On 15th October, the ITI East Anglia Network met in Norwich for our AGM. We met in the private dining room of the incredible YALM food hall in Norwich’s Royal Arcade, which meant that we also got to enjoy lunch together once the formal proceedings were over.
The first ITI East Anglia event I attended was last year’s AGM in Ely. Back then, I was just a new member but I left last year’s meeting so impressed by our local ITI community that I decided to volunteer on the committee when the chance to become website coordinator came up earlier this year. So, this year’s event was the first time I had a glimpse into all the behind-the-scenes organisation that goes into an AGM.
We are incredibly lucky to have a strong committee in East Anglia—made up of an events coordinator, outreach coordinator, social media and website coordinators and two co-chairs who also act as treasurer and secretary—so the workload of preparing the various reports was quite evenly spread. However, extra props must go to our events coordinator Katy Bryce for organising such a great venue and event!
Our reports showed that, while the turbulence within our industry is inevitably affecting some parts of our network, we are working hard to combat this with plenty of outreach work and events with the two universities within our region as well as a big push on our LinkedIn page and website. Our network is also very active and regularly hosts guest speakers on a wide range of topics relevant to our work. The hope is that we can line up some great talks for the year ahead. Attendees had the chance to suggest ideas for upcoming chat topics and event speakers. There was also talk of a potential wellness workshop in the new year, including tips on how to breathe!
Once we had wrapped up all the matters on the agenda, talk turned to the now-traditional topics of AI, how we use it or try to avoid it, and whether the bubble is going to burst or not. One of the many benefits of being part of an ITI network is remembering that you are not alone in the struggles of being a translator in this climate. Chatting to others in the same boat helps to relieve some of the pressure we may feel and is a great way of boasting morale if you’re in a bit of a slump.
Autumn often feels like a time to refresh with the start of the new school year, and so too, our AGM was a lovely opportunity to reflect on the success of the past year and look forward to exciting things ahead. And who can resist a chance to get out of the house, chat with other like-minded translators and enjoy some delicious food as well? If you are interested in joining us for one of our upcoming events, please get in touch via our Join Us page!
Post written by Beth Skinner