I attended the American Translators Association 65th annual conference this past weekend in Portland, Oregon. This was my first time attending the conference in person. I had only attended the hybrid online/in-person edition of the conference virtually back in 2021. It is important to attend professional events such as this one not only for insight on new trends and developments in the industry, but also for the rare opportunity to mingle with other translators face to face.
Overall I think the conference itself had room for improvement. But getting to talk to colleagues from the industry who I had only ever interacted with over the Internet made it an enjoyable and worthwhile experience. Plus, I made some new connections along the way and ate some awesome food. Below I have listed my thoughts on various aspects of the American Translators Association 65th annual conference.
The conference was at the Oregon Convention Center in downtown Portland. I could not think of a better venue for this event. The spacious installments were exceptionally clean and cozy. The convention center employees were very friendly and did an excellent job at fostering an ideal atmosphere for this event.
For those unfamiliar with the format, the conference holds several educational sessions simultaneously in different presentation rooms. At any given time there may be five or six sessions happening. Attendees choose which session to go to based on factors such as the name of the presentation, the presenter, etc. The presenter typically stands at the front of the room and presents a PowerPoint presentation, much in the same way a college professor would give a lecture.
I found the sessions to be very hit or miss. While some of the sessions were quite informative, others I walked away from feeling disappointed. One of the speakers in particular seemed as if they were just looking for a platform to tell their life story without offering much (if any) information to attendees to apply to their own careers.
Also, none of the presentations I personally attended took full advantage of the fact that this was an in-person event. The whole college lecture format is due for an overhaul. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I feel that in a post-Covid world, non-online presentations should be a little more hands-on and interactive.
Being the proactive and well-organized person I am, I put together an itinerary for the three days of the conference. This itinerary had the names of the sessions I wished to attend as well as their respective time and place, all neatly organized in a Word table. But then I got to the conference and was told to use the conference’s app.
I personally hate being enticed by large companies and other organizations to download their app on my phone so they can collect my consumer data. But at least this was a web-based app and not one you had to download onto your phone. And I’m pretty sure the ATA wasn’t interested in collecting my consumer data.
I assumed that I would be able to get by with my Word itinerary, but alas. Many of the sessions I had planned on attending had been rescheduled, changed location, or canceled altogether. So the app became a necessity to successfully navigate the conference’s different sessions.
This wouldn’t have been much of a problem had the app been a little more user friendly. The app did not display info intuitively. You had to constantly scroll to find out about different sessions. I didn’t even use the grand majority of the app’s numerous features crowding the side bar.
Next year, the developers should implement a block schedule in the same way that most mainstream music festivals do. This will make navigating the sessions a much more streamlined experience and less of a headache. I can't imagine it'd be all that hard to do. The challenge would be fitting all the words into such a small space.
It was great catching up with old colleagues as well as making new ones. A highlight of the conference was finally getting to meet my mentor from the ATA mentor-mentee program a few years back, Rainer. Rainer is a German translator based in Seattle, Washington. You can check out his website here: https://rainerklett.com/. Rainer was as much of a delight to be in the presence of in person as he was during our mentorship online. I also got to meet a long-time Portland-based client of mine in person for the first time.
Everyone was very polite and seemed happy to be there. There was a general sense of comradery. We each had name badges around our necks that we received at the entrance. They instructed us to put a small, seemingly random-colored circular sticker on it representing our working language. They had posted an “answer key” indicating which color corresponded to which language, but I don’t think anyone took the time to memorize this. It was somewhat frustrating not knowing which color represented which language (other than our own). But, in retrospect, I wonder if this was intentional so that we would ask each other as opposed to just reading what it said on our name badges.
Portland was the perfect location for my very first in-person ATA conference. As I walked the streets, I heard numerous languages being spoken, which was really cool. The city seems to have done a good job overall with welcoming immigrants and effectively communicating with them through a strong language access program (which I have actually helped contribute to in my work as a desktop publisher). I hope and trust that Portland can in this way serve as a model for other major cities in the US facing a similar influx of immigrants from all over the world. Although, as of this writing, I am frightened as to what awaits language access in this country with the incoming administration.
My biggest regret of this trip is not having done more sightseeing. Time did not allow me to see very much of the city and surrounding areas. However, my inner hipster and inner foodie felt right at home in the particular downtown neighborhood where I stayed. I was within walking distance of the world-famous Powell’s bookstore, a thrift shop, a record shop, and a cluster of food trucks. I somehow managed not to blow all my money at these wonderful local businesses so characteristic of the city.
While this wasn’t necessarily a cheap conference, I wouldn’t consider it very expensive either in comparison to many other conferences out there I’ve seen (but haven’t been to). I do feel like I got a good value out of this conference, even if I wasn’t impressed with certain aspects of it. It cost slightly more to attend than it would a weekend music festival.
I am pleased to say that I stuck very close to my budget I made for this trip. In fact, I actually ended up being slightly under budget even after a few unexpected costs. Portland prices are not as high as those of some other major cities. An average meal was about $15.
Unfortunately, I am fairly certain that next year’s conference in Boston will end up costing significantly more to attend than this one did considering Boston is a much more expensive city. Word on the street is that the attendance price itself will be going up next year as well. If you are a translator/interpreter considering attending next year and are interested in a breakdown of my expenses during this trip, please feel free to reach out to me and I’d be happy to give you an overview.
The 65th annual American Translators Association conference is in the books. It had its strengths and weaknesses. While I know I may have been somewhat harsh in my review, this was by no means a poorly-organized conference. The conference organizers did a great job and I applaud them for all the hard the work they did to make it possible.
I had an enjoyable time. While I didn’t turn down opportunities for networking and meeting new colleagues, this conference felt almost like a vacation of sorts. Except, the main difference between this and a more traditional vacation is that typically I don't get the opportunity to socialize with people who do the same work as me. At this point in my career, I have a more robust clientele than when I started, so I was able to relax and enjoy myself without the pressure of feeling obligated to land a new client. I do realize that not everyone who attended was privileged enough to be in this position.
There is a lot of uncertainty looming over what the future holds, but I am glad I was able to attend this conference. One thing I am sure of is that translation and interpretation will continue to be important and relevant for years to come, regardless of what happens with AI and regardless of who's in office. I encourage everyone to stay positive and not give up on the profession.