Last year marked ELIA’s 20th Anniversary, offering a moment to reflect on the journey of our association and the wider European language industry. As the industry continues to navigate rapid technological and market change, these reflections help highlight what truly drives progress.
To mark this milestone, MultiLingual Media—ELIA’s Media Partner—invited key voices from across ELIA’s leadership to join a special episode of Localization Today. The conversation looked back at how the association began, how it has evolved alongside the industry, and the journey shared over the years.
Hosted by MultiLingual CEO Eddie Arrieta, the discussion brought together ELIA co-founder and first president Roberto Ganzerli, former president Françoise Bajon, and current president Anu Carnegie-Brown. Together, they reflected on ELIA’s origins, its development over the past two decades, and the role collaboration continues to play in helping companies navigate change.
The Foundations: A Shared Vision
ELIA was founded to address a gap in the European language industry: the absence of a truly international space where language companies could learn from one another and shape the future of their businesses together.
At the time, many industry conversations remained nationally focused and reactive rather than strategic and collaborative. The founders believed the European language industry needed something different.
“The original idea was not just to create another association, but to build a pan European space where language companies could meet as peers, learn from each other, grow together across borders, across cultures and markets.” — Roberto Ganzerli
That vision led to the creation of ELIA in 2005, bringing together language service companies from across Europe to share knowledge and strengthen the industry collectively.
Three Key Phases
Looking back on the association’s development, Françoise Bajon described three key phases that helped shape ELIA over the years.
The first focused on building legitimacy and a shared identity for language service companies across Europe. This phase ran from the process of building the association and its official foundation by Roberto and the group of founders in 2005, to approximately 2010. At the end of this period, ELIA became more than an association: it established the non-transactional trust-based culture that still defines it today.
The second phase saw ELIA evolve from a networking platform into a space for practical learning and professional development, helping companies improve how they run and grow their businesses.
“At that time, the focus was no longer only on who you met, but increasingly on what you take back and apply in the company.” — Françoise Bajon
The third phase reflects the current moment in the industry. In a market shaped by AI, automation, changing client expectations, and increasing pressure on margins, ELIA has become a place where leaders can reflect on how their companies remain relevant and resilient.
“I feel that ELIA’s mission is now to help Members define and defend value, and has become a space for strategic sense-making.” — Françoise Bajon
The association increasingly serves as a forum where language companies can navigate uncertainty and rethink their role in a rapidly evolving market.
ELIA’s Events: Bringing the Community to Life
ELIA’s events have always been at the heart of the association’s community. From the first gathering in Barcelona to today’s role-focused formats, these meetings have created spaces for open discussion, shared learning, and lasting connections.
Looking back on that first event, Roberto Ganzerli recalled the atmosphere of openness and honesty:
“The people left the room energised and with new ideas that they could implement in their own company, and most importantly, left with new relationships.” — Roberto Ganzerli
For many Members, that sense of energy remains one of the defining experiences of ELIA events.
Navigating Disruption
The podcast discussion also explored how the industry has repeatedly adapted to waves of technological change: from CAT tools and machine translation to today’s generative AI revolution.
Roberto Ganzerli reflected on the lessons learned through these shifts: “Technology is per se not the problem. Delay and denial are the problems.” — Roberto Ganzerli
Today, language companies are once again reassessing their value and positioning in a changing market. As Anu Carnegie-Brown explains: “We keep wrestling now with the question… how do we provide value today and how is that value perceived by the clients?”
Looking Ahead
Across the conversation, one message stands out: ELIA’s lasting value comes from its people. Over the past two decades, the association has created a trusted environment where leaders can exchange ideas openly, learn from one another, and navigate industry change together.
As the industry continues to adapt to new technologies, shifting client expectations, and evolving business models, the conversation highlights how important strong professional communities remain.
For Anu Carnegie-Brown, one of ELIA’s most important roles today is creating a space where leaders can openly explore these challenges together and learn from their peers.
“It is the peer support and the peer benchmarking that gives a lot of value at the moment. And the thing about peer groups is that the value comes from what people give into it. You have to give and then you get. If we see these associations as peer groups, then we will adjust our expectations and what we have to give in order to achieve.” — Anu Carnegie-Brown
Rather than offering simple answers, ELIA provides a safe space where companies can reflect, exchange ideas, and navigate uncertainty together. As technology reshapes the language industry once again, that shared learning and collaboration will continue to play an essential role in helping companies adapt and thrive.
Listen to the full episode of Localization Today on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and join the conversation by sharing your reflections on our LinkedIn post. Thank you to MultiLingual Media for hosting this podcast and inviting us to join!
