Together 2025 Speaker Article: Part 5 with Fabiana Noto

What role does empathy take in translation? And can AI replace human empathy? Hear from Fabiana Noto, one of our ELIA Together 2025 speakers, on her event highlights and takeaways:

Is Empathy an Important Aspect in Translation? Speaking at ELIA together: Finding the courage to throw yourself in the mix

In February, I had the opportunity to participate and speak for the first time in front of an audience of around 200 people. If you can think about anything related to anxiety, I probably felt it: tension, restlessness, trepidation. 

But in the end, what I felt while talking to the audience – and during the whole event – was only positive vibes. Support, openness, willingness to listen and learn, exchange views and insights about the thing we are most passionate about: translation, languages, communication.

We can safely say that communication was the key factor during this year’s event: sharing our knowledge, our fears, our experiences with new technologies and how to survive them, communication between LSPs and Freelancers to facilitate things on both sides of the border. All this while exchanging laughter, smiles, hugs and some improbable and curious facts about us thanks to the fun networking game arranged by the organizers!

I feel blessed to have had the chance of sharing my insights on how empathy is what still makes us irreplaceable by artificial intelligence. Knowing that my speech was of value for more people than I could think makes me immensely grateful to the organizers – and to myself for taking the courage to do it.

As I hopped on the bus to Barcelona, I started feeling very anxious and thinking that the topic wasn’t interesting enough. But as soon as I started talking, I saw interested faces, nodding at some of my examples, laughing at my – I have to say, bad – jokes, and in brief, showing appreciation and agreement to what I was saying. Some of them commented on my speech in front of the audience, some of them came to talk to me after my speech to congratulate me and tell me that my speech had given them some food for thought and ideas for something they had been working on. 

I am grateful to all of them, because this was ultimately the whole reason I had signed up for. Being able to bring, through my experience and my point of view, something that would be worth their time. 

So, if you’re reading this thinking about sharing your experience but are too afraid to throw yourself out there, what I can tell you is: Just do it. Oh, no. That was Nike. Well… As they said! 

What do you think about the role and importance of empathy? Don’t hesitate to reach out to Fabiana via LinkedIn to continue the conversation!

Share your thoughts on this topic here on LinkedIn, and follow this series where we will share more speaker articles from Together 2025.