Well, spring has finally sprung! And not a moment too soon considering the cruel April Fools’ Day joke Mother Nature played on many of us in the Northeast last week. I thought it was a good time to update you on the developments for the upcoming ATA Annual Conference in Boston at the end of October.
Invited speakers
With the help of GLD members the planning committee has identified two individuals to receive our endorsement as GLD invited speakers. One will present on the topic of good writing in German, and the other on green technologies. I won’t reveal their names just yet, so as not to jinx their approval by the conference committee, but I can say that should they both be approved, we are in for some educational and fun sessions! This year the headquarters conference-planning committee decided to request that our invited speakers not necessarily do their main presentation in a pre-conference seminar on Wednesday, but rather that they propose two 60-minute slots (if applicable, parts 1 and 2) to allow more members to benefit from their expertise. One of our invited speakers has done this, so we’re hopeful – should they both be approved – that this will allow more of you to attend both sessions while avoiding the costs of two pre-conference seminars.
Sessions
I was overwhelmed by all the wonderful proposals I was given to review from GLD members. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I believe we may have tied our record from New York City. Hopefully we won’t have to postpone any, but instead will be able to offer a plethora of choices for our language combination, including more than one German session in some time slots!
Good writing skills seem to be on everyone’s mind this year. We have two panels being proposed that would explore issues in German, and another session dealing with writing well in specialized fields, all three for into English translators. What’s more, one of our invited speakers intends to hold two sessions on “gutes Deutsch” for into German translators.
Other session proposals focus more strongly on specific areas, like technical, medical, and of course the renewable energy sector as mentioned above. Add to this a proposal on idioms and one on the Bologna system from an insider’s perspective as well as tips for taking the certification exam, and there will certainly be something for everyone this year! I sincerely hope that all our proposals are approved as I think you all will really benefit from these sessions and be able to take something concrete back to your own businesses.
Social networking
Now that we have reached this stage in our planning, the attention of your committee will turn to our social networking event. But first I’m delighted to give you initial notice that we are likely to receive an invitation from the Goethe Institut (and perhaps the German Consulate) to a gathering on Friday evening. This means that we are tentatively planning our GLD networking event on Thursday evening. And of course, after the success of the division open house on Wednesday evening last year, that is to be repeated this year. So it seems we will have ample opportunity to meet up, catch up and not only solidify old but also make new professional and personal relationships.
Make sure to put October 26-29, 2011, on your calendar!
Herzliche Grüße,
Ruth Gentes Krawczyk