A diverse array of localization industry professionals from all over the world were brought together last Friday at The Mountain Winery in Silicon Valley. And for what purpose?... to spotlight Latin America and discuss the region’s booming market, business opportunities and uniqueness for the second edition of the “Think Latin America” conference, organized by the “Women in Localization” group , IMTT and Ccaps Translation. BeatBabel drove all the way up with 4 team members and the event was well worth the drive!Latin America, the region of the world spanning from the northernmost tip of Mexico to the southernmost tip of Chile and Argentina, comprised of 21 countries with 2 dominant languages, has experienced an economic boom; “Could it be because of the more stable economic policies, or the technology transformation that is underway there? Or is it because of the vibrant emerging middle class that is boosting the demand for goods?” asked Think Latin America’s website, and on Friday afternoon, through knowledgeable guest speakers and a panel discussion of seasoned professionals, these questions were answered with an affirmative yes.
“Think Latin America” provided insightful knowledge into the cultural particularities of the region and its changing social and economic landscape, and was all about highlighting the region as the perfect place for investment and outsourcing. Both foreign and native Latin American speakers from global brands and companies such as comScore, Apple, Coca-Cola, Xerox and Buck Consultants led discussions on the state of the internet in Latin America, targeting your messages to Latin American audiences, successful business sustainability pilots implemented in Latin America and insider perspectives on the economy and business practices in Latin American countries. Renato Beninatto closed the program with some insights and some laughs as he swore that the 3rd iPad to be sold, was sold to a Brazilian!
A wealth of information was revealed; for instance, did you know that dominant Latin America values when conducting business are personalism and particularism and that communication is more personal? That online usage in Latin America is driven by a young demographic and has registered a 15% growth with social networks reaching 88% of Latin American users? Or that Latin America is the top sales region for the Coca-Cola Company and that Brazil is a model recycling nation where also, in the past 5 years, 37 million people have come out of poverty? The provided data and statistics such as these along with the insider perspectives helped illustrate Latin America as the powerhouse it is becoming in the global economy.
To complement the program afterwards was the networking dinner at the perfect venue; The Mountain Winery, with beautiful mountaintop views of Saratoga and Silicon Valley, perhaps even rivaling last year’s “Think Latin America” location in Búzios, Brazil. And wherever the next conference will be held, here’s to hoping it will be full of people who are very proud of their respective Latin American countries’ emerging success and people eager to learn about them and welcome the “new” Latin America. And no matter where, BeatBabel will be there!
“People in Latin America are used to struggle, we are all wired as fighters and we never give up” said Liliana Rojas of Apple during the panel discussion, essentially providing the perfect conclusion to Think Latin America’s program. See you next year!
Larisa Casillas - BeatBabel
Very interesting. Seems that in a lot of the developing Latin American markets can be great model.
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