When the pandemic hit and we were plunged into lockdown, we found ourselves relying largely on the virtual world to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. And how grateful we have been for that online human interaction during this past year. Yet scrolling through social media feeds has been far from a pleasant experience at times. Perhaps we wanted to hide away from it all. Perhaps we didn’t always feel up to being social on screen. And perhaps we didn’t feel quite right about posting from our business accounts in the light of what was going on in the world around us.

But then came a turning point. A welcome reminder of the positive side of social media and its mighty power. The translation Twitter world was alive with chatter about the weekly Virtual Coffee Morning organised by the ITI. The freelance translation community rallied together and did what it does best – we supported each other, entertained each other and were simply there for each other. The ITI Regional and Language Networks have worked extra hard throughout the pandemic to create and maintain a sense of community for their members too. 

As we come together for this unprecedented online ITI conference, let’s take a moment to celebrate our professional communities. Let’s focus on the benefits and opportunities they offer us as freelancers working from home. Let’s look at the ways in which we can build and shape those communities. And let’s understand the important role we have to play as members. #ITICommunity