North West Translators' Network: Stronger Together 2026

On Saturday 28 March, the NWTN got together for the third edition of Stronger Together. Divided into three groups, we moved around tables to discuss a variety of topics and exchange ideas with our peers.

Our first session on the subject of networking had us look at volunteering and outreach, networking for clients and agencies, and networking with colleagues. It was interesting to exchange stories and experiences on joining committees, volunteering, conducting outreach in local schools, attending trade fairs, or subcontracting to colleagues and creating revision clubs.

We then moved on to an important topic given the current climate for linguists where we discussed diversification, whether that be adding services (translation, interpreting, audiovisual translation, etc.) or languages, embracing or upskilling to the use of AI, machine translation, machine translation post-editing and large language models, to finally considering diversifying with jobs and projects beyond translation and interpreting in other industries. It is something I have done in some ways over the years, and I enjoyed hearing other colleagues’ experiences and thoughts on the matter. 

In a more relaxed third session, we chatted websites, both the content and technical requirements. As freelancers we tend to juggle a lot between running a business and carrying out project work, so developing and maintaining a website can sometimes be left behind. We had a good mix of people with and without websites which allowed us to weigh up priorities and the role of a website for our work.

Finally, we compiled this year’s questions to previous Stronger Together questions on our joint Miro board. Members can contribute by reviewing and answering questions which will then become a shared knowledge base and resource for all.

Thank you, Laurence, Katell and Kate, for running the event and moderating the conversations. And Kate, also thank you for organising lunch and keeping us well-fed!

I have been an NWTN member since I graduated from university in 2015, but it was my first event in person in a long time, and I had honestly forgotten how inspiring and rewarding it is to meet with local colleagues in person. It is also hugely enriching to connect with colleagues based on geographical proximity. I look forward to the next one.

Courtney Pesche, Interpreter & Translator