REPORT | Croatia 2009
Daniela Miler
I have a feeling that no one reads long reports, and I really want this one to be read by all of you. So I will make it short and clear. I got the opportunity to participate in the AGM and the conference in Tallinn as an SAF recipient. It was my first time to attend the efsli conference, and it was the first time for my country too. These two facts made me slightly nervous before coming, especially when I came and saw that you people already all know each other. However, every sign of anxiety or fear disappeared immediately- everyone was so friendly, so warm and so nice that I felt very welcome and next day it was a real home-atmosphere, as if I’ve been there for a week.
The whole event- from the registration, meals, AGM, visit to Town Hall, the conference, lectures, workshops, opening and closing, stands, raffle, entertaining part of the conference dinner- was so perfectly organized that it was just delightful and enjoyable to be a part of it all. Everything went so smoothly, and there were many months of hard work behind it. Nevertheless, all the responsible ones for this great success stood there with smiles on their faces and no sign of fatigue or burnout could be spotted.
The conference theme- Sound mind in sound hands- was very interesting, especially because the accent is usually on the client’s health, not the interpreter’s. There are many disorders that can occur as a consequence of working as a SL interpreter and it was immensely useful to see the examples of the most frequent ones and also the ways and methods it can be prevented.
The quantity of the things I’ve learnt, examples I heard and compared and advices from many professionals is indefinite, while the overall experience, new acquaintances, new friends… are invaluable.
I will do my best to promote everything I experienced past weekend in Tallinn among my colleagues and new interpreters. If we consider our every next step carefully, we can avoid numerous traps and pitfalls that wait somewhere in front of us, and we can learn from the mistakes of others. This is the greatest benefit of participating in this conference.
In short- it was great; great people, great conference. Let’s hope this will not be the first and only Croatia’s participation in efsli events.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank once again the efsli board for giving me the chance to join you all, to EVKTÜ for perfect organization and also thanks to all attendants for making me feel so welcome.
P.S. It wasn’t that short, after all… But, what can I do, when…
everything
found (was)
so
lovely
indeed