On Round Tables

Round table artwork in modern art gallery at Beaubourg

A wall of neon signs flash "open" in numerous languages as you enter the main modern art gallery at the Centre Georges Pompidou. There is a large, round wooden table just inside the entrance. Round tables hold an important place in open negotiations and in international peace.

Neon "open" signs in different languages at gallery entrance

Furniture as artwork

The unusual table drew this carpenter's daughter in for a closer look. Furniture presented as artwork is perhaps more unexpected to others. The round table concept is also very familiar to me. I grew up near Glastonbury in Somerset. Glastonbury is reputed to be King Arthur's legendary Avalon. The idea of a round table is that it can have no head. There is a no preferential seating order, because there is no head of the table to sit near. Everyone seated at a round table is considered an equal.

Round table trend

I have attended a number of events using the round table format during the past year. The Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) used it at the London Language Show in late 2014. The same format was used successfully by UKTI at their recent Big Data event in Paris. It was also used at the FinTech Assembly in London in late February 2015.

Advantages

The advantage of the round table approach is that everyone gets an opportunity to speak. Less confident participants can feel more comfortable to speak in the more informal setting. You are also more likely to identify the right potential partners for your business. The approach lends itself to better networking and after event follow-ups.

Round table artwork

The table in the modern art gallery is elevated from the floor. Maybe this signifies that it is intended for those in elevated positions? There are words carved into table's centre. With my feet firmly on the floor as an ordinary citizen, I couldn't get the necessary height to read them. It seemed odd that the chairs were embedded in the table. I couldn't find any explanation of the piece. Nor could I find details on its maker. I noticed that the chairs at the table were not all the same. Not equal. Some were larger and stronger than others. Some seemed slightly crooked. One looked as if it might crack under any weight.

Equal?

Even if seated at a round table, all parties in a negotiation are rarely equal. In international negotiations, the more dominant personalities and stronger nations should allow alternative views to be heard.

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is
an entrepreneurial
French to English
translator, editor,
content writer and
marketing consultant. 

Contact: karen@anglicity.com 
for further information 
on Anglicity's services.

 

Big Data with UKTI in France

UKTI event at the Residence of the British Ambassador in Paris

On 19^th March, I attended a very informative event at the Residence of the British Ambassador in Paris entitled:

 "How Big Data and Analytics are Energising Economic Growth - Accelerating Innovation, Building Trust, Powering Performance".

UKTI's Lyon-based team planned the programme to explore the business, social and technical challenges created by Big Data and analytics.

Sir Peter Ricketts, the British Ambassador to France, opened the day's proceedings and underlined how both Britain and France are at the forefront in the field.

The day comprised of 4 panel discussions in the morning and a series of roundtables in the afternoon. The event was very successfully chaired by David Reed of DataIQ and involved a well-selected blend of knowledgeable UK and French panel speakers and roundtable hosts.

The 4V's

In his introduction, David Reed referred to the 4V's of Big Data:

·      Velocity

·      Volume

·      Variety

·      Veracity

He stressed the pace of change and the importance of unlocking the value in data. Unstructured data is of no value whatsoever. We need to work out how to structure it. A new skillset will be required.

Female caution

There were many knowledgeable female panellists. It was generally the women who raised the main notes of caution and ethics in this new Big Data "gold rush".

The event covered so much ground that it is impossible to do the subject justice in a single blog. My main takeaways are summarised below:

1. Infrastructure will be key

Structuring huge amounts of data will be power-hungry. 

2. Doubts over ability of mature cities to expand

Global Switch datacenters commented that most mature cities are struggling with ageing infrastructures. No additional capacity in London; tough situation in Paris. You need a window of 3-5 years to get a reliable new electricity supply. (Major financial centres cannot afford to lose even a day's trading or want to risk resorting to back-up systems).

3. Structuring data

Data needs to be structured and segmented to unlock value for different demographics, locations and requirements.

4. Right "TechCity" location

Four key factors:

(i) TechCities need to be sited near universities producing graduates with the right skills from data science courses with very current industry relevance.

(ii) Access to local staff with technical know-how (examples of Barcelona, Toulouse and Montpellier given).

(iii) A supportive local Government

(iv) Must meet demanding bandwidth requirements (rural areas should not be excluded. Reverse of UK trend to live in countryside in France).

4. Verifiable identity and privacy

The ability currently exists to identify more than 50% of the world's population. It was suggested that identifying the remaining 50% could be achieved within 5 years. Accessed via worldwide agreements, but dangers and concerns exist over privacy.

5. Consumer at the heart of regulation 

Concern for the consumer needs to be at the heart of regulation. Only the right people should have access to given data. Access rights need careful segmentation.

6. Standards and good governance

Standards are important - ISO/IEC 27001: Information security management.

Significant numbers of organisations are simply not doing enough on security protocols.

7. Data security breaches

US requires that data security breaches are reported within 72 hours. Most companies do not realise that they have been attacked for 200 days. The average cybercriminal only needs one day to succeed. In 69% of cases, a cyberattack is detected by third parties - usually the customer with a fraud on his account.

8. Hacking of health and medical data

Major and powerful pharmaceutical companies are very keen to access data relating to medicines. There is a major concern about the security of medical data. Credit card details can be changed. Medical data cannot be changed if hacked. French example given of hacked blood tests with extortion demands. 

9. Potential role of innovation centres

Example of TUBA in Lyon to capture local ideas. Aim for a bottom-up rather than top-down approach. Success of the Lyon scheme should be unveiled in October 2015.

10. SMEs for innovation

There is concern over private sector involvement in research. Often findings do not make it into the public domain. Innovation needs to happen with SMEs. Is FrenchTech competitive approach one to be copied? Tech clusters already exist around the UK.

What next?

UKTI hopes to build a UK/French collaborative business campaign around the Information Economy. Plans are already afoot in Big Data and IoT. The new Eurostars scheme may offer French and British SMEs opportunities to collaborate.

If you would appreciate help with your technical communications, email karen@anglicity.com or call Karen on +44 (0)20 8581 9369.

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is a

technical writer and 

translator with over

15 years' marketing

experience. Anglicity offers

marketing consultancy and

content marketing with a 

particular focus on innovation.

UKTI's Positive Signs for Export Success

As a project manager, I always believed in acknowledging improvements as well as highlighting any issues. A few years ago I remember approaching the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) desk at a trade show. The attitude was that irritatingly prevalent one in Britain that "everyone speaks English". They seemed to see languages as the FCO's job, somehow divorced from export issues. Lately, I have noticed some dramatic improvements at UKTI.

Language and Culture

Firstly, at the 2014 London Language Show, UKTI had a Language and Culture Adviser on the stand. He had studied the Chinese language and culture in the UK and China. It was a new appointment. It is a welcome change in attitude and direction.

Web optimisation

Last year, I also attended an excellent UKTI seminar on web optimisation for international trade. Our trainer was very knowledgeable. It was particularly impressive that she had reviewed every participant's website in advance. She had some valuable recommendations.

Introductory brochure

UKTI also has a very professional-looking and helpful brochure for exporters. It is entitled "Improving your business communications". The subtitle is "Overcoming language and cultural barriers in business: a guide for exporters". It offers a good introduction to export issues. It has sections on languages, translation, interpreting, handling international enquiries and language training.

Professional associations

I am glad that UKTI refers exporters to professional translation and interpreting associations in their brochure. They name the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIoL) and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI). Both are associations of which I am a Member and Career Affiliate respectively. My one complaint is that the brochure's pricing is based on outdated estimates in 2012.  The brochure was printed in 2013. Hopefully, there will be an update and reprint for 2015.

Freelancers and SMEs

According to a 2012 US Bureau of Statistics' report, the translation industry is expected to grow 42% between 2010-2020. The UK is outstripping the Eurozone growth average. The IMF forecasts UK growth of 2.7% in 2015. UKTI is keen to encourage more SMEs to export. Freelance translators are far more able to help small businesses than larger, more inflexible agencies. Training, standards and associations are improving the image, visibility and reputation of the profession.

Professional rate increase

Sectors in high demand can command higher rates to deliver the increased level of services required by exporters. I would argue that the translation profession has a very strong case here for a major increase in professional rates, even outstripping trends elsewhere. A strong profession will have even greater influence on export success.

UKTI events

In the January/February 2015 issue of ITI's Bulletin magazine, there was an article on a UKTI market visit for SMEs to Germany. I will visit France for a UKTI-backed event in 2015. I have also discovered that UKTI runs some very informative webinars.  I recommend that you sign up to UKTI's mailing list. You will get advance notice of regional, in-country and online events related to your target markets.

From this former project manager: well done UKTI, onward and upward please.

Karen Andrews runs Anglicity Ltd. 

She is an entrepreneurial French to 

English translator, content writer, 

editor and marketing consultant.

Email karen@anglicity.com 

for further information 

on Anglicity's translation

and content services.