#surreyhalf

MERCER Surrey Half 2019

Here at Grayscale Translations, we consistently find ways to pursue our passions, take on new challenges and push ourselves beyond our limits. Our Director and Senior Translator Fiona Gray looks back at her experiences at the Elia Together conference in Berlin in February and is reminded of her running achievements at the Surrey Half Marathon exactly a year ago.

My plans to attend Elia Together 2017 stem all the way back to when I first founded Grayscale Translations Limited in September last year. I had heard such glowing reviews about the 2016 event in Barcelona and it was an added bonus that Berlin – only my favourite city in the world – would provide the backdrop for the second edition of the conference. However, I was also fully aware that attending an event of this scale for the first time in my career would require me to step well out of my comfort zone.

As February steadily approached, that mixed feeling of excitement and nerves took me back to this time last year when I was counting down the days to running my first-ever half marathon, the Surrey Half in Woking. The strategy I deployed in the run-up to both events was fundamentally the same, revolving around the mantra “Preparation is key”. After all, as they say, “Failing to plan is planning to fail”. In between hill sprints, interval training and carb-loading, I studied the route and planned my timings before the big race. Fast forward a year and I was poring over the programme for Elia Together, carefully deciding which of the fascinating talks I wanted to attend and scheduling in meetings with fellow freelancers and language company representatives.

It was finally time to head to the starting line at the Mercure Hotel MOA in Berlin for Elia Together, where I was immediately put at ease by the sight of the coffee table and some familiar translator faces. My experience had been much the same during the build-up on the morning of the half marathon, when I was greeted with smiles and encouragement from the members of my local running club.

Back in Berlin, the starting pistol was fired as the organising committee and sponsors kicked off proceedings with the welcome session. We were off to a positive start and the inspirational messages starting flowing right away, with calls for more collaborative workflows within the industry. The theme of this year’s Together event was “Communicating for Success”, which Balázs Kis captured perfectly in his keynote speech on communication and the “noise” that can so easily stop us from getting our message across.

I stormed ahead for the first few miles, attending a number of truly inspirational talks with a focus on collaborative approaches. In much the same way that I was motivated by other runners along the route to keep going during the half marathon, at Elia Together I felt inspired by the speakers revealing their partnerships, business models and ways of working. Galina Green and Paula Hedley stressed that “cooperation is always more powerful than competition” – a sentiment I could not agree with more as far as both the translation industry and running community are concerned.

As we were approaching the halfway point, my feet were beginning to hurt and I don’t know which was worse – walking in the heels purchased as part of my new conference wardrobe for many hours or pounding the pavement for several miles! Rounding off the first day, the Together Fair provided a fantastic opportunity to meet face-to-face with language service companies and discuss potential future working relationships. This led us in nicely to the Networking Dinner and Disco, which was an incredibly fun evening held at Wasserwerk Berlin, a breathtakingly unique and impressive venue. The chance to get to know people better over a glass of wine and some dancing should not be underestimated and after a busy day everyone had more than earned it.

Following on from the euphoria and enjoyment of those couple of miles just beyond halfway, it was time to get back to work on the second day of the conference. Cue another handful of engaging talks, with my personal favourite being an insight into the business side of things delivered with humour by Richard Brooks. His advice to monetise your passion is certainly something I will be taking on board along with Rosie Robbins’ warning to not be “vanilla” during her informative session offering tricks and tips on content strategy.

Before I knew it, I was breaking into that all-important sprint over the finish line, as the event organisers gathered on stage for the recap and closing ceremony to much applause. Elia Together was exceptionally well organised and it is so important to remember that such events wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of the committee. Us attendees all deserve a pat on the back too, mind you – we played a huge part in creating the positive atmosphere and social media buzz, continuing the discussion and exchange, and demonstrating the collaborative spirit at the very heart of Elia Together.

As I walked (OK, hobbled) away from Elia Together and the Surrey Half Marathon, I felt an undeniably satisfying sense of achievement. I couldn’t quite process all that I had learnt about the world of translation, or running, and about myself right away, but I knew that I had been right not to have missed either event. Time to put my feet up and start planning for next challenge ahead…