PLAIN 2015 Conference was a success, thanks to the organizers from NALA and PLAIN. Over 70 speakers and 250 participants from 18 countries met at Dublin Castle from September 17-19.
Coverage was good in the local papers and the Irish Times ran an article called Plain Talking: Gobbledygook costs money and risks lives.
Keynote speakers included:
- Emily O’Reilly, E.U. Ombudsman, via video link
- Dr. Richard Murray, of MSD (known as Merck & Co. Inc. in the U.S. and Canada)
- David Berman, design expert
- David Marsh, production editor of the Guardian newspaper
- Dr. Neil James, Executive Director of the Plain Language Foundation and PLAIN’s new President
- Susan Kleimann, of Kleimann Communication Group
Besides the well-attended plenary sessions, there were workshops and a wide variety of talks. And something new for the mix were speed mentoring sessions on plain language training techniques.
At the gala evening in the Old Jameson Distillery, there was live Irish music and dancing. But first the Irish Plain English Awards 2015 were given to Inclusion Ireland for their booklet Sexual Assault Support and Information in the use of plain English in a document category, and The Cope Foundation for their website in the use of plain English in a website category.
PLAIN gave Lynda Harris of Write Ltd the Mowat Award and also thanked outgoing board member Ruth Baldwin for her dedication and service.
The day after the 10th international conference, PLAIN held its AGM and pledged to continue to expand its influence around the world.
