Newsletter
Newsletter December 2002
Autumn has come to northern Europe once more. The days are getting shorter, reminding us that the year 2002 is also coming to an end and the time has come for us to report the latest events in our autumn Newsletter.
The general economic situation is also reflected in the conference sector. Companies are giving a great deal of consideration to the deployment of their resources, more than ever before. Despite the sluggishness of the economy, however, there is still a need for international communication, but to optimize planning certainty interpreters are mostly recruited shortly before an event is scheduled to take place. So the run-up to our assignments is shorter and shorter and sometimes we really have to wave a magic wand in putting together teams in time, keeping a mindful eye on the cost factor.
At the beginning of September the Congress Centre in Hamburg was the venue of the "First International Congress on 11th September". SIMCONSULT provided interpreters for German and English and the participants were members of the fire services and emergency services from all over the world. The first day of the congress when the members of the New York fire service gave a blow by blow account of the highly dangerous fire-fighting and rescue operation in the Twin Towers, was a test in self-control for the interpreters. The pictures and the reports were so deeply moving, evoking strong emotions, and at times the interpreters had to "pull themselves together" to remain calm and still participate in the communication of such powerful messages.
During the Danish presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2002 a large number of meetings and conferences were held on a wide variety of subjects in Denmark. These included for instance a meeting of the national archivists of the EU member countries, a conference of experts on patent protection and a conference on equality for women.
With so many conferences and so many languages we had ample opportunity to work in the teams of interpreters throughout the country. When you are dealing with a foreign currency in Denmark, you start to appreciate how handy it is to travel in Euroland.
In September this year SIMCONSULT, continued what has now become a long tradition of organising the teams of interpreters for the investment seminars of Fidelity Investments in Berlin, Frankfurt and in Munich.
In July a Spanish delegation came to Hamburg to learn more about drainage systems and were assisted by colleagues interpreting Spanish on behalf of SIMCONSULT. Appropriately enough, the city's canalization system was put to the test precisely at this time when the rain came down in torrents.
The general meeting of shareholders of Jil Sander AG in Hamburg was interpreted for the third time in Italian and German and in November a SIMCONSULT team worked for the fourth time at the Endo-Club Nord Forum. Of course we are always very pleased to be commissioned once more to provide services for conferences taking place year after year.
George Drummond added to his collection of unusual destinations with PostEurop in October this year with a brief stay on the island of Crete during their Plenary Assembly.
To close this Newsletter we would like to wish you a very happy Christmas and a very successful conclusion to the year 2002. As always, we are looking forward to contacting you again next year.
Your SIMCONSULT-Team