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For speakers

Dear colleagues!

For the 17th time, Translation Forum Russia 2026 (August 21-23, Ekaterinburg) is opening the call for papers! 

The three-day program, running from August 21 to 23, will feature topics interesting for all categories of participants across our traditional themes.

We look forward to receiving your participation letters!

Here are some discussion ideas for TFR 2026:

On the future of the industry and business models

  • Will translation companies be able to maintain the margin under conditions of growing competition with free/cheap translators based on neural networks (ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepL, etc.)?
  • Will Translation-as-a-Service (TaaS) become the dominant model, replacing fixed rates for translating a word/page?
  • How should translation companies adapt to customer demands for “instant translation” without losing quality?
  • Is trend for outsourcing postediting of MT to low-paid freelancers reasonable or will it lead to quality degradation?
  • Is uberization possible in our industry: platforms where the customer uses an MT engine and then a human translator just puts the finishing touches?

On Machine Translation (MT) and Large Language Models (LLM)

  • Where is the line between “acceptable” and “dangerous” usage of MT in high-stakes spheres (medicine, law, aviation)?
  • How reasonable is all the fuss around LLMs: do they truly understand the context or merely imitate the understanding?
  • How to deal with MT generating incorrect content in technical and judicial texts where the cost of an error is high?
  • Should translation companies disclose to customers which part of the text was translated by a machine and which by a human?
  • Is there a future for “pure” human translation or will it only concern some niche areas (literature, brand texts)?

On translators and their role

  • Should translators acquire new skills of prompt-engineering for working with LLM or is it the wrong way?
  • How to keep the professional identity of a translator in time when anyone can translate using ChatGPT?
  • Is it legal to cut rates for postediting MT to a level that it doesn’t cover expenses for qualification?
  • Do translators need a certification to work with texts of critical importance (for instance, medical reports)?
  • How to deal with damping because of non-professionals using MT?

On the customer-executor relationship

  • Why are customers often not ready to pay for quality waiting for a cheap and perfect result from MT?
  • How to explain to a customer the difference between quick and accurate translation without getting into technical details?
  • Is it acceptable to demand 100% accuracy from MT with no postediting, how to reasonably refuse this?
  • How to build trust if the customer sees MT as a free alternative to human translators?
  • Should translation companies be responsible for MT errors or is it the customer’s risk zone?

On ethics and rights

  • Who is responsible for errors in translation performed by LLM: the model developer, the translation company or the postediting translator?
  • Is it acceptable to use texts of translators to train MT engines without their consent and compensation?
  • How to protect the translators’ copyrights in the epoch of web-scraping of content for model training?
  • MT ethics in conflicts: should the translator or the translation company decline projects where translation can be used to cause harm?
  • How to balance between localisation and keeping the original meaning if the customer demands adaptation to the point of distorting facts?

On technologies and skills

  • Which instruments (CAT, LLM-plugins, QA-systems) really improve productivity and which just create an illusion of effectiveness?
  • Do translators need to study programming/API to remain competitive?
  • How to integrate MT in a working process without becoming a machine corrector?
  • Is there a point in studying translation if LLM already can generate texts on C1-C2 level?
  • Which human skills (empathy, understanding of the cultural context, creativity) will remain unavailable to MT in the next ten years?

We’re looking forward to your applications! The call for papers is until May 30. To apply, please use the designated form.

 

Prerequisites for TFR speakers

By applying to be a speaker, you agree to the following statements:

Selection

Applications are considered by the Programme Committee. The organizers notify you about their decision via e-mail. When selecting from applications, the following factors are involved:

  • presentation topic (its relevancy and value for TFR participants);
  • neutrality of the presentation (no advertising).

Participation fee

The participation fee for TFR 2026 speakers is 15,000 roubles. Payment for participation should be finalized until July 20, 2026. In the case that the speaker communicates about no longer being able to take part in TFR after paying, the refund process follows the general guidelines.

Participation

The speaker presents their topic in accordance with the pre-published application and points stated there. If the speaker cannot take part in the Forum due to illness, they should notify the organizers at tfrconference@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Personal account

After you’ve been notified about your presentation being included in the programme, you should fill out your personal account on the website, stating the title, sharing information about yourself and your photo. The password would be sent via e-mail, and the e-mail you used to sign up when applying is used as a login. Information on your personal account is public for website users.

Presentation

Until July 1 you should send the complete presentation or its counterpart in text form to the organizers at tfrconference@gmail.com. The finished version should be submitted on July 15. For the duration of the Forum your final presentation would be saved on electronic devices for its subsequent publication on the website.

The TFR organizers are entitled to use your presentation on physical media (DVDs, USB drives etc.) and to publish it online with credits to the author.

You can download a template to create your presentation.

Photo and video recording

The TFR organizers have the right to make photo and video recordings during the event and to use the recordings for their own interest.

Unexpected circumstances

During your presentation there may be unexpected technical issues, forced reduction or changes to the duration of your presentation, as well as changes in the order of the speakers.

As organizers, we do our best to ensure you are comfortable.