Serge Gladkoff (Logrus International) and the GALA Standards committee hosted "Practical Standards: Shaping Uniform Language Requirements for Business , " a workshop on unifying a variety of business aspects that localization providers and buyers must deal with on a daily basis, such as processes, task definitions, quality and management.
Member companies ACP Traductera, Central European Translations, Clay Tablet, GAMAX, Human Science, iDisc and ORCO participated in the GALA group exhibit. Twenty-four member companies gave away prizes at the GALA-hosted closing session.
Social networking has always been an important component of Localization World, and the Berlin event was no exception. Attendees enjoyed an opening reception at the Park Inn Hotel on Alexanderplatz as well as a beach party and barbecue on the eve of the summer solstice at the Bundespressestrand located on the Spree River. A summer rain storm that swept through the area that evening didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the partygoers who played volleyball and enjoyed a barbeque on the sands of the artificial beach.
Plans are well underway for the tenth Localization World conference this fall. The event returns to the site of its very first conference in Seattle, Washington, October 16-18, 2007. GALA looks forward to once again hosting a number of events for its members including an annual meeting where three new Board members will be announced.
Amy Barnhart is the Membership and Administrator Coordinator for the Globalization and Localization Association.