Global Talk

As part of STC’s partnership with the Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA), STC members receive a discount on registration for LISA globalization conferences.

LISA has been delivering conferences and information on globalization for well over a decade, and over 50% of attendees at LISA events come from organizations other than localization vendors. Leading companies like Adobe, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Oracle, SAS Institute, Sony Europe, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, and Xerox are attending the LISA Forum Europe.

Visit the online program to see for yourself why you should register for the LISA Forum Europe!

As an STC guest you receive the special rate of EUR 695.00and you are eligible for reduced fees for the LISA workshops at this event.

Mary Kabza, STC Director of Marketing and Membership, has announced STC’s partnership with the Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA).

This partnership will allow LISA and STC members to benefit equally from each organization’s services. LISA is “the leading international forum for organizations doing business globally.” LISA offers valuable guidance in conducting business internationally, including consulting services for globalization, research and publications, standards development, networking, and educational opportunities. To learn more, visit www.lisa.org

STC members pay the same rates that LISA members pay to attend LISA events such as LISA Forum Europe: Doing Business in an Expanding Europe, in Warsaw, Poland November 13-17, 2006. For more about LISA Forum Europe, visit www.lisa.org/events/2006warsaw Information about upcoming LISA events is being featured on the STC website and included in the RSS feed highlighting STC news and related events.

STC is continuing to develop our relationship with LISA, and wokring on finding new ways for STC members to benefit from LISA events and services. For example, plans are being developed for a separate STC forum on the LISA website. Soon, STC members will be able to enter their STC membership ID numbers when they register on LISA’s site. There will be similar LISA links on the STC website.

GALA, the Globalization and Localization Association, has a monthly email newsletter in HTML form. You can view the latest issue and past issues and subscribe at http://www.gala-global.org/index.php?action=view_newsletter

ITC SIG Localization Lead Aki Ito is the GALA Board chair. This month Aki reports on how GALA has met goals for growth and activities.

On August 11, 2006 STC sent an update to all members on the Society’s participation in INTECOM and on August 31, STC President Paula Berger reported more INTECOM news.

The Society for Technical Communication (STC) has begun active participation in the International Council for Technical Communication (INTECOM), an “umbrella” organization of technical communication organizations around the world. The INTECOM delegates unanimoulsy approved STC’s membership at the INTECOM Annual General Meeting (AGM) June 22-23, 2006, in Guernsey (Channel Islands).

INTECOM (International Council for Technical Communication, http://www.intecom.org) has accepted STC’s offer to hold their 2007 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 17-18, in conjunction with the STC Annual Conference. We look forward to welcoming INTECOM’s representatives from around the world in Minneapolis. (more…)

STC President Paula Berger has reported that STC is participating in World Usability Day 2006 to help make the world a better place for product users, and all members are invited to participate.

The STC initiatives include holding the World’s Largest Online Card Sort and working on a Usability Competition. Visit http://www.stc.org/wud for more information.

You are encouraged to use the resources of GALA, the Globalization and Localization Association. GALA’s Career Services Center offers an online CV database and job postings. The GALA Articles Database is a growing collection of new and previously published articles on globalization, internationalization, localization and translation. Search for articles by author or category on topics such as content development, outsourcing, quality, marketing and technology. You are invited to read and post in the GALA on Technology Blog.

CSU Chico, GALA and the Localization Institute are offering the next Localization Certification program June 12 to 14, 2007. For more information, please visit the program web page.

In a June, 2006 post on Council of Program in Technical and Scientific Communication list, Ian Gabriel (ian.gabriel at btinternet.com) reported he is coordinating updates to Guidelines for Writing English-Language Technical Documentation for an International Audience published by INTECOM in 2003. This document is available on the INTECOM website under Publications/Downloads.

Ian invited comments from users, regarding two main areas of update:

• Content: Should there be more or less detail? What other topics could be useful?
• Delivery options: Is a PDF file sufficient for online and offline use? Would an online help version, such as a CHM file, be useful?

In June, STC Immediate Past President Suzanna Laurent and Second Vice President Mark Clifford attended the Annual General Meeting of INTECOM (the International Council for Technical Communication) in the United Kingdom. Highlights of the meeting include the vote to accept STC’s application to rejoin and the appointment of STC Immediate Past President Suzanna Laurent as Vice President of INTECOM. Please watch the RSS feed from the STC website for posting of a report on the meeting. INTECOM is working on many of the same issues as STC, particularly providing more value to members. We look forward to collaborating with colleagues around the world to meet our challenges.

STC and LISA (Localization Industry Standards Association) have entered into a formal agreement that creates a framework for an exchange of membership privileges and collaboration on projects. STC will provide details soon on the benefits for STC members.