Eleven years later, a new organization—PAL (Professional Association for Localization) —will "serve and represent those who prepare software and documentation for the world." The organization's focus will be "its member translators, localizers, internationalizers, and globalizers." PAL is an ambitious and much-needed endeavor, an idea whose time has come.
PAL is the brainchild of Ricardo Erb. Erb is no stranger to the many facets of localization. A six-year industry veteran, Erb spent 15 years as a technical writer/documentation manager and, before that, 13 years as a translator specializing in electrical engineering. Erb, whose native language is Hungarian, has studied and worked in France and Germany. English is his fourth language. Erb currently works as a localization project manager at Hyperion Solutions Corp., a software developer with headquarters in Sunnyvale, California.
An article in Multilingual Computing and Technology, An Industry in Denial?, inspired Erb to action. In the article, author Reinard Schaller wrote, "A strong industry association is necessary for localization to gain long-denied recognition as an industry in its own right." The director of the Localization Research Centre at the University of Limerick, Ireland concluded, "What is needed is for somebody to take on the initiative and lead." Erb decided to be that somebody.
With strong support from localization industry colleagues, including S. Rowan Wilson of Star-AG and Raj Singh of SimulTrans, Erb set the wheels in motion. In February, he issued the first draft of a mission statement. Last week, Erb issued an expanded draft of the mission statement, penned by Adobe employee Hank Davis, and put out the word to encourage participation via existing industry fora like the neologsig e-group moderated by Suzanne Topping. Taken together, the two drafts represent an ambitious and far-reaching initiative.
The mission statement includes a list of activities that the organization plans to undertake. These activities include an organizational Web site and information server, which will act as a wide-ranging professional communication forum. Erb anticipates that the Web site will be up in May or June of this year. In addition, PAL plans to "present the thinking and experience of PAL members to industry associations, trade organizations, and government agencies."
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