Translators Converge on Orlando For International Translation Conference
The American Translators Association (ATA) announced today that translators and interpreters from all over the world will be coming to Orlando for their 49th Annual Conference November 5-8, 2008. According to a recent Labor Department report, translation and interpreting industry jobs are expected to grow at a rate of 26% from 2006-2016, particularly in the areas of national security, healthcare and international trade. Stephen Sekel, Director of the Documentation Division in the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management of the United Nations, will speak at this conference about the worldwide shortage of professional translators. For more information about the conference, please visit: www. atanet. org/conf/2008.
Orlando (PRWEB) November 5, 2008
The American Translators Association (ATA) announced today that translators and interpreters from all over the world will be coming to Orlando for their 49th Annual Conference November 5-8, 2008. The conference is designed to inform translation and interpreting professionals of important industry trends.
ATA President Jiri Stejskal said, "Despite an ailing economy, the more than $11 billion translating and interpreting services industry continues to experience tremendous growth. According to a recent Labor Department report, translation and interpreting industry jobs are expected to grow at a rate of 26% from 2006-2016, particularly in the areas of national security, healthcare and international trade. Translators have become the facilitators of information in the global marketplace." He added that Parade Magazine recently listed translators as the 2nd hottest job in the United States.
Translators and interpreters are in extremely high demand - particularly in a multilingual state such as Florida. They work in banking, medicine, telecom, pharmaceuticals, technology enterprises, and thousands of other industries that serve people throughout the globe on a daily basis. In national security, in business or even in local government, translation and interpreting mistakes can be embarrassing, costly or even disastrous. The ATA conference will underscore the importance of using a professional to get translation right, and to protect business and government from costly errors.
"Orange County is an international business and tourism hub," said Lizette Valarino, Special Assistant to Mayor Richard T. Crotty of Orange County and a member of ATA. "We are actually the number one worldwide vacation destination. Mayor Crotty is pleased to have ATA visiting the region, and wanted to recognize and appreciate the valuable services translators and interpreters provide. That is why he proclaimed Nov. 2-8 Translators and Interpreters Week."
Several speakers make this conference particularly newsworthy:
Stephen Sekel, Director of the Documentation Division in the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management of the United Nations, will speak at this conference about the worldwide shortage of professional translators.
Marie King is Orange County Special Projects Coordinator for the Growth Management Department of the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. In this role, she is responsible for the coordination of translation services to the various departments of Orange County, Florida government. Her conference presentation will explore how smaller local governments with limited resources can improve access to information and services for people with limited English proficiency by highlighting her department's activities.
Erik Camayd-Freixas, Director of the Translation and Interpretation Program at Florida International University, was the voice of presidential candidate Barack Obama in Spanish during the televised debates. After interpreting during federal court hearings following the Postville, Iowa immigration raid on May 12-22, 2008, Dr. Camayd-Freixas wrote an essay arguing that the due-process and constitutional rights of migrant workers had been violated during the mass prosecution. His unprecedented decision to speak out has shed new light on the complex role of the interpreter as officer of the court, expert witness, and citizen, and on the interdependence of ethics, advocacy, and justice. For the first time publicly, he will discuss his ethical reasoning and careful method for bringing irregularities out for public scrutiny. This presentation will be followed by open discussion on the issue.
To schedule an interview with ATA President Jiri Stejskal, or to get more information on local translating and interpreting businesses, please contact us.
The 49th Annual Conference will be held:
Where: Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort
When: November 5-8.
For more information about the conference, please visit: http://www. atanet. org/conf/2008 (http://www. atanet. org/conf/2008).
About the American Translators Association
Founded in 1959, the American Translators Association is the largest organization for translators and interpreters in the United States, with over 10,500 members in more than 90 countries worldwide. Its primary goals include fostering and supporting the professional development of translators and interpreters, and promoting the translation and interpreting professions. For more information on ATA, please visit www. atanet. org.
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