July is a special month for us as, every summer, InText organizes Ukrainian Translation Industry Conference — a unique one-week open-air event in a pine forest reserve on the banks of the Samara River. We can now state confidently that this tradition has taken root: the 2020 conference was the fifth anniversary of the event, which we organize for translators, interpreters, editors, representatives of translation companies and translation technology developers to discuss trending topics, reflect on how to improve ourselves, share experiences, meet new people and hug old friends. And, of course, to relax, be inspired by the power of nature, and recharge our batteries.
Here at InText we know that only by working together, supporting each other and sharing ideas we can find new ways of achieving our goals. And that is why we take up the UTICamp challenge year after year.
This unique year threw up a lot of unusual challenges, ultimately motivating us to develop and improve. The conference attracted 96 participants in total - what a wonderful crowd it was! Our attendees came by train, bus and plane from all over the country. UTICamp-2020 also attracted some delegates from abroad: Gisela Grosselfinger Vogel arrived from sunny Mallorca, Sabina Jasinska from our neighbouring country Poland, and Leonid Glazychev and Yelena Glazychev made a transatlantic flight. A further 648 people joined UTICamp-2020 online, for which participation was completely free. We enhanced our online streaming so that our content could be watched on the conference website and on YouTube, Facebook and ProZ.TV! If you didn’t manage to catch live streaming, you can view any presentation on UTICamp YouTube channel — we’ve already posted all the videos!
UTICamp-2020 attendees
The conference program was really packed, with 63 speakers giving their presentations in the Summer Theatre and on the terrace this year. Some of them were speaking remotely, while others shared their experience in person in the outdoor auditorium. There were several conference streams: The Art of Translation, Interpretation, and Business and Translation Technology, as well as a new stream this year entitled Forest Mix, which included presentations on topics from related sectors of importance in our work - marketing, graphic design, psychology, philosophy, self-development and much more.
This year, we had 2 speakers from the InText team: Maksym Hamii, Head of the Translation Department, gave a speech on machine translation technologies and how we apply them in our work; and Iryna Vizir, Head of Marketing, presented a case study on creative design in preparing decorations for exhibitions and on working with our Art Director Oleg Ivanov.
Iryna Vizir, Head of Marketing at InText speaking with Oleg Ivanov, Art Director of InText
The content was delivered in real time: the majority of the presentations were streamed with simultaneous interpretation. A star team of 18 top simultaneous interpreters worked with us this year! Students were able to sit alongside them to better understand the interpretation environment and see how interpreters work.
The European Lviv Translation Competition student winners took part in the conference this time. This means UTICamp-2020 was also very "studenty". Hopefully, even more young talents will visit us next year!
Traditionally, creative workshops are offered to conference delegates and anyone else who wants to attend. The workshops were extremely popular this year: bag and dish painting, jewelry making, macramé and clay modelling.
UTICamp-2020 creative workshops
Meanwhile, young guests of the conference had their own, no less exciting program in the small summer theatre. The educators ran quests, set creative assignments, arranged sports activities, explained the basics of robotics and even held evening discos. The kids had absolutely no time to think about the adults, who were passionately discussing the future of the translation industry!
Our furry friends were not bored either — UTICamp-2020 was attended by the largest number of pets in its entire history! Our participants brought more than a dozen cats and dogs with them, while rabbits and the much-loved chickens grazed peacefully all around the campsite area during the presentations. Masha, our cockatoo, imitated the speakers, and forest creatures such as squirrels, hedgehogs and birds also occasionally displayed an interest in meeting the conference-goers.
Meanwhile, young guests of the conference had their own program
As it was very important for us that the conference participants not only learned something new and actively socialized with each other, but also enjoyed a real vacation, we put special emphasis on the culinary component of the conference. Delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners, exquisite buffets, vitamin juice breaks, fragrant coffee and original cocktails all provided our guests with energy for exchanging expertise and enjoying leisure activities. In addition, tasty treats beautifully complemented the genuine holiday atmosphere.
The evening concerts were definitely a special highlight of the conference. We were truly amazed at the talents of our participants! There were dozens of music and dance performances over the conference days, which received an overwhelming response and created a uniquely warm atmosphere. Both participants and guest artists performed each evening. Music was everywhere: on the main stage in the Summer Theatre, in the lounge area in the Pears room and around the fire at night.
Evening concerts mood
Fifteen thousand colorful photos were taken during the conference: all of them radiate the joy of meetings and will evoke the warmest feelings for many years to come. See the photo report of the event in these Facebook and Flickr albums.
The week-long holiday known as UTICamp-2020 is over but we feel a deep appreciation. We are grateful to our participants who believed in us so genuinely and thereby helped to motivate us. We thank Language Solutions Pro and Logrus IT, UTICamp-2020 sponsors, for their courage in supporting the conference. You can also contribute to the future of the conference by making a donation of any size here.
It’s always sad when a holiday comes to an end. But we know how to avoid this. Yes, we are starting to plan the next event! UTICamp-2021 will be held on 19—25 July at Meteorit campsite. You can pre-register here to pay the best price for your participation.
We have a year to prepare for taking it up to the next level. In the meantime, we’ll continue to meet in online webinars while building new plans in parallel. See you next year, friends!
See you at UTICamp-2021!
