Do you have a colleague or friend who is not a member? Share this page of practical information about joining STC for the first time.

Existing members feeling the financial pinch should look at the STC recovery package offered by the Society.

If you’re torn between buying some software and paying for your membership, Madcap has a tempting offer – paying for your membership!

We hope to see you in STC in 2010!

Despite the current discussion about STC’s financial crisis, this is an excellent initiative that deserves support. The site definitely needs data, and only you can help provide that data. Add your name – or share with the people who should be in this database.

Currently, there are no listings for people in Europe. Case in point! We need the names of speakers based in Europe to add to the diversity of this database. Spread the word. Let’s make STC truly international!

Around the world

Of course, we are promoting the European angle. After all, we are the Europe SIG. We would definitely encourage speakers located outside North America and Europe to contribute to the database. Spread the word to colleagues in Russia, Africa, South America, Australia/New Zealand, all of Asia – everywhere.

Remember your speaker tips!

Wherever you speak, please consider all the people attending your presentation. I’m talking about those attendees who are hard-of-hearing. You do want everyone to hear what you have to say, right? The AccessAbility SIG of STC has a nice cheat sheet for you to use.

The STC TransAlpine Chapter (TAC) is holding its annual conference – and 10th anniversary celebration in Vienna, 8-10 June 2009. Updated information about workshops, conference topics, speakers, directions, prices are now available.

Do not miss the opportunity to join this memorable event which features world-known speakers, like Tom Johnson and Ellis Pratt! Register now, places are limited!

Looking forward to seeing you in Vienna!

The TAC Board
– CJ Walker – President
– Claudia Basso – Vice President
– Janette Lynch – Treasurer
– Dian Kjaergaard – Secretary

People on Twitter are already using the hashtag #stc09 to identify discussions about the Summit. We’ll have more about the Technical Summit in the days to come, but we have to mention one other conference right now. It is rather unique, and I must use a feeble adjective and declare it “the coolest conference in 2009″.

I’m talking about the UX Challenge, Arctic Edition. The challenge takes place October 9-10, 2009 in the northernmost city in the world: Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Talk about getting out of your usual environment to stimulate the creative process!

There is something awe-inspiring about the idea of attending a conference in an exotic location like Svalbard. Friends of this writer went to Svalbard as tourists during the month of November, and they felt their senses opening and being receptive to every moment on the trip as though they were children again, exploring the world.

Of course, such an experience will always depend on the participants. The STC host chapter in Atlanta is ensuring a warm welcome for all attendees – long underwear is not required! – providing a backdrop of great hospitality in Atlanta to complement excellent learning opportunities in the Summit sessions. There may not be polar bears in the conference rooms, but there will be many challenges to ponder together with talented technical communicators from all over the world.

Maybe the year’s coolest conference is actually in Atlanta in May?

Visit the Europe SIG’s updated web site regularly

This is the easiest resolution to keep because you’re here already – just  take a look round our brand new site and come back as often as you can. If you’d like to contribute, please contact our web manager, Karen Mardahl (k.mardahl@gmail.com)

Renew your STC membership

Although money is tight for everyone this year, STC membership gives you access to a worldwide community of technical communicators, writers, editors, illustrators, and educators, that you simply can’t get anywhere else. If you want to keep moving forward with your career, can you afford to let your professional affiliation lapse?

Volunteer to help the STC Europe SIG

You can get even more out of your STC membership not only by staying a member of the Europe SIG, but by giving up a little of your own time and effort to help the SIG move forward. We are still STC’s youngest and smallest Special Interest Group, and we need as much help as we can get. Being a SIG volunteer means that you help decide what kinds of activities the SIG promotes, and how we communicate with our members. So please, even if you can only manage a couple of hours a month, do get in touch. If you’d like to help with the SIG elections please contact Derek Torres (derekctorres@gmail.com). If you’d like to help with anything else, please contact me (david@farbey.co.uk) or Jen O Neill (writer@jennifer-oneill.eu).

With sincere good wishes for the coming year,

David

SIG Members participating in the panel include Vici Koster-Lenhardt, Leah Guren, Ray Gallon, and Derek Torres.

We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!