The last week of May, I had the privilege of attending the ISO/TC 37 annual meeting — my first in-person “ISO gig” — hosted at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. It was an extraordinary week that underscored why face-to-face collaboration remains irreplaceable in international standards work.

A week of standards in action

The meeting opened on 25 May with a Forum bringing together peers and experts from across the global language industry to report on the progress of active international projects.

The Forum also provided an opportunity to celebrate outstanding contributions to the field. A particular highlight was the recognition of Maryse Benhoff, who received an award honouring her exceptional nine-year commitment as Chair of SC 5 — the subcommittee responsible for translation, interpreting, and related technologies.

What was on the agenda?

The working sessions that followed were guided by WG1 convenor Julio Montero, and covered several significant standards in development:

• ISO 18587 (Translation services — Post-editing of non-human translation output — Requirements) — sessions led by Livia Florensa and Eva-Maria Tillman explored updates to the standard governing how human reviewers work with machine-generated translations.
• ISO 17100 (Translation services — requirements) — a full day was dedicated to the redevelopment of this widely adopted standard, led by Ingemar Strandvik, Livia, and Eva-Maria.
• ISO 25391 (General guidelines for in-house translation service units) and ISO 25368 (Certified translations for judicial settings and public authorities) — both addressed on Thursday, led respectively by Akiko Sato and Manfred Schmidt, and Liese Katschinka and Barbara Rovan.

The week closed with the SC 5 plenary followed by the full ISO/TC 37 plenary on Friday 29 May.

Why this matters for language professionals

Standards developed within ISO/TC 37 shape how translation and language services are delivered, measured, and trusted worldwide. For language service providers (LSPs), staying close to these developments means being better placed to advise clients, align with emerging requirements, and uphold quality at every stage of the process.

Attending in person — rather than contributing solely online — offered something that digital meetings simply cannot replicate: the depth of professional relationships and shared understanding that comes from working side by side with fellow experts across multiple days.

My participation was made possible through the support of BSI and the Association of Translation Companies (ATC), to whom I am deeply grateful.

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