tcworld conference from November 7th to 8th in Wiesbaden

New topics attract more participants

In November this year, Wiesbaden will once again become the setting of a multi-cultural gathering of technical communicators, localization experts and information managers. With growing interest from international participants from an increasing number of professional fields, the tcworld conference will embark on new journeys and feature topics ranging from basic principles of technical writing to a broader look at information processes.

With participation exceeding 2400 in 2006, the tekom Annual Conference, tcworld conference and tekom Trade Fair have long become the world’s biggest international events for technical communication and information management. Together they cover the entire chain of information development from the creation of information to the preparation of specific product information for multiple markets and languages. Photo: The Wiesbaden Kurhaus is the cultural center of the state capital.

As the association for technical communication, tekom has been observing this vocational field for decades: “Technical writers are no longer mere editors”, says Ursula Wirtz, who has been involved in the organization of the tekom conferences for over five years. “Some of them have grown into information managers and have to learn to cope with a number of new tasks. In our conferences we try to take on these developments by continuously extending our program.”

This extension can not only be seen in the increasing number of topics that are discussed in lectures, plenary sessions, tutorials and workshops every autumn. With the broadening of the conference program, tekom has also been attracting new target groups from different industries, nationalities and corporate levels. “Communication and information management should be classified a management task. Therefore, we encourage managers to visit our conferences and we offer a wide range of topics for them”, Ursula Wirtz continues.

“Our formula for success is based on the right mixture of topics on basic principles and innovative subjects as well as the mixture of classical content with a look outside the box.” This broader perspective includes the cooperation with the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).

Integrated Information Management Forum
To offer an all-embracing view of the complete chain of information development, tekom presents a new forum this year: the Forum for Integrated Information Management. “Technical communication is broadening its horizons and expanding towards an integrated information process” explains Michael Fritz, managing director of tekom. “The new Forum for Integrated Information Management offers a common frame for the multitude of disciplines the information process encompasses.” tekom has invited experts from industry and science from a wide range of information disciplines. Business integration, localization management, integrated product development, communication performance management, product lifecycle management and international public relations are among the lecture topics. The new forum will host presentations in both German and English, however, tekom will offer an interpreting service for presentations held in German.

Localization Forum The Localization Forum will educate professionals on the most updated processes and technologies available in the language services and technology industry. The range of topics includes successful collaboration among vendors, improving localization processes with open standards, and new tools for translation automation and machine translation. Photo: The renovation of the spacious Rhein-Main-Hallen was completed late last year.

“We chose the GALA speakers, as well as all of the presenters within the localization forum track, for their progressive topics and veteran experience within the language services and technology industry,” said Matthias Caesar of Locatech GmbH, who is a GALA board member. Caesar organized the Localization Forum and selected the speakers with two GALA colleagues: Thomas Deibjerg of TLT Documents in Denmark, and Don DePalma of Common Sense Advisory and the GALA Advisory Council.
Some sessions within the track will build upon last year’s topics. Others will present new, challenging issues, such as the growth of the content management field and its impact on technical communicators and language providers.

Participants of last year’s event welcomed the cooperation between the localization and technical communication communities: "The tcworld conference was an important introduction to the mindset of German technical communicators”, says Kendra Gray of MultiLingual Computing. “The localization industry is such an integral part of technical communication, yet it seems to be invisible to so many in the field worldwide. By adding the localization track, tekom has provided a way for localization companies to be seen and heard."

OASIS Open Standards Day
The international non-profit organization is engaged with the continued development of publicly accessible e-business and web service standards. Some of the better known among these are the DITA, OpenDocument, Doc-Book, Open WebCGM and Xliff. The forum introduces the standards as well as opportunities for creating, editing and exchanging data. The main focus will be on the implementation and practical application of DITA. Other presentations will deal with standards such as OLIF, OAXAL, WebCGM and ebXML.

User Assistance Forum
The User Assistance Forum combines aspects of online help and usability. Topics include an overview of help systems (open source and proprietary), help authoring tools, user interface design as well as collaborative platforms such as wikis.

Exhibition
Once again this year’s exhibition will see a growth both in the number of exhibiting companies as well as in the amount of exhibiting space. A total of 150 exhibiting companies have made their booking for 2007, 43 out of which come from outside Germany. “We are pleased to welcome two Chinese exhibitors at this year’s tekom Trade Fair”, says Helga Allmaras who is organizing the exhibition. There is also an increased number of exhibitors from Eastern European countries such as Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic. GALA will once again sponsor the exhibit of nine international language service and technology providers and offer international activities on the trade show floor. With a large exhibition booth, Audi proves that the tekom Trade Fair has also become an attractive event for the automotive industry. At the request of many visitors of last year’s exhibition, tekom will also set up a bistro in the exhibition hall, where visitors can network while having a snack or a drink.

Social gatherings The bistro in the exhibition hall will also be the setting of two social events: On Tuesday evening tekom invites all participants to free beer and German pretzels at the welcome reception. The Rheingau get-together invites participants to enjoy traditional local wine while networking with old and new partners and colleagues. Photo: The Cistercian monastery Eberbach Abbey provided the setting for the famous movie „The Name of the Rose“.

In addition, tekom offers several evening events in and around Wiesbaden for an extra fee: Guided city walking tours on Wednesday and Thursday evening reveal some of Wiesbaden’s most impressive sights. Those who would like to see more of the area in and around the state capital can participate in a guided bus tour. You can also get a feel for Germany’s rich history during a visit to the Eberbach Abbey, a former Cistercian monastery built mainly between the 12th and 14th century. The monastery provided the setting for the famous movie “The Name of the Rose”.

The tcworld conference will take place on November 7th and 8th in the Rhein-Main-Hallen in Wiesbaden, Germany. For more information please visit www.tekom.de/conference