Portugal « Translator T.O.

The 2013 ProZ.com international conference in Porto in over, but its spirit still seems to be in all and each of the attendees to this event. With hundreds of Tweets, Facebook posts, feedback comments, pictures, videos, reports and whatnot, this conference seems to have reminded professionals of the importance of networking and learning in professional development.

Careful planning and detailed organization were evidently the secret ingredients for the success of this event. The three session tracks offered led to a good variety of presentations to choose from and the different social options available –sightseeing tour, wine taste, powwows– helped attendees to make connections more quickly and easily.

In sum, this is what this event offered to attendees:

Thirty different sessions, divided in three tracks.
Two powwows, one at Restaurante Commercial, one of the most iconic restaurants in Porto, and a second one at Restaurante BibóPorto, a restaurant that offers exquisite traditional Portuguese dishes.
A sight-seeing tour around the city.
A wine taste at Burmester Cellars, where we had the chance to taste the most famous port wine.
A gala dinner also with great food and wine.
A one-day workshop on “Negotiation”.
The chance to meet fellow translators and promote themselves among peers.

As a ProZ.com staff member, I must say that I’m not only proud of being part of this amazing community, but also honored to have had the chance of spending these amazing days with new friends. Thanks Paula Ribeiro, Maria Pereira and Rafaela Lemos for working tirelessly over the past year to bring this wonderful event to life. Also, thanks speakers for sharing your time, energy and expertise. And, above all, thank you attendees for making this event possible!

Here is a video summary of the event for you to watch and share:

Hope to see you all soon at the next ProZ.com event!

Lucía

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This year’s ProZ.com International Conference is being held in the World Heritage city of Porto, Portugal, and I am having the pleasure of being one of the attendees, together with staff members Maria Kopnitsky and Jared Tabor, and more than 200 members! With 28 speakers and 30 sessions scheduled, this conference is one of the largest ProZ.com events organized in the last 5 years.

Attendees, as they arrived, getting ready for the opening session.

As the conference goes by, the organizers, Certified PRO Paula Ribeiro and members Maria Pereira and Rafaela Lemos, are working together with other language professionals to find the answer to a question that appears to be a major concern within the translation profession: “What are the new demands of the translation industry?” To address this concern, presentations on personal branding, SEO, the state of the industry and translation technology were offered earlier today. Sessions on meeting and keeping clients, CAT tools and ethical practices are reserved for tomorrow, Sunday 9th.

The social side of this event included so far: a photo tour, the visit to a cellar, a pre-conference powwow and the presence of Alejandro Moreno-Ramos, author of the MOX series, who was kind enough to take a couple of hours to autograph his books (thanks Alejandro!).

Alejandro autographing his books, “Mox” and “Mox II”.

Just a few hours ago, there was a gala dinner at Burmester Cellars, a cellar located in one of the most beautiful places of Vila Nova de Gaia. The food was great; the wine, exquisite; and the company, the best! Now getting ready for Sunday sessions and a post-conference powwow at Restaurante BibóPorto.

Click here to see what’s going on in this event in real time.

Congratulations organizers and attendees for this outstanding event!

Lucía