Find out which conferences should be on your learning and networking radar this year. We’ve primarily listed the European ones in the areas Firehead recruits for, but there are also some major events happening in the US and elsewhere if you’re prepared to make the trip.
As ever, we’d love to hear your own suggestions in the comments.
21 European conferences
1. CIUTI Forum 2012, Geneva, 26-27 January
‘Translators as Key Actors in Global Networking.’
2. Interaction, Dublin, 1-4 February
The annual conference of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA).
3. Decoded, Munich, 8-10 February
‘Experts from the fields of marketing, design, user experience and technology projects … introduce ways of working and provide an outlook for the future.’
4. SES (Search Engine Strategies), London, 20-24 February
‘SES London is the leading search marketing conference in Europe.’ Hashtag: #seslondon
5. Publishing Expo: The Content Agility Theatre, London, 28-29 February
‘The UK’s only multi-platform publishing show… dedicated to shaping the future of publishing.’
6. Content Strategy Applied, London, 1-2 March
A focus on examples of content strategy in practice.
7. UX Boot Camp – Information Architecture, London, 9-10 March
‘Extremely practical training for UXers.’ Hashtag: #uxbootcamp
8. GALA2012, Monaco, 26-28 March
‘GALA Language of Business conferences bring together the global content delivery community, including providers of language services, managers of global content, and language technology developers.’
9. Internet World, London, 24-26 April
‘Internet World is officially Europe’s largest and longest-running event for digital marketing and online business.’
10. Roots 2012, Bergen, 25-27 April
‘Norway’s oldest IT conference (for)… developers, project managers/scrum masters, architects, UX people, testers and test managers.’ Hashtag: #roots2012
11. IA-Konferenz, Essen, Germany, 11-12 May
‘The leading German-speaking UX Business Conference in Europe’, with a focus on content strategy this year.
12. The Future of Web Design London 2012, London, 14-16 May
‘Three days of the best of the best in the wonderful world of web design.’ Hashtag: #fowd
13. UX Lx: User Experience Lisbon, 16-18 May
‘Where all the UX pros meet: 16 workshops to develop your skills, 10 talks to inspire you and 16 slots open for you to share your experiences. All this coupled with lots of parties and meetups.’ Hashtag: #uxlx
14. UXcamp Europe 2012, Berlin 26-27 May
Bar camp-style event for user experience, interaction design, UXD and IA professionals. Hashtag: #uxce12
15. Localization World, Paris, 4-6 June
‘Know-how for global success. Dynamic tracks on business best practices, global websites, localisation and translation.’
16. UX Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-7 June
UX design and usability conference that offers an optional three-day tour around Bulgaria at the end! Hashtag: #uxsofia
17. WebVisions 2012, Barcelona, 5-7 July
‘WebVisions heads to Europe for three days of workshops, sessions and keynotes by leading web, mobile, UX, DIY and strategy experts.’
18. Webdagene 2012, Oslo, 26-28 September
Norway’s biggest conference for web communicators, organised by a user experience consultancy but covering many topics from interface design to content strategy and web marketing. Hashtag: #webdagene
19. Technical Communication UK 2012, Newcastle, UK, 2-4 October
TCUK is the largest conference for technical communicators in the UK. Hashtag: #TCUK12
20. Tekom/tcworld, Wiesbaden, Germany, 23-25 October
‘The Tekom annual conference and trade fair and tcworld conference together are the world’s largest event for technical communication and international information management.’
21. Le Web, Paris, 4-6 December
‘Europe’s largest and most influential tech start-up conference.’
9 biggies from the US
1. Intelligent Content, Palm Springs, 22-24 February
‘Strategies for reaching customers anywhere, anytime and on any device’. Hashtag: #ICC12
2. South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive, Austin, 9-13 March
‘A preview of what is unfolding in the world of technology’, plus panels, presentations and parties.
3. IA Summit (Information Architecture), New Orleans, 21-25 March
‘The primary event for those redefining strategy and structure in support of cross-channel systems and user experiences.’
4. An Event Apart, Seattle, 2-4 April
‘Three Days of Design, Code, and Content.’ More ‘Event Aparts’ take place in other US cities, such as Atlanta in February, Boston in June and Austin in July.
5. CONFAB, Minneapolis, 14-16 May
‘The Content Strategy Conference.’
6. STC Technical Communication Summit ’12, Chicago-Rosemont, 20-23 May
Featuring 10 tracks covering content strategy, UX, social media, design and more.
7. Info360, New York, 12-14 June
‘The longest running enterprise content management software conference & expo in the industry.’ Hashtag: #info360
8. Content Marketing World, Cleveland, 4-6 September
‘The largest gathering of content marketing professionals in the world.’
9. LavaCon, Portland, October (tba)
‘A three-day conference that focuses on how to produce and manage global digital media projects.’
1 moveable event
CS Forum 2012, Cape Town, October (tba)
The third conference in the international content strategy series moves on from Paris and London to South Africa.
