Too often, these three sectors don't communicate very well with each other. However, they all need each other. The U.S. Government commissions large amounts of translation both into and out of English, for various purposes and audiences. In the government sector, requesters and providers of translation services are often in the same organization, but that is not always the case, as evidenced by the creation of the National Virtual Translation Center. Private industry needs very substantial amounts of translation, often to support international business activities. Here requester and provider are very often different organizations, except in the case of in-house translation departments. But even then, some translation is provided by outside contractors, either translation companies or freelance translators. Academia engages in translation studies and translator education, while both government and private industry need qualified translators. Academia applies theory to real-world problems and needs to match the educational content of their programs to the requirements of potential employers. By the same token, government and private industry are faced with the challenge of obtaining translations that satisfy the expectations of their audiences. A clear understanding of quality, which is not an absolute measure that applies uniformly to all translation projects, is of concern to all stakeholders, particularly the American Translators Association. In response to this concern, a national standard for quality assurance in translation has been under development for several years and is nearing completion.

The theme of the Translation Summit is "bringing together private industry, government, and academia". The conference chair is Ray Clifford, Director of the Center for Language Studies at Brigham Young University. The co-sponsors of the Summit are the National Virtual Translation Center (NVTC) and the American Translators Association (ATA). It is hoped that the Summit will bring together a mix of attendees representing all stakeholders in the translation world, including requesters and providers within government and private industry, together with leaders from academia. The structure of the conference is intended to encourage interaction.

The conference chair, Ray Clifford, will be the master of ceremonies.

There will be no breakout sessions, so that representatives of all three sectors will be able to talk with each other throughout the day.

The morning will consist of keynotes by Everette Jordan, Director of the National Virtual Translation Center, and Marian S. Greenfield, President of the American Translators Association, followed by a presentation by a representative of government (Glenn Nordin) and a representative of academia (Professor Rainof, Cal State Long Beach and UCLA). All four morning speakers will address the conference theme (private/government/academic cooperation) from the perspectives of the NVTC, ATA, government, and academia. There will be a question-answer period with the audience after each presentation.

The luncheon will include brief remarks by a representative of Utah government, since this translation summit is being held in Salt Lake City.

The afternoon will consist of three panels, each with panelists and a moderator. Each panel is 45 minutes long and will include general discussion that invites comments from the audience. The topics of the three panels will be translator education/training, translation technology, and a recap session, respectively. Quality assurance and data exchange standards will be brought into the discussion as appropriate. The recap session will summarize some main points from the conference and characterize where we are in the world of translation, where we want to be, and identify some specific action items that will help us get there.

This first translation summit is intended to begin a new level of inter-sector dialogue that will make a positive difference for the world of translation and the many aspects of our society served by translation.