The American Translators Association (ATA) held its 59th annual conference October 24-27, 2018, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The meeting drew 1,340 attendees from 50 countries.

The ATA Annual Conference offers translators, interpreters, company owners, project managers, educators, students and others in the language services industry a chance to learn and network. It is the largest annual translation and interpreting gathering in the United States.

First-time attendees get a “first-time” ribbon to attach to their badges. This is an invitation for veteran attendees to make the first-timers feel welcome. In addition, first-time attendees can be paired up with veterans at the opening session called “Buddies Welcome Newbies.” The veterans then share their insights and provide a familiar face for the first-timers as they work their way through the four-day event.

The core of the conference is, of course, the three days of educational sessions: 170-plus sessions covering 29 areas of specialization and languages. Sessions cater to a variety of backgrounds, with the skill level running from beginner to advanced.

In addition to the professional development opportunities, the conference offers chances to network. This year, ATA added a second night of the popular Job Fair, which brought together over 30 language services companies and hundreds of translators and interpreters.

Throughout the conference, the exhibit hall was humming with 66 booths featuring tool providers, language services companies, government agencies and schools.