We're thrilled to welcome Mr Ian Andersen, head of the Communication and Information Unit at the European Commission's Directorate General for Interpretation, to our outstanding line-up of speakers for this year's STC France Chapter Annual Conference in Paris on 2-3 February.

Mr Andersen will present a session on Saturday 3 February entitled "Communicating Europe in many languages: European Commission communication strategy and the challenge of multilingualism". He will describe how the Commission's Directorate General for Interpretation is addressing the challenge of going local, as the European Commission moves from stakeholder-oriented communication to direct interactive communication with European citizens at a moment when traditional forms of media are being supplanted or modified by or merged with electronic media. With political decision-making in Europe now taking place in 23 languages without any particular difficulties, M Andersen will explain how communicating simultaneously across a large number of languages, while certainly complex, is neither impossible nor prohibitively expensive.

Our conference theme, "Raising Our Profile," encapsulates STC France's commitment to helping you gain the skills necessary to achieve professional excellence and to raising the awareness of and demand for our profession in France and beyond.

With an extensive program that includes pre-conference workshops (on Friday 2nd February), an internationally recognized keynote speaker, numerous plenary presentations, interactive discussion sessions, and plenty of networking opportunities, this year's event will offer something for everyone.

Organized in conjunction with the STC Trans European Technical Communications Competition Awards Cocktail and STC France's 15th anniversary celebrations, this is an invaluable learning and networking opportunity for anyone working in the technical communication field or related disciplines in Europe, and one event that you simply cannot afford to miss!

Sign up now, and join us in Paris on 2-3 February for a great opportunity to develop your skills, forge new professional ties, and hear about the latest trends in technical communication.

Don't delay. Space is limited and places are filling up fast. Register today to secure your place.

Full descriptions of workshops and presentations, conference rates, and online registration form are available on our conference website at:

http://www.stcfrance.org/conference2007.

==> Special rates available for STC members, students, and individual members of INTECOM member societies and partner organisations <==

Speakers and Workshop Hosts:

KEYNOTE: Silvia Cambié is the President of the Europe/Middle East region of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). She is currently based in London and works as Director of Chanda Communications, a consultancy specialised in media & stakeholder relations and public affairs. Silvia has been a member of IABC for ten years and has held different leadership positions. She holds a degree in social sciences and business administration from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and speaks five languages. She is an accredited journalist and a certified coach.

Patrick Hofmann, is a world-renowned Visual Interaction Designer and has helped clients like Nokia, Motorola, Philips, FedEx, HP, BASF, and AGFA improve the usability of their products. He recently helped develop the post-graduate Information Design curriculum at CPIT in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Kim Schrantz-Berquist is a senior freelance Technical Writer and Trainer who has worked for a diverse range of companies including IBM, ICL, Alcatel, Clearstream bank and Manpower. She has 20+ years experience as a technical communicator and holds a B Sc. in Technical Writing in Engineering from the University of Washington.

Samina Arnoult is a freelance financial consultant and a board member of Paris Entreprendre, a networking group that supports freelancers and small businesses in France. She has helped hundreds of businesses get started and prosper.

Karen Baranich is the Manager for STC Competitions and Assistant to the Manager of the Instructional Design and Learning SIG (IDL), and is a frequent presenter at local, national, and international conferences. Karen has worked as education coordinator, researcher, commercial artist, fashion designer, and newspaper reporter, and holds degrees in fashion design, media art, instructional media, and educational psychology.

Linda Urban is an Instructor at the UC Berkeley Extension and UC Santa Cruz Extension, where she teaches classes in technical writing, developing online help, usability, and information architecture. As a consultant, Linda works on product usability, user interface design, Help systems, software and hardware documentation, and web-based information. Linda has a BA from the University of California at Berkeley and is a Senior Member of the STC, a member of UPA, SIGCHI, and the Information Architecture Institute. Her company is Linda Urban Communications, LLC.

Stuart Mudie is a freelance technical and marketing writer based in Paris, with over 10 years experience as a professional communicator. He has worked with a number of companies in the IT and Telecommunications sectors in such fields as mobility, web content management, and business intelligence. Stuart is co-author, with Derek Torres, of “The Unofficial Guide to Windows Vista” and is a contributor to Microsoft’s Windows Vista Expert Zone.

Ian Andersen is head of the Communication and Information Unit at the European Commission's Directorate General for Interpretation. He is active in a number of inter-service working groups on the Commission's internal and external communication strategy and runs pilot-programs encouraging staff to be ambassadors for the organisation. Ian worked for 15 years as a conference interpreter between Danish, English, French, Italian, Swedish and Norwegian, and as a trainer of Chinese interpreters. He holds an MA in Chinese studies and a BA in political science from the University of Copenhagen and has worked for Danish National Television and as a business consultant before joining the European Commission in 1986. He is a member of the Brussels chapter of the IABC and of the National Press Club of Denmark.

Half day workshops (Friday 2 February):

• Working Smart: Master your Authoring Skills
• Build a Strategy for Success
• Managing and Mentoring: Mastering Difficult Conversations
• Intuitive images: creating and evaluating usable graphics for international audiences
• Using Networks to Build Your Career
• Sharing Your Expertise: Putting Together a Presentation or Workshop

Conference Sessions (Saturday 3 February):

• KEYNOTE: Raising Our Profile
• Away with words: designing wordless instructions for international audiences
• Beyond Technical Communications: Moving from Technical Communicator to Author
• Paths to Success: Networking and Contributing (It's all about relationships)
• Communicating Europe in many languages: European Commission communication strategy and the challenge of multilingualism

GOLD SPONSOR

SUPPORTING SPONSOR