Globalization and Localization Association

2017 Annual Report

2 GALA ANNUAL REPORT 2017

Message to Our MembersDear Members,

For GALA, 2017 was defined by increased member engagement in our core programs and investment in the association’s development. Meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse membership led to more diverse topic coverage, and we were pleased that participation grew significantly in our online and in-person activities.

Mature programs like the annual conference, webinar series, and web platform saw continued growth. We made it easier for members to find helpful resources and to connect with one another around topics important to our sector. New programs such as the TAPICC initiative and collaborations with partner organizations began gaining momentum with measurable progress made in both areas.

This annual report highlights our activities during GALA’s 2017 fiscal year, which ended 31 December 2017. The board and staff are proud of the association’s accomplishments and are grateful to the more than 200 volunteers from around the globe and across the industry who donated their time and talent to support GALA’s mission and vision throughout the year.

Looking ahead to 2018, GALA is committed to delivering a high-value membership experience to your companies and team members. Together, with continued member support and involvement, we will work to drive industry progress and advance the goals of the association and its members.

Best regards,

Laura BrandonExecutive Director

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MembershipMEMBERSHIP BY THE NUMBERS

NEW MEMBERS IN 2017

3% Academic, non-profit & govt organizations22% Client (non-LSP) companies1% Technology developers75% Language services vendors

385 Member

companies

79% Member

renewal rate

202 Volunteers

3,645 member

web users

40Client (non-LSP)

members

15 Technology developers

321 Language services

companies

9 Academic,

non-profit & govt members

22%

3%

1%

75%

106

GALA MEMBERS WORLDWIDE

1% Africa13% Asia< 1% Central America49% Europe

2% Middle East28% North America1% Oceania6% South America

4 GALA ANNUAL REPORT 2017

Professional DevelopmentGALA provides opportunities for professionals to advance their expertise, skills, and knowledge. Our annual conference delivers a forum for meaningful in-person exchange with peers and industry leaders. Our live webinar series and on-demand archives of presentations and videos provide members with relevant content, important insights, and opportunities for professional growth.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE(GALA 2017 AMSTERDAM)

2350Stroopwafels

42% Top executives

308Organizations

55 Speakers

40 Educational

sessions

33 Sponsors and

exhibitors

82% First-time GALA

speakers

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MEMBER PUBLICATIONS IN 2017

GALA-GLOBAL.ORG IN 2017

78Blogs and

articles

99Jobs

172Member press

releases

TOP 5

WEB RESOURCESON GALA-GLOBAL.ORG

(*after Wikipedia)

Top* placement in Google for keyword “localization”

First page in Google for keyword “localization jobs”

1. Member Directory

2. Translation and Localization Industry Facts and Data

3. Job board

4. “What is Localization” page

5. “What is Translation” page

GALA WEBINARS IN 2017

32Webinars

46Presenters

3834webinar

registrations(3275 in 2016)

66%of GALA members

registered for at least one webinar

in 2017 (60% in 2016)

1496individual

registrants(1272 in 2016)

102companies had 10+

webinar registrations in 2017

(85 companiesin 2016)

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TAPICC Initiative

The Translation API Cases and Classes initiative is a collaborative, community-driven, open-source project to advance API standards for multilingual content delivery. The overall purpose of this initiative is to provide a metadata and API framework on which users can base their integration, automation, and interoperability efforts.

In 2017, GALA launched the initiative with a corps of volunteers participating in four working groups addressing elements of supply chain automation. In 2018, we’ll launch Track 2, focusing on the transfer of localizable content on the segment or unit level.

GET INVOLVED! Join TAPICC on GALA Connect: www.gala-global.org/tapicc-group

212 Members of

TAPICC on GALA Connect

37WG1

Members

31 WG2

Members

31 WG3

Members

44 WG4

Members

CMS

TMSDMS

ERPQA

MT

PIM

Track 1: Supply chain automation

Track 2: Transfer of localizable content on a segment or unit level

Track 3: Enrichment of localizable content

Track 4: In-layout translation

(Four working groups launched in August 2017)

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Events & PartnersINDUSTRY EVENTSParticipating at industry and allied-industry events allows GALA to introduce our sector to new audiences and provide a deeper understanding to those already familiar with it.

Partner Events in 2017 ● JNCL-NCLIS Language Advocacy Day ● tcworld India ● ABRATES 8 ● ALSP Annual Congress 2017 ● GALA Localization Forum at tekom 2017 ● ATA 58 ● Localization World Silicon Valley ● LavaCon Portland ● Gilbane Digital Content Conference ● Seattle Localization User Group (SLUG)

GALA Local Networking Events in 2017 ● Barcelona ● Beijing ● Cairo ● Dublin ● Seattle ● Silicon Valley ● Tokyo

PARTNER PROGRAMIn 2017 we continued the GALA Partner Program, designed to streamline and highlight GALA’s collaborations with a wide variety of organizations. We currently have 20 active partnerships with allied organizations.

Partnerships are structured to provide mutual support to advance the goals of both organizations and to benefit our members and audiences.

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Community ProgramsGALA is dedicated to building a community where networking and collaboration can thrive. To foster idea exchange and help industry professionals connect with one another, we host events, facilitate community groups, and provide forums for discussion about topics of importance to our sector.

SCHOLARSHIP CONTESTThe Rising Star Scholarship Contest is an opportunity for students in translation, localization, and interpreting programs around the world to participate in GALA’s annual conference. In 2017, we awarded two scholarships to students on the basis of their winning essays.

2017 Rising Star Winners1. Marion Hernandez, Master’s Degree in Translation Studies at the

University of Geneva (Switzerland)2. Sijing Yu, Master’s Degree in Translation and Localization Management

from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (USA)

GALA ON SOCIAL MEDIA

10,467Twitter

followers

5,983 Facebook

likes

2,745 LinkedIn group

members

GALA FILM FESTA fun and entertaining tradition, the GALA Film Fest enables teams to showcase their humor and hard work through short videos. The contest brings out good-natured competition and a sense of camaraderie among industry professionals and companies.

2017 Film Fest Winner: Diskusija (Lithuania)

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New GALA Resources

MEMBER SAVINGS OFFERSIt pays to be a GALA member! Members have the chance to save on advertising, events, memberships, software, and more. We had 44 special offers to members in 2017.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING DIRECTORYThe “EDU Directory” was upgraded in 2017 through a collaboration with the American Translators Association (ATA). Institutional members of ATA, numbering in the dozens, were added to the directory featuring training programs and education for our sector.

TOP RESOURCES BY TOPICIn 2017, we published GALA’s “Top Resources”: collections by topic that facilitate easy access to our most popular articles and video resources. Selections were based on webinar reviews and conference session evaluations.

INTRODUCTION TO BEST PRACTICES IN DATA-DRIVEN GLOBALIZATION WHITEPAPER The translation and localization sector must gather, analyze, and validate data to support corporate go-to-market strategies. This whitepaper offered an overview of data-driven globalization and the factors that support ROI discussions with the C-suite. CLIENT SPECIAL

INTEREST GROUPThe Client Special Interest Group (SIG) is a private group on GALA Connect. The group features moderated, bimonthly teleconferences that are only open to professionals from buy-side organizations, associations, non-profits, and government agencies.

In 2017 the Client SIG hosted five teleconferences with participation from 35 individuals, plus an unconference session at GALA 2017 Amsterdam with 17 participants.

GALA CONNECTGALA’s community platform was fairly quiet in 2017 but played a critical role in the TAPICC initiative and the Client SIG, proving that it is a valuable resource for connecting professionals around specific topics.

#LOVEYOURLINGUIST CAMPAIGNCelebrated on International Translation Day, GALA put the spotlight on our industry’s linguists and encouraged members to share their appreciation. The campaign received broad support, with many members and non-members sharing GALA’s content and embracing the celebration.

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TOP REASONS WHY COMPANIES ARE MEMBERS OF GALA:1. Access to industry information, trends, and professional development2. Standards and industry initiatives3. Opportunities to promote my organization and sell my services/products4. Finding suppliers, linguistic resources, and new technologies5. To support the industry (“for the greater good”)

50% will definitely

renew

45%will likely

renew4%

will likely not renew

1% I don’tknow

HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO RENEW YOUR GALA MEMBERSHIP?

Annual Member Survey Highlights

QUOTES FROM ANNUAL SURVEY

“Our organization is a member of GALA to keep up-to-date with industry trends and

technology.”

“We feel part of the global community; we think networking

with other GALA members is important; we actively use the

resources and learn about the best practices in the industry.”

“We appreciate the efforts made by GALA to bring the language

industry together, appealing to a global market and managing to

enhance the collaborative feeling of the industry.”

“Through GALA we now have a network of

trusted suppliers across the world.”

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FinancialsGALA experienced growth in 2017, with membership growing 9% and the annual conference welcoming our largest audience to date. GALA membership dues, conference registrations, advertising, sponsorships, and paid webinar participation all support the programming that we develop on behalf of the membership.

2017 EXPENSES KEYConference: Annual GALA conferenceMembership: Member communications, web platform, customer service, and join, lapse, renew activitiesPrograms: GALA Connect, onDemand, content development, publications, TAPICC, and SIG supportPromo: External events, travel, promotions, and recruiting efforts

58%

38%

2%

53%

20%

16%

12%2%

2017 REVENUES

$989,225 $1,021,229

2017 EXPENSES

58% Conference38% Membership2% Advertising2% onDemand

53% Conference20% Membership16% Programs12% Promo

GALA Volunteer Leadership and Staff2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORSJesper Sandberg (Chair)Sandberg Translation Partners Limited, United Kingdom

Klaus Fleischmann (Vice Chair)Kaleidoscope GmbH, Austria

Sabina Jasinska (Secretary)Donnelley Language Solutions, Poland

Wafaa Mohiy (Treasurer)Saudisoft, Egypt

Tea Dietterich (Ambassador Affairs Liaison)2M Language Services, Australia & France

Pedro Gomez (2018 Conference Program Committee Liaison)Microsoft Corporation, USA

George Zhao (Membership Liaison)Boffin Language Group Inc., Canada

2017 AMBASSADORSSerge Gladkoff (TAPICC)Logrus Global, United States

Biraj Rath (India)Braahmam Net Solutions, India

Joël Sigling (Talent/Education)AVB Language Group, Netherlands

STAFFLaura Brandon, Executive DirectorAllison Ferch, Programs DirectorManuela Noske, Communications ManagerAlicia Deadrick, Membership ManagerJessica DiPietro, Membership & Data Coordinator

Globalization and Localization Association4000 NE 41st St., Suite 201Seattle, WA 98105USA www.gala-global.org