Blog Articles

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In this special edition, Spanish interpreter and Professor at the University of Buenos Aires, Marina Gaiteri, meets Remote Support team leader, Ana Brkan, in our latest episode of Interprefiers Take The Floor. We unpack the importance of language sensitivity and how to deal with event stress during multilingual conferences.

For nearly two years now event and meeting organisers worldwide have been trying out new and creative ways to take their gatherings online and embraced change and adaptation like never before.

Most events are, at their core, about connecting people with a shared, valuable experience. From roaring fans at a sold-out stadium to an intimate poetry reading, to an industry-shaping business conference — all attendees are sharing in an experience that’s meaningful for them.

As technology develops, it gives us new ways to create, shape and access these shared experiences. After all, technology has been an integral part of events from the very beginning. Microphones amplified speakers and performers; video broadcasts allowed people around the world to watch events; the internet took accessibility even further and allowed for new degrees of communication and interactivity from attendees.

The "metaverse” is the next technological advancement making waves in the events sphere.

Thanks to modern technologies, it’s easier than ever for businesses to deliver meetings, webinars, and events via the internet. While the move toward virtual and hybrid events meetings was accelerated due to COVID-19 lockdowns and safety concerns, businesses have embraced the opportunity to reach larger and more distant audiences online.

But businesses need to balance these benefits with new risks and threats. This is especially true today, when virtual and hybrid events are reaching maturity and the initial novelty around the format has given way to clearer measures for performance. As organisations are responsible for safeguarding a huge amount of attendee and speaker data, cybersecurity is a crucial concern for online event managers. Depending on their objectives, hackers may attempt to steal your business data, attendee personal and payment data, or they may seek to spread malware to attendee devices.

Robust cybersecurity is key to minimising these risks and protecting your reputation, along with your audience’s data. For organisations, another concern is complying with strict data privacy regulations like GDPR in the EU or American state-specific laws like the CCPA in California. Failure to meet GDPR compliance, for instance, can cost €20 million or up to 4% of annual global turnover.

While Interprefy isn’t a data security company, we are ISO 27001 certified and our Information Security Management Systems is aligned with standards in the area of data security and recommended best practices. Drawing from our expertise and experience with online and hybrid events, we’ve put together a checklist for organisations looking to improve their event cybersecurity. Let’s dive in.

Many consider Cleopatra to be the first recorded event planner in history. She knew the value of bringing people together for celebrations, announcements, and other occasions. Famously, she turned meeting Roman general Mark Antony into a fabulous event. Cleopatra entered the meeting floating down the Nile on the ancient equivalent of a luxury yacht — while dressed as the goddess Venus. Talk about making an entrance.

Cleopatra’s goal for meeting Mark Antony was clear: she wanted to form a close connection with him. The result of her event? Her dynasty got to live on for another day. From seasonal festivals to the modern New Year’s party, events have retained the same underlying goal: to build connections and bring people together for a shared experience.

While the goal of events hasn’t changed, the significant investment required to create modern business events means that there is more at stake. This is especially the case today, with a vast array of technological tools facilitating many parts of event management.

Hybrid and virtual events take this that much farther, as many (if not all) attendees experience the event through their devices. Along with being accessed via devices, online events can be joined from nearly anywhere on the globe. This presents businesses with the opportunity to reach audiences at scale. But is reaching the largest possible audience a sign of a successful event? Some businesses certainly benefit from hosting smaller events that lead to deeper connections and more meaningful networking experiences.

With so many changing factors and business models at play, let’s consider how event “success” has evolved to meet the contemporary business environment.

The appetite for virtual events does not seem to slow down. According to marketwatch.com the year-over-year growth rate for the global virtual events market for 2021 is estimated at 40.37%" by the end of 2025.

And even as in-person events slowly begin to return, offering two entry points - a virtual experience and a on-site experience - is increasingly becoming an added value many event organisers don't want to miss out on. The undisputed, yet largely untapped potential of hybrid events means organisers will continue to look for best-of-breed cloud-based event technology to deliver stunning event experiences to remote attendees beyond the pandemic.

The International Organisation for Standarisation (ISO) defines interpreting as "rendering of spoken or signed information from a source language to a target language in oral or signed form, conveying both the register and meaning of the source language content". Add "remote" to this definition and it then seems obvious that we are referring to the act of interpreting in the distance. In this context, remote interpretation services enable spoken or signed communication to take place when interpreters and participants are not in the same physical location, but, is there only one way of doing it? and, where is it used?

Conferences and events are integral parts of doing business in today's world. Even with the rise of technologies that make virtual gatherings possible, we all feel a longing for a good, old-fashioned face-to-face get-together where we can connect with our peers, enjoy great content.

Conference interpreting hasn't changed much since 1945 - but it has definitely undergone a seismic shift since 2020. With the majority of events being canceled or moved online because of social distancing, interpreters had to adapt quickly to not miss out on interpreting opportunities. Fortunately, Remote Simultaneous Interpretation technology already existed and those who adopted the technology could resume work successfully.