The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2018 - 31

the tools to do exactly that: a website,
mailing list, calendar, task page, and a
drive and document uploader to gather
their volunteers and work effectively. We
also offer members the entire Google G
Suite, which was donated to Translation
Commons due to its nonprofit status.
Currently, there are around 60 apps
available to all members.
Learn: The Learn module offers
a Learning Center, tutorials, skill
development programs, online courses,
and group webinars. Links to our free
resources (both online and offline)
are available in the Translation Hub.
These resources include terminology
databases and glossaries. Of course, this
is a work in progress and we ask for
everybody's help to upload links to any
free online resources to which they have
access (e.g., tips, insights, and guides).
We're also talking with proprietary
automation toolmakers that offer free
trials and asking them to add their links
in the Translation Hub. Finally, we've
inherited and are hosting the eCoLo
Project (electronic content localization),
which provides useful training materials
for both students and teachers to help
improve skills in different areas of
computer-assisted translation (e.g.,
translation memory, software localization,
project management, and terminology).
You'll also find multilingual material,
training kits, training scenarios, and
full courses on various translation and
localization techniques.

WORKING GROUPS
The working groups have been created
from within the community. We call our
groups Think Tanks because their mission
is to identify areas that need improvement
and the gaps that need to be filled.
Mentoring: This was the first Think
Tank to emerge from the original
LinkedIn group. There are some very
good mentoring programs available
through associations and other
organizations in the U.S. and Europe
(including ATA's program) that have
managed to capture the essence of
mentoring and have a great group of
people managing them. However, our
mentoring group conducted a global
www.atanet.org

By offering open source tools
and free trials to proprietary
applications, we hope to help
everyone increase their skill set
and knowledge of technology.

survey and found that many of the
freelance translators who responded were
unaware of existing mentoring programs
or didn't have a clear understanding
of how to get involved. Respondents
also stated that expectations and
responsibilities are issues of concern
when agreeing on mentoring on a oneon-one basis. After analyzing the survey
results, the mentoring group decided to
create guidelines for freelance mentors
who wish to take on freelance mentees.
Under the guidance of Nancy Matis,
an experienced project manager and
teacher, we now have a thriving group
that has written an extensive document,
"Mentoring Guidelines for Freelancers,"
which is currently available for download
from the Translation Commons website.
The group is also creating a list of
mentoring programs so that graduates
have somewhere to start their search
for mentors.
Technology: The Technology Think
Tank is an integral part of Translation
Commons. Our commitment to open
source resources allows us to make
language and the work of translators
a priority. Led by Mikel Forcada, a
professor of computer science in Alicante,
Spain, and with representatives from
other translation platforms that include
Apertium, Moses, Omega T, Mojito,
Okapi, and Translate5, the goal is to
catalogue all language-related open source
applications and facilitate their adoption.
Interpreting: The Interpreting Think
Tank is led by Barbara Werderitsch and
ATA Member Arturo Bobea, who have
created a very active LinkedIn group.
They conducted a survey on interpreters'
knowledge and use of technology and
are currently preparing the results. Their
reports on various technology providers
and new interpreting delivery platforms

are also available on the Translation
Commons website.
In addition to the working groups, we
also host and facilitate volunteer groups
that any member can create. Under the
expert guidance of Gabriella Laszlo,
who worked on Google's Localization
Operations and who now designs backend
workflows for Translation Commons,
we're able to offer collaborative volunteer
initiatives related to language.

VOLUNTEERS
Our volunteers are the heart and soul of
the Translation Commons community.
Their passion for language and expertise
in technology are the cornerstones of our
initiatives. Their commitment and clear
vision of the roadmap that our industry
needs to follow are a testament to the merit
of a united global language community.
We invite everyone to join and register
at www.translationcommons.org and to
participate in the LinkedIn groups. Do
you have an idea that would benefit the
community? Do you want to become a
mentor to the next generation of language
professionals? Do you want to share your
expertise, links, material, tutorials, or
articles? Are you part of a small initiative
and need more exposure? Then please
share your knowledge with all of us!
Remember, if you have any ideas and/
or suggestions regarding helpful
resources or tools you would like to see
featured, please e-mail Jost Zetzsche at
jzetzsche@internationalwriters.com.

Jeannette Stewart is a
co-founder of Translation
Commons. She has a BS
in business administration
and her early career was in
advertising and marketing. She
is the founder and former chief executive officer of
CommuniCare, a translation company specializing
in life sciences. She created a series of workshops
on language specialization and participates in
industry associations and at conferences as a
speaker and advocate for the language industry.
She writes articles on language community
initiatives for Multilingual Magazine. Contact:
jeannette@translationcommons.org.
American Translators Association

31
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ATA Chronicle - July/August 2018
