Márcia Nabrzecki and I, Gio Lester, have a lot in common. Besides being Brazilian and translators, we are also advocates, instructors, and mentors. Last year, a common friend brought us together and the result is a 2-day event that we believe will delight those who attend it.

I better tell you a bit about ourselves. My career in Translation and Interpreting started in 1980. Yes, I am a legacy professional and have witnessed and adapted to many changes over the years. I have also been an advocate for our professions: President of two Florida Chapters for the American Translators Association-ATA (2001-2003; 2011-2012; 2015), Director and also Interim Vice Chair for the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (2010-2013), mentor for members of ATA and also of its Brazilian counterpart, ABRATES, and currently I am also the Editor of The NAJIT Observer, a weekly online publication by the National Association of Judiciary Translators and Interpreters. Márcia started her career in 1995. Love for her profession led Marcia to engage in activities beyond translation projects. She is busy mentoring other professionals for Coletivo Identidade, a program that evolved from T&I events in Curitiba and spread to other cities in Brazil; she leads workshops and organizes events such as the monthly barcamps that also started in lovely Curitiba. Márcia manages to find time to lead Pro-Page, Traduções e Projetos, her own company. You can read more about us here.

So, after a few conversations and planning, we decided to throw a party at your place. Well, actually, a conference. Why, you may ask. Well, how many conferences have you missed this year? How many more are on your wish list? The truth is, regardless of origin, language and customs, we all share the desire to learn, grow and save. ConVTI ([//kon-vee-tee-eye//], in Portuguese, Congresso Virtual de Tradução e Interpretação) makes all three available to all of us.

Márcia and I feel the same way: earning continuing education credits, networking with colleagues, improving the quality of our services, etc. should not be a hardship. And we have a solution that makes use of modern technology to solve that issue – after all, this is the 21^st Century!

Our professions have experienced exponential changes at different levels. Technology’s effects have been both negative and positive: clients expect a lot more from us in a shorter period of time but we have tools that help us work smarter; new market segments are open to us but the learning curve can be discouraging; there are incredible new tools out there but either cost, availability, compatibility, or something else are obstacles.

However, technology has reached a point that allows for presenters from all over the world to congregate on your laptop. And we have arranged just that for you: a great professional event with international talent, respected colleagues, best representatives in their specializations. ConVTI will fill in the gap between events, allow professionals to meet their certification requirements and learn from leaders in various segments. And the latest: HeadVox will be providing simultaneous interpreting for the live sessions.

We have put together a collection of top-notch T&I professionals to delight you. No divas. We wanted an even constellation of professionals who understand the changes in the market and what they mean to us.

Wherever you are, we promise you two event-filled days. On August 26, we will have four 1-hour presentations followed by a 90-minute panel on MT and interpreting technology. The day’s closing event is a live roundtable with all presenters. On August 27, we will have six 1-hour presentations and the closing is another live roundtable with all presenters. ConVTI will cover subjects ranging from the practical side of translation to the technical aspects of it, interpreting technology and changes in judicial interpreting, the business side of our profession, and we are working on bringing sign language interpreting into the offerings. Since Márcia and I do believe in equal opportunity learning, we have plans to have the presentations subtitled in English, Portuguese and Spanish.

And your wallet will be happy too: No airfare cost. No hotel cost. No meals cost – well, that will depend on you. Just take your mobile device to wherever you feel more comfortable and join us. A flat fee of $75 gives you access to the 2-day event. The presentations will be available for sale after the event.

Are your ready for a visit? Have your computers, laptops, cell phones or tablets at the ready. We are coming your way: August 26 and 27.

Visit our website for more detailed information. Also, like our Facebook page, follow the event on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay updated. Should you have any doubts, send us an email to info@convti.com.

If you missed the webinar The Business of Being in Business – Part I: The Professional Side (free webinar to give you a taste of ConVTI), just click here to watch the video. And get ready for the second installment: The Business of Being in Business – Part II: The Commercial Side coming to you on June 24, at 8 am EST – check your local time on Time Buddy. Registration is now open, just click here.

Márcia has talked about the event (in Portuguese) for the TradTalk podcast. You can watch or listen to it here.

About the author
Brazilian-born Giovanna “Gio” Lester‘s career in translation and interpreting started in 1980. Gio is very active in her profession and in the associations she is affiliated with. She has held many volunteer administrative positions within various organizations related to our profession, and often speaks and writes on issues that affect us. As an international conference interpreter, Gio has been the voice of government heads and officials, scientists, researchers, doctors, hairdressers, teachers, engineers, investors and more. Gio has been a contributor to The NAJIT Observer since its inception in 2011, and its Editor since 2016. She can be reached at gio@giolester.com.