Meet Us

We attended the Meet Central Europe Conference 2025 in Bratislava, hosted at the inspiring Jurkovič Heating Plant—a remarkable industrial monument perfectly blending history and modernity.

As the region’s premier gathering of translation and localisation professionals, the event brought together colleagues from across Central and Eastern Europe—freelance linguists, Language Service Providers, project managers, and industry executives. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and explore how AI is transforming the way we work and collaborate.

Across panels and workshops, one theme resonated strongly: while technology is reshaping our tools and processes, it’s people who give that transformation meaning. From project managers experimenting with new workflows to linguists training AI models, human creativity and curiosity remain at the core of real progress.

Our biggest takeaway? AI is only as powerful as the people who guide it. Continuous learning keeps us adaptable, and our community’s openness to change is what drives our industry forward.

As our Project Management Team Lead Roberta Šareikaitė put it: “Our industry has faced many waves of technological change, but each time we’ve grown stronger, more adaptable, and more ready to embrace the future. AI won’t replace us—it will only empower us to work smarter, faster, and better.”

We left Bratislava inspired by the people behind the progress—those whose passion for languages and innovation keeps our industry thriving, evolving, and looking confidently toward the future.

Diskusija had the honor of joining the ELIA Networking Days (ND25) in Budapest, where language service professionals from across Europe gathered to share ideas and experiences.

The event’s theme, “Opportunity Knocks: Playing the AI Game,” highlighted the growing role of AI in the language services industry. The discussions emphasized the importance of approaching AI with not only caution but also curiosity, openness, and practical thinking.

This year’s event was particularly special, as it celebrated 20 years of ELIA. As a proud member since 2006, Diskusija has been part of this journey for 18 of those years, contributing to a community that has become a trusted space for collaboration, professional exchange, and mutual support.

Asta Rusakevičienė, our CEO, represented Diskusija at the event, engaging in insightful discussions on how language service providers can embrace AI, navigate industry changes, and meet evolving client expectations with bold, strategic thinking.

We left the event inspired, having reconnected with peers, gained fresh insights, and contributed to shaping the future of our industry.

We were pleased to take part in the Eulogia biannual meeting, which took place in Athens from 28 to 30 May 2025.

This year’s theme, “Shifting to a Culture of Audacity,” set the tone for engaging and forward-looking discussions on how the language industry is adapting to ongoing change. As always, it was a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas with fellow Eulogia members, reflect on shared challenges, and explore bold, future-oriented approaches to our work.

As a long-standing member of Eulogia, Diskusija was proud to contribute to these conversations and to remain an active part of a trusted network of language service providers committed to excellence and collaboration.

At Diskusija, we don’t just work in the language industry—we live at the intersection of technology, culture, and communication. That’s why attending WorldSpeak 2025 in Montreal was important to us.

This wasn’t just another industry event. It was a forum where the future of multilingual content was explored in practical terms: how AI is transforming workflows, how language standards are evolving, and how companies like ours can remain agile while preserving the human expertise at the heart of our work.

Montreal, with its deeply rooted multilingualism and dynamic language policy environment, provided the perfect setting. There, language isn’t simply a service—it’s a lived experience, influenced by culture, politics, and everyday life. That resonates strongly with how we view our work at Diskusija.

We also had the opportunity to attend the Canadian Language Industry Association’s annual conference during the same week, which offered further insights into the local language services landscape. One of the most enlightening aspects was learning how essential it is for companies in Canada to serve Indigenous communities and work across a vast range of language combinations, including many that aren’t officially recognized but are widely spoken.

The discussions echoed some of the key challenges we’re also facing in Europe—especially around the ethical and strategic use of AI, the need for locally trained language models, and the importance of safeguarding data sovereignty.

Participating in these conversations allowed us to challenge assumptions, ask better questions, and bring back valuable perspectives to enrich our work. We left Montreal with renewed inspiration, meaningful connections, and a deeper appreciation for the global nature of our industry.

After last year’s incredible experience in Valencia, we arrived in Montreal ready to engage with GALA 2025’s powerful theme: “In the Age of AI: Experience, Hope, Transformation, and Inspiration.”

And it delivered.

As the 15th edition of the GALA conference, this year’s gathering brought together the global language industry to reflect, debate, and envision what’s next. Our CEO, Asta Rusakevičienė, marked her 15th GALA conference, returning energized and inspired by the depth and quality of conversations.

While AI dominated the headlines, what stood out most was the central role of human expertise — in guiding AI transformation, managing its limitations, and ensuring that our industry continues to evolve with purpose and integrity. From discussions on scaling AI to warnings about “the rise of AI mediocrity,” nearly every session underscored the value of human insight in a post-AI world.

Montreal itself — with its layered languages, vibrant culture, and yes, poutine-powered networking — provided the perfect backdrop for these reflections.

As always, the GALA community impressed us with its openness, generosity, and commitment to the craft. We left with new questions, renewed purpose, and a strong sense of connection.

Diskusija had the pleasure of attending the exclusive Eulogia gathering in Ljubljana—an event that brought together members from across Europe to connect, collaborate, and celebrate our shared pursuit of excellence in language services.

Building on the momentum from last year’s successful event in Gdańsk, the Ljubljana gathering delivered another round of inspiring discussions. From innovative service models to forward-thinking marketing strategies, the sessions were rich in insight and grounded in the real-world challenges and opportunities we all face.

Since joining the Eulogia family in 2007, we’ve valued every opportunity to exchange knowledge and strengthen ties with fellow members. This year was no exception. The event reinforced the importance of collaboration, trust, and mutual growth in a rapidly evolving industry.

Beyond the conference rooms, Ljubljana’s vibrant local culture and welcoming atmosphere added a special touch to the experience. We return home energised by new ideas, deepened connections, and a renewed sense of purpose as we continue shaping the future of multilingual communication together.

We thank our fellow Eulogia members and hosts for another unforgettable event—and we’re already looking forward to what comes next.

Diskusija proudly participated in ELIA’s 9th Focus on Project Management conference held in Belgrade, Serbia, a three-day gathering that brought together project managers and industry professionals from across the language services sector. This dynamic event offered a rich blend of professional development, practical workshops, and forward-thinking discussions, all tailored to the challenges and opportunities within our fast-evolving field.

The conference explored topics crucial to advancing our work, including leadership and team dynamics, career development in the language industry, and the integration of AI into daily workflows. It also featured practical sessions, such as a Website Translation Masterclass and deep dives into OCR tools, DTP techniques, and CAT tool integration. With its theme, “Becoming a PM Rockstar in the AI Era,” the event provided valuable insights and actionable strategies to enhance project management practices.

We also got a chance to participate in Technology Day, further enriching the experience by engaging in hands-on sessions that emphasised cutting-edge tools and methodologies.

We were delighted to be part of NTIF2024, held from 18 to 20 November in the vibrant city of Malmö, Sweden. The event's compelling theme, "Human Relevance", sparked deep discussions on the irreplaceable role of human expertise in a world increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence.

The forum offered two exciting tracks: one delving into localisation and translation, and the other spotlighting interpreting and media localisation. Adding a dynamic twist, the "Think Tanks" sessions broke away from traditional formats, creating interactive workshops where ideas flowed freely, and industry challenges were tackled head-on.

One of the most inspiring moments was Sofie Lindblom's keynote, "Innovative Anchors: Holding Steady in the Winds of Change". With her impressive background, including a decade at Spotify, she shared invaluable insights on how to harness change as a driving force for innovation—a truly energising session that left attendees buzzing with ideas.

Beyond the sessions, NTIF2024 was a hub of connection and collaboration. It was a joy to exchange knowledge, uncover fresh perspectives, and celebrate the human creativity and skill that power the language services industry.

Diskusija left Malmö inspired, invigorated, and even more committed to embracing innovation while championing the unique value of human expertise.

The Tekom Deutschland Fair in Stuttgart brought together top professionals in technical communication to explore the latest innovations. With over 150 exhibitors from around the world, the event showcased groundbreaking advancements in AI-driven translation, next-generation content management platforms, and multilingual content solutions. Attendees had the opportunity to experience live demonstrations, insightful presentations, and hands-on access to tools that are redefining the future of our industry.

Diskusija’s team was thrilled to engage in enriching conversations with industry experts, discussing innovations in terminology management and new ways to integrate AI into content workflows. Beyond the technology, the fair emphasized the value of human connections, sparking new ideas and collaborations that will inspire our approach to enhancing content solutions.

Diskusija’s team had the pleasure of participating in the sixth edition of the Meet Central Europe (MCE) Conference in Prague, a gathering of language service companies, freelance translators, and industry experts. The event was a fantastic opportunity to exchange ideas and explore the latest trends in vendor management and AI.

Our Vendor Manager engaged in insightful sessions covering practical vendor search strategies, the evolving role of AI in translation, and effective approaches to overcoming vendor challenges. Key takeaways included strategies for Vendor Managers to drive business growth and optimize collaborations.

But beyond technology and strategies, the conference underscored the enduring importance of human connections. As AI tools evolve, there remains a strong focus on maintaining a human touch—valuing appreciation, understanding, and a bit of humor in our relationships with vendors and partners.

The experience left us inspired, armed with fresh ideas and meaningful connections to enhance our future projects.

Diskusija had the pleasure of attending THRIVE 2024, the flagship event organised by the Association of Translation Companies in Birmingham on 26-27 September. The conference gathered leaders from the language services industry to explore cutting-edge trends, innovative strategies, and collaborative opportunities.

Our CEO, Asta Rusakeviciene, was particularly impressed by the high-quality sessions focused on excelling in a competitive landscape. A key takeaway was the emphasis on cultivating strong client relationships by being more than just a service provider—acting as a trusted partner and consistently delivering a premium experience to high-value clients.

One insightful session highlighted the significance of blending content with design to attract inbound sales, alongside practical advice for optimising team performance. These ideas have inspired us to refine our strategies, ensuring excellence in all areas of our work.

Overall, the event offered Diskusija fresh perspectives and actionable strategies to further elevate the quality of our language services.

Held in Copenhagen, the NORDIC TechKomm conference brings together professionals from across the technical communication and localisation industries to explore the latest trends, tools, and best practices. Our CEO, Asta Rusakeviciene, had the opportunity to attend this insightful event, which provided a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by technical writers—those responsible for creating much of the content that Diskusija later translates and localises.

A key takeaway was the realisation that not all content creators design their work with localisation in mind. This is where we aim to bridge the gap. By deepening our understanding of technical writing, we can collaborate more effectively, ensuring that multilingual content meets the highest standards from creation to localisation.

The conference was also a reminder of how closely aligned the goals of technical writers and translators are. Both seek to automate repetitive tasks without losing the human touch that defines their expertise, a balance that becomes even more important in the age of AI.

The Eulogia event in Gdansk was a huge success! From May 22nd to 24th, the Eulogia family gathered once again for an unforgettable weekend. A special highlight was welcoming Orco from Greece into our alliance.

This year, both Diskusija and Eulogia celebrated their 30th anniversaries. Our meeting in Gdansk showcased our enduring strength and collaboration. Since joining Eulogia in 2007, Diskusija has been part of this incredible journey, contributing to the alliance's growth and success.

The event was packed with engaging discussions on innovative approaches, new services, and creative marketing strategies. These interactions fostered new ideas and solutions that will enhance our service offerings. Sharing insights and tackling industry challenges together not only strengthened our partnerships but also reinforced our collective commitment to excellence. The vibrant local culture added an extra layer of inspiration, making it a weekend filled with both valuable insights and memorable experiences.

Diskusija had a whirlwind experience at the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) conference in Valencia! Connecting with industry peers, diving deep into AI in localization discussions, and staying on top of trends were just some of the highlights. GALA's insightful sessions and strong community left a lasting impression. Diskusija looks forward to next year's event in Montreal, solidifying our commitment to shaping the future of language business. A big thank you to the GALA team for a fantastic conference!

We're delighted to reflect on the enriching experience at Vamos Juntos 2024, the second  annual summit hosted by Juntos, the Association of Language Services of Latin America and the Caribbean in Lima, Peru. This event marked an invaluable opportunity for us to delve into the unique aspects of the language sector within this dynamic region and, at the same time, embrace the latest trends in the language industry, and exchange universal business insights that transcend geographical boundaries, and, of course, make new connections.

Our CEO, Asta Rusakevičienė, had the pleasure of participating in this gathering, which attracted a diverse group of professionals from across the globe. Despite the evident strong representation from Latin American companies, the event boasted an impressive international attendance, stretching from Australia to Lithuania. Diskusija was honored to represent Europe and our home country, Lithuania, showcasing our commitment to fostering international collaboration and understanding. 

With the next summit announced to take place in Mexico, we are already looking forward to the possibility of joining again. Continuously expanding our knowledge and network is crucial for us, and such events offer invaluable opportunities for growth and connection.

The 8th edition of the ELIA Focus on Project Management event took place in Bucharest, Romania. Nearly 130 attendees – project managers, those who are the main catalyst in this industry from European language services companies and beyond, gathered to deepen their knowledge about language industry trends and hypes, connect and share their experiences on what it is to be a project manager in this ever changing industry!

Diskusija is an active member of European Language Industry Association, attending various ELIA events focused on different positions at the language compaies. This time it was Lukas’ time to attend this fabulous event and has brought back amazing insights to share with the fellow project managers.

This year, the Nordic Translation and Interpretation Forum, which usually takes place in a Nordic country, is being held in a Baltic country for the very first time: Estonia! As it’s too good an opportunity for us to miss, Diskusija is heading to Tallinn, represented by our CEO, Asta Rusakevičienė. 

With Tallinn listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world, it’s no surprise that the event will centre on the impact of AI on our operations, with talks and think tanks exploring its potential and limitations. However, with the focus of the event on sharing information on regional matters, trends, tenders, vendor management and technology, we can’t wait to catch up with other industry leaders and do our bit to preserve our local languages, together. 

If you’re also attending the NTIF conference, we’ll look forward to seeing you in Tallinn! 

This autumn, the members of Eulogia, an exclusive alliance of language services companies, are gathering in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, for our biannual meeting.

An event organised by Eulogia’s Portuguese member, Inpokulis, it promises to be a very intense few days of sharing and working on our company strategies, analysing case studies, and learning from each other. This forum is our asset, with open discussions, peer-to-peer help, and willingness to combine joint efforts to ensure both individual and shared success forming the main characteristics of this exclusive group. 

Diskusija has been a member of Eulogia since 2007, with the last 16 years having seen us grow and develop together. That’s how we know that, as always, we’ll come back from this event stronger and more informed than ever.

The MCE conference, an event focused on Central and Eastern Europe but attracting attendees from all around the world, returned this autumn to Budapest, where the inaugural Meet Central Europe conference happened five years ago.

It’s one of the largest events in the region gathering together all language industry players: freelance translators, language services companies and buyers. It’s a perfect forum to hear all voices and get a complete picture of our sector’s trends and opinions, meet partners and make new valuable connections.

Diskusija, as usual, was an active attendy of this fabulous event.

We are looking forward for MCE 2024 which will happen next autumn the stunning city of Prague.

Eulogia, a close alliance of hand-picked language services companies where one company represents one language, gathered this time in Groningen, the home town of our Dutch member Global Textware. As usual, our spring general meeting was an extended event, when managers of member companies sat alongside their team representatives to share knowledge and learn from each other. The focus of the event was sales and operations. 

Furthermore, it was a special event because we welcomed a new member from Denmark, the company Diction. We are happy to have you, Diction, in our family!

The 7th edition of ELIA’s Focus on Executives event will take place in the stunning location of Bled, a small town on the coast of a picturesque lake surrounded by Alpine peaks. This is the perfect place for a gathering of senior language executives.

Two intense days of discussion about company development and exploring new ways of setting objectives and measuring results. What a coincidence! At Diskusija, we are currently implementing OKRs, powerful goal-setting and leadership tools, and we don’t want to miss the opportunity to learn from other professionals and hear the thoughts, opinions and expertise of our peers.

Our CEO Asta Rusakevičienė will be travelling to Bled, Slovenia. If you are attending ELIA FocusExecs, feel free to meet up with her. She is keen to share ideas and tell you more about the peculiarities of localising into Baltic and CEE languages.

The Globalization and LocalizationAssociation conference was a great success. 485 attendees from all around the world gathered in Dublin. It was the second largest GALA conference and the largest yet in the post-Covid period. The number of attendees at this event indicates how much our language industry community is keen to meet, share ideas, learn and craft the future of our industry, which is constantly challenged (or maybe we should say boosted and accelerated) by new technologies which we need to embrace.

The programme and social events were well-thought-out and packed with great content and networking opportunities, the two most important components in attracting people to travel around the world and gather together.

Language industry project and production managers gathered in Manchester at the beginning of December for Elia’s 7th Focus on Project Management event. This two-day event was aimed at helping project managers of language companies to develop their practical skills, learn new approaches, expand their minds and, of course, connect with like-minded peers.

Here at Diskusija, we never stop learning and developing our people skills or trying to understand industry trends in order to be ready to offer the best adapted solutions to our clients. That is why we could not miss ELIA FocusPM this year either.

Our Operations Manager, Rasa Stalnionytė, attended #eliaFocusPM and came back with lots of new ideas and new energy!

The Nordic Translation and Interpretation Forum happened this time in Malmö, Sweden.

Attendees from 19 countries were present at the event, much more than the number of countries in the Nordic region on which NTIF is focused. This demonstrates the widespread interest among language industry peers outside of the Nordics in OUR region.

You read that right, the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are in Northern Europe and part of the Nordic region! This is not a myth, but a fact proven by our CEO Asta Rusakevičienė, who presented “The Baltic Tribe. Myths and Reality” with colleagues from Latvia and Estonia. So far, we’ve only heard positive feedbacks about the presentation. We hope it was insightful and increased interest in our region and the Baltic languages in which we specialise even further.

Two days of learning about the unique features of the Nordics and the Nordic language industry, enjoying insightful discussions with industry friends and making new connections. Diskusija never misses NTIF and can’t wait to find out which Nordic city will be chosen for next year.

This time, Eulogia gathered in Madeira for its biannual general meeting. Eulogia is a very special alliance where cooperation and knowledge sharing is happening at a very deep level, where trust is the main driving force enabling the members to debate various internal company issues, present new ideas or plans and get valuable advice and/or criticism from peers. This time, we analysed and discussed how to better prepare our companies and ourselves for various future scenarios. Thank you, Roman, for joining us, this time as our speaker and facilitator.

Our next biannual meeting will be an extended event where company managers will gather alongside their team members to learn together and strengthen relationships between members.

The 4th edition of the Meet Central Europe conference took place in Slovakia, in a beautiful and remote conference centre located just 20 minutes away from Bratislava. This year, the conference focused on employee wellbeing, the importance of giving and receiving feedback and many other interesting and valuable topics related to vendor management. It was a great chance to meet industry peers and hear their personal success stories, attend the training sessions, and even meditate during one of them! Not only theoretical, but also practical presentations proved just how important it is to value our colleagues, vendors and our own wellbeing. Our senior project manager Roberta Šareikaitė attended her first MCE event and was extremely happy to connect with language peers, learn about new trends and discuss various topics related to wellbeing with colleagues from our industry!

She also heard how the events in Ukraine have affected people in our industry and had the chance to attend the Ukrainian Fundraiser Dinner, which was organised to raise money to support Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia. 

We are so proud and happy that the ELIA (European Language Industry Association) community will finally gather in our beautiful city when its signature event Networking Days happens in Vilnius.

Moreover, Diskusija will be sponsoring Networking Dinner. It is such an honour for us, Lithuanian locals, to take care of our guests, especially, when the meal is shared.

The organisers promise a new and more engaging format to ensure that the event truly deserves its name. The roundtable discussions, which apparently will represent the largest portion of the event, will certainly create lots of opportunities to get to know peers better, learn from different approaches and challenge ourselves. We like networking and engaging in discussions, so you can be sure that Diskusija will not miss this NETWORKING event.

We look forward to meeting our industry peers in Vilnius. If you are attending and have time to visit us, drop us a line and we will be thrilled to invite you to our office.

Where is our future headed? And how the language services and how we sell them change? The Association of Language Companies (ATC) has provided a perfect opportunity to look into these trends and learn from the visioners and our peers at the ATC Stargazing event.

It generated a lot of discussions on what it means to live in the era of information explosion, dealing with global turbulences in the fast-moving world, which provides both, challenges and opportunities.

We were also excited to celebrate and support our language colleagues at the industry awards.

ATC remains one of our favourite events and we look forward to meeting everyone again next year.

Autumn is not only “back to school” season for kids. At Diskusija, we never stop learning and this year our autumn learning season started at the Annual Summit of the American Association of Language Companies (ALC) in Las Vegas. This has been the 20th ALC Annual Summit and 7th ALC event Diskusija has attended. 

We keep coming back to this event as ALC's Annual Summit brings together like-minded language professionals for networking, knowledge sharing, and industry development. ALC’s annual 3-day conference creates the perfect opportunity to gain experience and strengthen our business.

Diskusija has been a proud member of Eulogia, an exclusive alliance of translation companies, since 2007. In June, Bulgarian member Interlang hosted the alliance’s biannual meeting in the capital city of Sofia.

The key theme of the event was customer experience. Member company managers learned how to enhance the customer experience from an expert in this topic. However, as always, the main focus and most important added value of the meeting was the opportunity to share ideas, compare our experiences and help each other to forge a path toward better performance.

Our next gathering will take place in October in Madeira.

Elia’s Focus on Executives, an exclusive event designed for senior language industry executives, took place in stunning Tenerife. Almost 70 language industry executives gathered together to learn from each other and develop their leadership competencies. This was an opportunity for our CEO Asta Rusakeviciene to deepen her skills. 

The main characteristic of this event is its strongly focused content and clear scope. This time two workshops –Navigating Growth and Driving Sales – each of them taking place over one conference day, were led and monitored by recognised industry experts. However, this event is not only about learning from speakers, but mainly fosters peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and networking to boost our energy for new challenges. 

At Diskusija, we are always keen to learn and our team members attend various ELIA events: #FocusPM, #ELIATogether, #eliaExecs, #ELIAND. We are extremely thrilled that the next ELIA event Networking Days will take place in our city.

ELIA, welcome to Vilnius! We can’t wait to have you.

“Back to business” was the symbolic name of the GALA conference, which finally took place in person in San Diego after two years of virtual meetings. Almost 250 attendees from 47 countries gathered for the in-person event (and almost 100 attended the virtual edition)! These figures are really impressive in light of the fact that travel restrictions were only recently lifted.

The general mood of the event was unique: the attendees were incredibly eager to catch up with old friends, enjoy the possibilities of face-to face peer discussions and make new connections. The programme was no less interesting and we are proud and happy that our CEO Asta Rusakevičienė worked on the programme committee to help build it.

Furthermore, this event was a special one marking the 20th anniversary of GALA. This is a milestone, indeed! And knowing that 25% of GALA members have been members for 10 consecutive years or more, it’s clear that the GALA community is strong and one that Diskusija is happy to be part of.

Thank you GALA for another unforgettable event! Let’s meet next year in Dublin! 

Elia gathered together almost 200 language industry professionals for the sixth edition of TOGETHER. 

This special event is designed to facilitate connections and communication between language companies and freelancers, contribute to developing a shared understanding of our industry trends and create new cooperation opportunities. 

 Diskusija, as a proud, 15-year member of ELIA, wouldn’t have missed it for anything. This was our 20th ELIA event and it definitely won’t be the last! 

Though the event was held online, there were many opportunities to mingle with industry peers, schedule personal meetings and select a variety of sessions from two tracks. Personal branding, content marketing, email marketing, the importance of community among language professionals and many other topics of equal importance for languages companies and freelancers were covered. 

Thank you, ELIA, for a truly successful event. We look forward Elia Together 2023 which we hope will happen in person.

Once again, we attended ELIA’s event on Project Management. It was a really intense event featuring 4 days comprised of 4 virtual conference sessions lasting only half a day to allow the attendees to continue their day-to-day work at their respective companies. None of the many participants were dissuaded by this challenge, all of whom showed up ready to learn and share, including our company representative, Rasa Stalnionytė.

ELIA Focus PM brought project managers from around the world together online, creating a space where they could share their ideas, find new solutions and adopt new approaches to handling different situations that project managers face on a daily basis. A wide range of topics was covered, including:

-how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of business and the PM perspective on automation

- the evolving Project Manager role and how to become a new generation PM capable of embracing new challenges in a changing industry environment

- the importance of test translation and how to use it to win new clients

- understanding client needs and offering adapted solutions to create greater value for clients

and finally

- how our solutions and ideas can help make the world a better place

Most importantly, the Focus PM event is not about listening, but about interacting, identifying solutions and having fun together. All in all, this insightful event give participants food for thought and ideas they can apply in practice.

Thank you ELIA for one more great event!

The eleventh edition of the Nordic Translation & Interpretation Forum was held in beautiful Skepparholmen outside of Stockholm.

It was one of the very first language industry events to take place in person since before the start of the pandemic. Even though the initial plan of the organisers was to make this year a purely local, Swedish event, it attracted 87 attendees from 15 countries. This shows how eager our industry peers are to gather together, to learn and network live.

Our CEO, Asta Rusakeviciene, was also extremely happy to have the chance to meet old friends and make new connections.

Every language industry event has two crucial components: content and networking. In this case, both were covered to the highest extent (or at least, to the extent of an event lasting one and half days): enlightening presentations covered not only main industry trends but also (and most importantly) provided insights into the peculiarities of Nordic languages and markets – all hand in hand with active networking. The event was a great success!

We hope to meet again next year in person at the NTIF. The organisers hinted at the closing session that it might take place in Reykjavik!

While people complain about travel restrictions on Earth, the Meet Central Europe conference offered us the opportunity to “travel” to Mars. This virtual adventure on a Martian 3D world was hosted on the Confer-O-Matic platform.

The “trip” was worth it: we mingled with almost 400 attendees from 43 countries and 5 continents, met friends, made new connections and learned from very well selected, knowledgeable speakers.

The MCE conference is an event with a few unique features: it creates a unique “platform” for LSPs and freelancers to meet and start potential cooperation, features Central European languages and the players of this region and offers conference content focused mainly on vendor management, a topic that is not so widely covered by other industry events.

We are looking forward to the next Meet Central Europe and hope it will be an in-person event.

Once more the GALA conference connected us all virtually. The theme, “Envisioning a New Future for the Language Industry”, as well as a programme featuring two concurrent tracks, was full of insightful sessions. We especially enjoyed the fact that most of the presentations were organised as panel discussions because this format is particularly convenient for virtual events and keeps the audience engaged. All the presentations were live and followed by very active Q&A sessions. The best feature of the conference platform was the possibility to watch the sessions after they ended, which allowed us to follow both tracks.

We think that the programme committee did an extremely good job and it’s a shame that the number of attendees was not as large as we are used to seeing at GALA conferences. There are a few reasons for this, of course: a number of events happened the same week and the audience was divided between them. Hopefully, GALA learned this lesson and will choose the dates for its next event wisely; people are tired of virtual events and less and less enthusiastic about networking online.

That is why we are so looking forward to the next GALA conference happening in person in San Diego next April. Its programme committee has already started working and we are proud to announce that our CEO, Asta Rusakevičienė, is one of its members.

Finally, the Eulogia community, or at least part of it, was able gather in beautiful Croatia for its general meeting. Of course, the meeting was held as a hybrid event to allow all the members to participate.

It offered a few days of deep knowledge sharing, brainstorming for solutions to internal issues submitted by the member companies for common analysis followed by a debate on Eulogia’s future, a presentation of results by the working groups and definition of the directions these groups will embark on next. Furthermore, the board elections took place during this event and 5 new board members were called to lead our alliance for the next two years. We are proud to announce that our CEO Asta Rusakevičienė was elected Chairperson of Eulogia. Congratulations, Asta!

In an era of online events when organisers are going all out to keep attendees engaged with platforms capable of imitating real face-to-face interaction, EUATC went one step forward and invited us to meet in the virtual 3D world. After the event, the opinion of the delegates was almost unanimous – the experience was the closest possible substitute for an in-person meeting. In fact, the participants needed to practice navigating their avatars, finding the right place and being on time at the session without bumping into each other (or the avatars) :). However, flying from one place to another, meeting on the top of an airplane or dancing at a party added some extra fun and created lots of networking opportunities.

TMS is one of the most important company management tools, which means it is crucial for us to use it properly and be aware of its greatest functionalities to enhance our productivity and make informed decisions. The translation management tool we have used for more than 10 years is XTRF, so we weren’t going to miss the second edition of the XTRF Summit #online to keep abreast of its development. This event was called “Innovative approaches for the future of localization”, a theme that was well reflected in the presentations and discussion. The information we received, alongside networking opportunities with industry peers using the same TMS and the chance to learn from them, lead us to believe that the XTRF team will be inviting us to meet at a third productive Summit edition soon.

The GALA conference has always kicked off our spring season of language industry gatherings. Even though we were once again unable to meet in person, the GALAconnected virtual event was a solid event. Enlightening presentations, engaged participants and live networking let us feel again the power of the GALA community.

GALA’s face-to-face conference is planned for September 2021 and we are already looking forward to it.

ELIA is famous for organising focus events for different actors in the language industry. Its “Together” event aims to bring together freelance language professionals and language service companies for constructive dialogue and mutual growth.

Our vendor manager attended “Together” because we believe in the power and possibilities of strong relationships between freelance language professionals and language companies.

The three-day programme was quite impressive: communication, technology, ethics, recruitment and other important topics were discussed during the fifth edition of Together, not to mention networking, which was also crucial part of the event. We look forward to meeting again next year.

After a few years’ break we were able to attend Localization World, the largest localization industry event assembling both localization services customers and providers.

Exciting and engaging panels and insightful presentations gave us new energy to move forward in these strange times of uncertainty. The main takeaway from this two-day event: We are an industry that is impervious to crisis as we grow in multiple directions and constantly adapt. These encouraging thoughts reinforce our resilience and give us new impetus to embrace challenges.

ELIA’s event on Project Management is our project managers’ favourite event, since it is dedicated to honing the PM skills and attitudes that are required in today’s fast-paced, challenging and competitive landscape. In the four years leading up to now, one of our project managers travelled to a different city each year to attend this unique industry event. The fifth edition of this event was different, and not only because it was held virtually. This year the event’s extended format featured a 4-week programme with three hours of content per day, twice a week. Each week was dedicated to one topic covering the complex work of a project manager:  CAT tools master classes, key account management, vendor acquisition and retention, and finally the idea of technology automating and boosting our productivity.
Two project managers from our team, Edvinas Belevičius and Roberta Šareikaite, attended this event and were really impressed by the charismatic and knowledgeable speakers and active fellow participants. New insights from the event will be shared with our entire team. 
We will be sure not to miss ELIA’s next event on Project Management.  

For nearly 10 years, XTRF has facilitated our project management activities and helped to boost our productivity. It’s a tool we use every day, which is why it is important for us to keep up to speed with regards to system development and to know how to use its functions as efficiently as possible. To that end, we definitely could not miss the XTRF summit #online. We are really excited about the news we learned from the XTRF team: Chat and Business Barometer are new, amazing features that have been added to the system, which we will definitely implement into our daily routine as soon as possible and which, we are sure, will improve our productivity.
Thank you, XTRF team, for hosting this event. We are grateful to our industry peers who have shared their insights about the use of the system, its customisation possibilities and best practices.
The next XTRF summit has already been announced, and we registered for it without hesitation.

The 10th edition of the Nordic Translation Interpretation Forum took place virtually and instead of enjoying beautiful Reykjavik in person, we met our peers online. On one hand, the crowd was much more diverse and included not only Nordic and Baltic participants, but industry professionals from 28 countries. On the other, the event was shorter (only a few hours instead of the usual two days) and, of course, the virtual format prevented us from having in-person discussions over coffee or champagne. Despite these drawbacks, the event gave us “a shot of positive energy”. Two inspiring speakers, their thought-provoking questions and subsequent group discussions gave us new ideas to take away from the event. The forum motto “Don’t Refrain – Rethink” truly gave us a boost. We will wait for the #NTIF2021 which we hope will finally happen in Reykjavik. In the meanwhile, we will continue to rethink our new reality and find new ways to thrive in these volatile circumstances.

This year’s GALA conference, “The Language of Business. The Business of Language,” was replaced by a virtual version entitled GALAconnected. The coronavirus didn’t stop us from meeting peers, learning what is happening in the language sector or contributing to shaping our industry. This event was attended by more than 200 participants from over 30 countries. The fact that it was organised in Pacific daylight time didn’t keep us and many other participants from Europe and Asia from enjoying the event even though it meant long working hours. Thank you GALA for the great content and amazing networking possibilities.

It’s no surprise that this year’s ALC annual conference was held virtually, featuring three days of education, networking, and collaboration with the brightest minds in the LSC Community. Agile thinking, innovative solutions, best practices, forecasting the future – these were the themes covered and analysed in depth during the event. ALC’s promotional material promised to ensure the “full Conference Experience, virtually” and we would say that they almost kept that promise. The one minor difference was the coffee breaks, which were not so enjoyable without the opportunity to chat with industry friends face to face. :)

The 46th meeting of Eulogia, an alliance of hand-picked translation companies with just one member per language allowed to join, took place in Portsmouth. Membership in this alliance is something we take pride in. For twelve years, Diskusija has represented the Lithuanian language in this exclusive alliance, meeting our fellow Eulogia partners twice a year to share our expertise and inspire one another.

This is ELIA’s fourth event focused on project management. At Diskusija, we continue to attend these targeted events as this is a great opportunity for our project managers to meet their fellow colleagues from other language companies, to learn new tips and tricks for making their work more efficient and to feel part of a larger community of like-minded people.

The Meet Central Europe Conference took place in Prague. This event, targeting vendor management, was a great success! We want to thank the organisers for the energy they put into making it happen and the participants for inspiring and insightful talks or brief, but rewarding meetings. Our vendor manager Natalija enjoyed every moment.

We can't wait for the next meeting in Innsbruck.