
The GoAP 2021 Annual Conference – March 9-10, 2021
The Conference will be held virtually.
Deadline for proposals: November 30, 2020
Theme: "The Return of the Machines—How AI, Machine Learning, Big Data, Blockchain, and Automation Help Us in Globalization and Localization"
In Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, life has come a full circle. The end-of-the-world prophecy has fulfilled itself; the war between humans and machines—Judgement Day—was inevitable.
In “Return of the Machines,” the Glocalization Organization of Asia Pacific (GoAP) is not making another installment of the Terminator franchise, of course. Instead, we seek to explore the ever-present role that advanced technology such as AI-assisted marketing automation, neural machine translation, and blockchain-enabled commerce, may play in globalization and localization.
This is not about the rise of the machines in which humans battle machines for jobs. It isn’t about the arrival of the machines that spells doom for our economic prospects. Instead, with our 2021 GoAP conference theme, we argue that machines have always been here. They never left. This is a narrative about machines’ return to the spotlight and to the forefront of our consciousness.
From the invention of the computing machine of the 1950s, the ARPANET in the 1960s, the personal computer revolution of the 1970s, world wide web in the 1990s, smart phones in the 2000s, and 5G in the 2010s and beyond, the age of the Internet of Things has truly dawned upon us and opened up new opportunities for globalization and localization.
We are not remiss of the persistent debate in which some argue that machines are taking our jobs. Some interpreters fear that AI-assisted interpretation will reduce assignments. Translators worry that demand for their work will be replaced by machine translation. GoAP does not believe that this is a story of humans versus machines; that is an outdated narrative. We believe in a vision of humans and machines working in conjunction—albeit not always without friction and tension.
GoAP 2021 is about embracing the role of machines in localization and globalization—and in fact, in our lives. Thus, we invite proposals that explore how embracing machines can reshape our globalization efforts and localization techniques.
- What are the practical, business applications for artificial intelligence in localization?
- What are the techniques and best practices for handling Asian languages with machine translation?
- What situations and contexts do customers in various industries use AI-assisted interpretation to solve their business problems?
These are some of the questions we seek to explore but the conference is not limited to these by any means. We invite participants, stakeholders, contributors, and decision-makers who are engaged in globalization, internationalization, and localization. We cordially invite marketers and sales professionals who are looking to expand beyond borders; we would like to hear from localizers who translate, adapt, and package an organization’s products and services for a different culture, audience, and language. We request proposals from technologists who develop the enabling tools and platforms that make globalization and localization possible—whether it’s in AI, machine translation, voice technology, or robotics.
Program Tracks

We invite proposals in the following program tracks:
Research and Technology
Globalization and internationalization
Sales and marketing
Operations Management
Quality and Process Improvement
Future of the Industry
Session Types

Long-format panel discussions that engage the audience in a dialogue around a specific topic. Two to four panelists. Joint representation from client and provider sides encouraged. (45 minutes)
Workshops that present expert-level, practical training in a specific discipline or topic. Joint representation from client and provider sides, or providers’ partnerships, encouraged. (60-minutes)
Presentations of research, best practices, case studies, or topics that provoke thoughts, promote discussions, or inspire ideas. (30 minutes)
Session Levels
- Intermediate – for those with several years of experience.
- Advanced –for those with extensive industry experience.
- We do not accept proposals for beginners’ level
Who is the audience?

Not surprisingly, the audience for a conference about globalization and localization will be diverse. GoAP conferences attract experienced professionals, executives, and business owners from companies that either are going global or participate in helping those companies localize their products and services. These include people from “the client” side from a variety of different industries, language services and language technology professionals, executives and managers at multinational organizations, and individuals from government, research, and educational institutions.
Selection Criteria

Proposals should:
Address the conference theme clearly
Align with one of the program tracks
Cover topics in an informative fashion for a savvy audience
Not be an overt sales pitch
We would like to see presentations that engage and excite the audience.
Proposal Submission Instructions

The deadline for proposals is November 30, 2020.
Please complete your application using the form below.
Speaker Agreement
Please review the speaker’s agreement (_________________). You will be asked for your consent to the terms during the submission process. Speakers whose proposals are selected will be required to sign and send the agreement.
Contact us at events@goap-global.com with any questions about the GoAP2021 submission and review process.