27/01/25
Report on The year 2024
Let's look back at tekom Europe's 2024: highlights, achievements, learning.
Before we look back, though, we want to thank all our volunteers in the country organizations, working groups, and other initiatives for dedicating their time and expertise to organize events, share ideas and contribute to our tekom Europe community – you are great! We look forward to a successful new year together with you.
Highlights of 2024
In 2024, tekom Europe celebrated a series of significant milestones and achievements, showcasing the strength and growth of our community.
Two of the key highlights were the anniversaries of tekom Romania and tekom Österreich. On October 25, tekom Romania marked its 15th anniversary with a conference titled “Technical Communication as an Enabler for Business, Development, and Education.” The event brought together approximately 60 professional technical writers and students, who engaged in 10 insightful presentations. Topics ranged from AI-driven content and tools, docs-as-code, and impactful communication strategies, to video in documentation, educational approaches in technical writing, and fostering collaboration between academia and the translation industry. The conference also explored the development of study programs for technical communication, making it a valuable event for both seasoned professionals and aspiring tech writers.
tekom Österreich celebrated its 30th anniversary, kicking off a commemorative tour across Austria. The first celebration took place on November 18 in Vienna, beginning with a speech reflecting on the organization's evolution—from 10 members to nearly 500 today—and key milestones over the years. The evening continued with two inspiring presentations and a shared dinner, fostering connections among attendees. The anniversary tour is set to continue in February 2025, with events planned in Styria, Upper Austria, and Vorarlberg.
Another highlight of the year was tekom Europe’s participation at the tcworld conference in Stuttgart. Visitors to the tekom Europe stand had the chance to connect with country organizations from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and Israel, which were present and available at the conference. tekom Ireland, as our newest country organization founded in 2023, made its presence felt by organizing a lively pub night in collaboration with Irish member companies. This informal gathering offered members, friends, and new acquaintances an opportunity to meet the Initiative Committee of tekom Ireland and strengthen ties within the community. The honors banquet at the tcworld conference provided a moment to celebrate the dedication of delegates and volunteers who have made significant contributions to tekom Europe.
Amid the celebrations, tekom Europe also experienced transitions. In September, Katharina Willer stepped down after nearly three years as Community Manager. Susanne Lohmüller took over the role in October, ensuring continuity in managing and supporting the community.
Events & Webinars
The different country organizations held a range of online and on-site events in 2024. Alongside the many varied individual events, webinars, workshops, university events, company visits and get-togethers organized by each country organization, we had a couple of cross-border events and conferences.
tekom Belgium and tekom Netherlands organized another successful cross-border event. Over 35 participants gathered in Antwerp for a day of insightful learning on Generative AI and the challenge of addressing bias, the evolving landscape of content publishing, and visual storytelling. These presentations were followed by social activities, including a networking session, a city walk, and dinner.
Another successful cross-border event was the three-country conference in Konstanz organized by regional groups of tekom Germany, in cooperation with Tecom Switzerland and tekom Österreich. Under this year’s motto “Think tank: AI in technical communication”, interesting insights into various aspects of the use of AI in technical documentation were gained in group work formats that were new for the three-country conference.
tekom Bulgaria, tekom Magyarország, tekom Österreich, and tekom Romania organized their first joint online event on “News and Trends in Software Documentation” which, with about 120 participants, was very well received. Each country organization contributed an expert for a short presentation, which led to a varied program and a lively exchange with the participants, who actively participated with questions. The recording of the webinar is available in the Webinar Library, as are many webinars organized by our country organizations.
There were also some bilaterally organized webinars. tekom Türkiye, for example, had two joint webinars, one with tekom Belgium and another with tekom Romania. This format is ideal, as it allows expertise to be pooled, costs to be shared and increased marketing to reach a broader group of participants. In addition, members and interested parties from other countries can often also benefit from these webinars.
Three assemblies of delegates (AoD) were held in 2024: the first was held online on March 12, followed by the on-site AoD in Stockholm on May 10, and the last took place online on November 20. The delegates and other members of the AoD had time to catch up and exchange ideas and experiences. In Stockholm, following the delegates' meeting, the delegates were able to continue their discussions in a relaxed atmosphere on a boat trip to the Stockholm archipelago.
European Conferences
As every year, tcworld hosted three prominent European conferences in 2024, organized in collaboration with country organizations. These events brought together technical communication professionals from across Europe and beyond to share knowledge, explore industry trends, and discuss emerging technologies, particularly the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on technical writing.
The conference season started with Nordic TechKomm Stockholm, held from March 6–7 at the Scandic Victoria Tower. The conference opened with an engaging keynote presentation, “AI in 2023: A Year of Transformations in the Workplace. Pros and Cons of AI in Technical Writing.” This session provided a thought-provoking overview of AI’s influence on technical communication, setting the stage for discussions throughout the conference. Over two days, attendees participated in 25 presentations and workshops delivered by international speakers. The program covered a wide range of topics besides talks on AI in technical communication, including dynamic content delivery, translation, controlled language, metadata management, workflow automation, intercultural collaboration, regulations, and compliance.
The second conference in the series, Evolution of TC (ETC), took place June 4–5 in Sofia, utilizing the modern event space of SAP Labs. This venue not only offered all the equipment needed but was also conveniently located, making it accessible to both regional and international attendees. The conference featured 13 presentations and four workshops, drawing attendees and speakers from many different countries. Much like NORDIC TechKomm, AI was a recurring focus, with sessions exploring its applications in technical writing, such as content creation, translation, and digital twin. Additional topics included user experience, Docs as Code, graphic design, and many more. The diverse range of subjects and use cases enriched the discussions, fostering meaningful exchanges among attendees.
The third conference, Nordic TechKomm Copenhagen, was held September 18–19 with a pre-conference networking event on September 17. The networking event offered attendees an informal setting to connect, share ideas, and discuss tools and trends in technical communication ahead of the main event. Over the two days, after an optional morning swim, attendees dove into a total of 28 expert sessions. The keynote, “The Psychology of Creating Usable Content: An Introduction for Technical Communicators,” delivered by Prof. Kirk St.Amant, provided fascinating insights into the psychological processes that shape audience usability expectations and how technical communicators can leverage these to create more effective content. This theme resonated throughout the conference as attendees explored strategies to enhance usability and deliver dynamic, impactful, relevant and compliant technical content.
Working Groups and Cooperations
The Advisory Board for Professional Development & Training presented "Empowering Translators in the Age of AI: Shaping the Future of Language," a thought-provoking video featuring industry experts. As AI transforms workflows, the human touch remains indispensable, blending cultural insight and precision with the power of technology. Translation studies open doors to thriving careers in technical communication, content creation, and beyond—where innovation meets linguistic expertise.
The International University Network in Technical Communication (IUNTC) organized eight online meetings, many tackling the rising influence of AI in technical communication, giving valuable insights and networking opportunities to university staff and professionals at companies to present and discuss ideas, research projects and developments in the field of technical communication. The summaries of the IUNTC meetings are available on the tekom Europe website.
The New European Regulations joint working group, which tekom Europe founded together with tekom Deutschland, met in Alicante in September for two days of intensive work. During these days, they worked intensively on the tekom whitepaper on the AI Act and prepared the tekom whitepapers on the Right to Repair and Ecodesign Regulation. The working group will continue its work in 2025 with in-person and online meetings.
A task group of this JWG drafted a tekom position paper on the EC Guide to Application of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, Edition 2.3, expressing our support for the promotion of digital formats of information for use and raising some concerns.
Find out more about our country organizations and stay up to date with our event calendar.